Ellen T. Bloom

PhD Student in Biomedical Engineering
University of Delaware
etbloom at udel.edu

EDUCATION
B.Bm.E., Biomedical Engineering
University of Minnesota, 2017

Multiscale Mechanics and Damage of Tendon

Tendon is a mechanical tissue responsible for transferring load between muscles and bones, and is susceptible to overuse injury. Though tendon has been studied for decades, the loading-sharing between tendon’s hierarchical levels and the mechanisms affected by mechanical overload still remains to be adequately defined. The mechanisms present in damage and inelastic behavior at the different length scales: tissue, micro, nano, and molecular, are unknown and essential to understanding tendon’s multiscale function. My ongoing graduate research focuses on multiscale tendon mechanics and damage and on mechanisms leading to the tendon disorder of tendinopathy.

To be able to investigate the progression of overuse injury an in vivo animal model of overuse is needed. Using a novel synergist ablation animal model, in vivo overuse is facilitated by removal of the Achilles tendon to overload the plantaris tendon. Synergistic ablation (SynAb) is an accepted animal model for inducing muscular hypertrophy but is an innovative application to causing tendon overload. I use multiscale imaging and mechanical testing in order to evaluate the changes in structure and function which occur during the progression of tendinopathy. These imaging techniques include high-resolution MRI, confocal microscopy, histology, and Serial Block Face Scanning Electron Microscopy (SBF-SEM). In order to evaluate multiscale mechanics, I use a custom tensile testing device and analyses.

 

Publications

  1. Bloom ET; Lee AH; Elliott DM. “Tendon Multiscale Structure, Mechanics, and Damage Are Affected by Osmolarity of Bath Solution.” Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 2020.
  2. Sensini A; Santare MH; Eichenlaub E; Bloom ET; Gotti C; Zucchelli A; Cristofolini L. “Tuning the Structure of Nylon 6,6 Electrospun Bundles to Mimic the Mechanical Performance of Tendon Fascicles.” Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 2021, 9:626433.
  3. Safa BN; Bloom ET; Lee AH; Santare MH; Elliott DM. “Evaluation of transverse poroelastic mechanics of tendon using osmotic loading and biphasic mixture finite element modeling.” Journal of Biomechanics, 2020, 109:109892.
  4. Quindlen JC; Bloom ET; Johnston OK; Barocas VH. “An inter-species computational analysis of vibrotactile sensitivity in Pacinian and Herbst corpuscles.” Royal Society of Open Science, 2020, 7:191439.
  5. Quindlen JC; Bloom ET; Ortega LE; Moeller AT; Barocas VH. “Micropipette Aspiration of the Pacinian Corpuscle.” Journal of Biomechanics, 2017, 63:104-109.

Conference Proceedings

  1. Bloom ET; Parreno J; Elliott DM. “Multiscale Imaging For Evaluation Of Synergistic Ablation Model Of Tendinopathy.” Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Annual Meeting 2021. Orlando FL, 2021. Poster Presentation. (Accepted)
  2. Bloom ET; Meadows K; Locke R; Myhra-Bloom K; Killian ML; Elliott DM. “High-Resolution MRI for Evaluation of Synergistic Ablation Model of Tendinopathy.” Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Annual Meeting, 2020. Poster Presentation.
  3. Bloom ET; Lee AH; Elliott DM. “Bath Osmolarity Alters Multiscale Mechanics and Damage in Tendon.” Summer Biomechanics, Bioengineering, and Biotransport Conference (SBBBC), Seven Springs PA, 2019. Podium Talk.
  4. Bloom ET; Lee AH; Elliott DM. “Tendon Multiscale Mechanics and Damage Are Affected by Osmolality of Bath Solution.” Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Annual Meeting, Atlanta GA, 2018. Podium Talk.
  5. Bloom ET; Quindlen JC; Claeson AA; Moeller AT; Barocas VH. “Steady-State Mechanical Characterization of the Properties of the Pacinian Corpuscle.” Summer Biomechanics, Bioengineering, and Biotransport Conference (SBBBC), Tucson AZ, 2017. (Winner: Bachelor Student Poster Competition)

Graduate Awards & Fellowships

  1. Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (F31)
  2. 2021 BME Department Outstanding Graduate Student Service Award
  3. 2020 BME Department Outstanding Biomedical Engineering Outreach Award
  4. Robert W. Gore Fellowship in College of Engineering
  5. Biomedical Engineering Chair’s Scholarship