Sebastien Uzel

Graduate Student

suzel@MIT.EDU
Office: 1-131
Phone number:617-452-3438
Fax: 617-324-4014

Research Focus

My research is focused on the mechanical properties of collagen. This material, present in the human body under different forms (mostly from type I to type IV) at various sites (bones, tendons, skin, cartilage, cornea...), demonstrates interesting behavior.

At the nanoscale, I'm investigating the local stiffness and toughness of the collagen molecule using MD simulations, the effects of mutations in the sequence of amino-acids and the applications in better understanding genetic diseases such as osteogenesis imperfecta or Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. At the mesoscale, a bottom-up approach will enable to create a refined continuum model and link the amount of cross-links and hydroxyapatite crystals to the risk of failure.

Representation of a portion of the human Type I collagen triple-helix under VMD.

Education

2007 - Present:		Ph.D. student at MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering.
2006 - 2007:		Master of Science in Biomechanics at ENSAM, Paris, France.
2006 - 2007:		Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering at Ecole Centrale Paris, France.
2005 - 2006:		Visiting student at Oxford University's Department of Engineering Science.
2001 - 2005:		Bachelor of Science in Engineering Science.

Awards

MIT Presidential Fellowship

Publications

Uzel, S., Chappell, M.A. and Payne, S.J. Modelling the cycles of growth and detachment of bubbles in carbonated beverages. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 110: 7579-7586, 2006.
Chappell, M.A., Uzel, S. and Payne, S.J. Modelling the detachment and transport of bubbles from nucleation sites in small vessels. In press, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.
Payne, S.J. and Uzel, S. Methods in the analysis of the effects of gravity and wall thickness in blood flow through vascular systems. To appear in World Scientific Publishing Company themed volume on 'Biomechanical Systems', 2006.

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