Prof Himadri Gupta
PhD, MSc, FHEA
Research Overview
tissue biomechanics, X-ray scattering, mechanobiology, cartilage, bone, nanocomposites, musculoskeletal diseases, collagen
Interests
Our research centres on the (nanoscale) structure-function relations giving rise to the (macroscale) evolutionarily optimized mechanical properties of hierarchical biological composites like bone and arthropod cuticle. Our aims are:
(a) To understand how natural biomaterials are designed to optimally fulfil mechanical function, in order to emulate these structure in biomimetic replacements and
(b) To develop diagnostic techniques to quantify how alterations in structure in metabolic connective tissue disorders (like osteoporosis and osteoarthritis) increase fragility and fracture risk.
To achieve these aims, we develop specialized multiscale nanomechanical imaging methodologies combining high brilliance synchrotron X-ray radiation with micromechanics. This approach, pioneered in our group, enables the development of quantitative multiscale models linking nano- and microscale structure to mechanical function in biological tissues.