Dr. Silvia Budday

Institute of Applied Mechanics

My research focuses on experimental and computational soft tissue biomechanics with special emphasis on human brain mechanics and the relationship between brain structure and function. In addition, we study the mechanics of hydrogels with the aim to identify substitutes for native human tissues with similar mechanical properties for applications in tissue engineering and biofabrication.

Research projects

  • Experimental characterization of biological tissues and hydrogels
  • Multi-scale, multi-physics modeling and computation
  • Material modeling and parameter identification
  • Brain mechanics across scales
  • Hydrogel mechanics and 3D-bioprinting
  • Mechanical modeling of growth and diffusion
  • Mechanical instabilities

Current projects

  • Biofabrizierte Gradienten für funktionale Ersatzgewebe (B09*)

    (Third Party Funds Group – Sub project)

    Overall project: TRR 225: Von den Grundlagen der Biofabrikation zu funktionalen Gewebemodellen
    Term: since 1. January 2022
    Funding source: DFG / Sonderforschungsbereich / Transregio (SFB / TRR)
    URL: https://trr225biofab.de/project-b09/

    Ziel dieses Projekts ist es, eine Plattformtechnologie zu entwickeln, um in Raum und Zeit klar definierte und reproduzierbare Gradienten herzustellen, diese zu analysieren und in silico zu modellieren, um ihre Auswirkung auf Zell-Biomaterial-Interaktionen untersuchen zu können. Hierfür sollen zunächst Druckköpfe entwickelt werden, mit denen sich kontrolliert Übergänge von Materialien aus den A-/B-Projekten, Wirkstoffen und Zellen erzeugen lassen. Durch die umfassende Charakterisierung der gedruckten Gradienten mithilfe mechanischer Testmethoden in Kombination mit bildgebenden Verfahren wird das Ergebnis bezüglich der Anforderungen der C-Projekte stetig analysiert und verbessert. Zusätzlich werden kontinuumsmechanische Modellierung und Simulation gezielt eingesetzt, um Prozessparameter, das Druckmuster und die 3D-Anordung im Konstrukt zu optimieren.

  • BRAIn mechaNIcs ACross Scales: Linking microstructure, mechanics and pathology

    (Third Party Funds Single)

    Term: 1. October 2019 - 30. September 2025
    Funding source: DFG-Einzelförderung / Emmy-Noether-Programm (EIN-ENP)
    URL: https://www.brainiacs.forschung.fau.de/

    The current research project aims to develop microstructurallymotivated mechanical models for brain tissue that facilitate early diagnosticsof neurodevelopmental or neurodegenerative diseases and enable the developmentof novel treatment strategies. In a first step, we will experimentallycharacterize the behavior of brain tissue across scales by using versatiletesting techniques on the same sample. Through an accompanying microstructuralanalysis of both cellular and extra-cellular components, we will evaluate thecomplex interplay of brain structure, mechanics and function. We will alsoexperimentally investigate dynamic changes in tissue properties duringdevelopment and disease, due to changes in the mechanical environment of cells (mechanosensing),or external loading. Based on the simultaneous analysis of experimental andmicrostructural data, we will develop microstructurally motivated constitutive lawsfor the regionally varying mechanical behavior of brain tissue. In addition, wewill develop evolution laws that predict remodeling processes duringdevelopment, homeostasis, and disease. Through the implementation within afinite element framework, we will simulate the behavior of brain tissue underphysiological and pathological conditions. We will predict how known biologicalprocesses on the cellular scale, such as changes in the tissue’smicrostructure, translate into morphological changes on the macroscopic scale,which are easily detectable through modern imaging techniques. We will analyzeprogression of disease or mechanically-induced loss of brain function. The novelexperimental procedures on the borderline of mechanics and biology, togetherwith comprehensive theoretical and computational models, will form thecornerstone for predictive simulations that improve early diagnostics of pathologicalconditions, advance medical treatment strategies, and reduce the necessity ofanimal and human tissue experimentation. The established methodology will furtheropen new pathways in the biofabrication of artificial organs.

Recent publications

2023

2022

2021

2020

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