Current Students | Michael Craig
Fluid mechanical forces trigger various signaling cascades (e.g. shear) and drive cell shape and size changes (e.g. strain). Further, they are thought to play a central role in a wide range of physiological processes including developmental heart patterning, heart valve and trabecular formation, and polycystic kidney disease.
I am working with collaborators from around the country to develop cutting-edge, microscope-based methods for high-speed, multi-dimensional mapping of the fluid forces underlying these phenomena in order to improve our understanding of the role that fluid forces play in development and disease.
I have been working as a research associate and lab manager in the Hove laboratory since 2004. I've had the opportunity to publish research and review papers, assist in the grant writing process, mentor other students, and participate in a wide range of research projects.
These projects have allowed me to explore my broad interests in fluid mechanics, electrophysiology, high-speed confocal imaging, and molecular biology in a true "systems biology" manner.
I am extremely grateful to the Systems Biology & Physiology program and its staff for allowing me to conduct the bulk of my doctoral studies as a part-time student. That flexibility has allowed me to pursue my degree while both maintaining my research activities and having an active role at home with my family. Despite my part-time status, I have nearly completed my core class requirements and plan on holding my qualifier later this fall.
Upon graduation I hope to expand my current research efforts within the department of Molecular & Cellular Physiology here at the University of Cincinnati.