Forging Global Impact on Health and Medicine

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Global Summit on Mechanobiology and Mechanomedicine Conference

March 6–7, 2025 • Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex (ISEC)

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Our Mission

Northeastern University’s Institute for Mechanobiology accelerates mechanobiology discovery and technology to enhance human health and advance medicine. Widely believed to be the “missing science,” mechanobiology can provide the critical link between a variety of pathologies and their root causes, leading directly to the development of effective therapeutics and prevention strategies for many currently untreatable and debilitating medical conditions.

Sandra Shefelbine, Associate Dean of Space and Special Initiatives, Office of the Dean; Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering; Professor of Bioengineering
Herbert Levine, University Distinguished professor in Physics
Max Bi, Theoretical Soft Matter and Biophysics Group
Chiara Bellini, Associate Chair for Graduate Studies and Associate Professor, Bioengineering
Jeffery Ruberti, COE Distinguished Professor, Extracellular Matrix Research Lab
Eno Ebong, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering; Associate Professor of Bioengineering; Affiliated Faculty of Biology

Our Initial Focus

Aging

Thoroughly understanding the aging process and its implications for health and wellbeing is increasingly imperative as the Baby Boom generation grows older. The number of Americans over 65 is projected to reach 80 million in 2040 according to the Urban Institute, with the number of adults 85 and older—the group most often needing help with basic personal care—more than doubling between 2020 and 2040.

Research Areas:

  • Cardiovascular
  • Musculoskeletal
  • Neurological
  • Immune Systems
  • Mechanotherapeutic technology and methods
  • Mechanobiological rehabilitation devices

Aging brings a host of complications and challenges to our lives. That’s why Northeastern University has brought together interdisciplinary expertise to research Mechanobiology with aging as its initial focus. The effort will both deepen our understanding of fundamental phenomena involved in aging and innovate new technologies and therapies to improve human health and wellbeing.

Gregory D. Abowd, D.Phil.
Dean of the College of Engineering
Northeastern University

What It Is Important

A research focus on translating mechanobiological discoveries into therapies that can reverse debilitating disorders like osteoporosis has the potential to make a profound impact on the healthcare sector and the economy at large.

The research will investigate the role of force and mechanics in biological systems, discover the root causes of mechanobiological pathologies that negatively affect quality of life, design interventions and sensors to alter mechanical inputs and biological outputs, and pursue mechanotherapeutics that restore function or slow the progression of diseases.

Who We Are

The Institute for Mechanobiology is made up of faculty experts from the College of Engineering, College of Science, and Bouvé College of Health Sciences.

Meet Our Faculty

Current Research Topics

  • Using Mechanics to Build Bone
  • Live-Tissue 3D Printing Could Speed Discovery of Brain Cancer Treatments
  • Modeling Cancer to Boost Immunotherapy
  • A New Key to Asthma Treatment
  • The Impact of Wildfire Smoke on Human Health
  • Can a Modified Gait Ease Knee Pain?
  • From Stem Cell to Neuron: Aging in the Human Brain
  • Repairing Blood Vessels at the Cellular Level
  • Using Collagen to Rapidly Repair and Prevent Tendon Injuries and More
  • Cigarettes, Vaping, or Both—What is Worse?
  • Mechanobiological basis for cancer progression and treatment
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