On Tuesday, 26 May, the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Brno University of Technology welcomed Dr. Tuba Fehr from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). As part of the US Embassy Science Fellows program, she is exploring the Czech research environment and opportunities for international collaboration in bioengineering and biotechnology.
At the Institute of Solid Mechanics, Mechatronics and Biomechanics, researchers presented projects combining mechanical engineering, medicine, and biology. During her visit, Dr. Fehr learned about research into artificial vocal cords led by Petr Hájek, as well as interdisciplinary collaboration focused on the mechanical properties of cancer cells.
“Our main goal is to help physicians solve their problems,” said Petr Marcián, Head of the Department of Biomechanics. The close connection between engineering and medical disciplines is one of the department’s key strengths.
The cancer cell research project also involves Jaromír Gumulec from the Faculty of Medicine at Masaryk University, who studies the mechanical properties of cancer cells at different stages of disease progression. At the FME biomechanics department, the collected data are subsequently analysed and cell models are developed, as researcher Lucie Jadrná explained to the visiting guest.
During the visit, Dr. Fehr praised both the scope and the interdisciplinary character of the research she encountered at BUT. “At NIH, I oversee grant funding, and I am seeing more and more grant applications in this field. It is a relatively new and rapidly developing area,” she commented on the cancer cell research.
She also highlighted the quality of Czech science and the surprisingly broad application of mechanical engineering in biomedical fields. “There is a great deal of very interesting research taking place in the Czech Republic. Although I have collaborated with mechanical engineers before, I had never actually visited a mechanical engineering faculty. I am impressed by the range of activities and research being carried out here,” she added.
The meeting also included discussions on opportunities for project support, research funding, and international cooperation in biomechanics and bioengineering.