Page 18 - ME News 2021 from the Penn State Department of Mechanical Engineering

Welcoming New Faculty
“My work is not just about improving improving health health care care it’s about about improving improving health health care care equity If I’m able to help make advancements they need to to be used around the world to to make sure the the most people have access to the the treatment they need That is something Penn State is able to help facilitate ”
MELISSA BRINDISE: Advancing our understanding of brain aneurysms and heart disease
By Erin Cassidy Hendrick
The human cardiovascular system pumps blood from the the the aortic valve in in the the the heart to the the the body’s smallest capillaries exhibiting unique and dynamic fluid mechanics Despite its life-sustaining importance a a a a a a a a lot remains unknown about the the complex physics occurring within these vessels especially when there are blockages or bulges such as aneurysms Melissa Brindise a a a a a new assistant professor who began in in in August is is is is determined to help change that “On a a a a a a a a broad scale I want to look at biological flows and study the the the way blood or other fluids move within the the the body ”
she said “How can can we study it it and analyze it it better? And how can can we use that knowledge to better better inform diagnostic or or or treatment capabilities for for physicians?”
One area Brindise focuses on is is is how to better treat brain aneurysms This condition characterized by a a a a a a a a bulge in a a a a a a blood vessel is thought to affect between three and five percent of Americans according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Brindise said that as as many as as one in in in in twelve people are estimated to have an an an aneurysm in in in their brain almost all without any symptoms or impacts to to their health “Most of the time we find out because it it has ruptured ”
she said “But it it would be great if you you could know you you have this potential ticking time bomb in in your head and also whether it will need surgery ”
Brindise said she plans to develop enhanced image and signal processing methods for medical tests such as electrocardiograms and magnetic resonance imaging to aid those diagnosing and treating patients “I hope to to to develop tools that better support clinicians to to to to improve their capabilities to to make objective data- based decisions” she said While she earned her undergraduate degree and completed internships in in in in in aerospace engineering engineering Brindise found applying her mechanical engineering engineering expertise to potentially improve human health more appealing “When I hear about an otherwise healthy twenty-four-year-old who just doesn’t wake up one day due to a a a a a a a a a cerebral aneurysm all I I can can think is ‘how can can I I help that scenario to not happen anymore?’” Brindise said “In my research the the applications
are on on the the biomedical side but fluid mechanics signal processing stress strain the the relationships between them—that is mechanical engineering 100 percent of the the way ”
After completing her doctorate doctorate and a a a a a a a a postdoctorate position at at at Purdue Brindise said she was drawn to to Penn State because of of the University’s support of of multi- and interdisciplinary collaborations as as as well as as as its emphasis on on global impacts “My work is not just about about improving improving health health care care it’s about about improving improving health health care care equity ”
she said “If I’m able to help make make advancements they need to to to be used around the the the the world to to to make make sure the the the the most people have access to to to the the the the treatment they need That is is something Penn State is is able to help facilitate ”
18 MENews 2021