Course Meeting Times
Lectures: 2 sessions/week, 1.5 hours/session
Prerequisites
One of the following courses, which fulfill the General Institute Requirement (GIR) in Biology:
- 7.012 Introductory Biology
- 7.013 Introductory Biology
- 7.014 Introductory Biology
- 7.015 Introductory Biology
- 7.016 Introductory Biology
One of the following courses, which fulfill the GIR in Chemistry:
- 3.091 Introduction to Solid-State Chemistry
- 5.111 Principles of Chemical Science
- 5.112 Principles of Chemical Science
and 2.001 Mechanics and Materials I
or permission of instructor
Course Description
This course teaches the effects of mechanical forces (strains) on cells and how cells generate mechanical forces by their contraction. Critical to both topics is the mechanical behavior of the extracellular matrix (ECM), which the cells have synthesized and remodeled. The ECM affects cell behavior by mediating exogenous mechanical strains, which stimulate certain cellular processes. Cell-matrix mechanics informs our fundamental understanding of: the formation and remodeling of tissues/organs (T/O) in the fetus, and their postnatal development; changes in T/O in injury, disease, and aging; targets for treatment in pathological conditions; and mechanics-based tools for treatment. An understanding of these issues connects with three other courses: 2.787J/HST.535J Tissue Engineering and Organ Regeneration, 2.79J/HST.522J/20.441J Biomaterials-Tissue Interactions, and 2.782J/HST.524J Design of Medical Devices and Implants.
This course was created by Professors Myron Spector and Ioannis Yannas in 1992, and was last taught in the fall 2016 term. The course content is updated regularly to include new knowledge acquired by the scientific, engineering, and clinical communities.
Topics
- Part I: Unit Cell Processes and Unit Tissue Structure; Effects of Exogenous Forces
- Part II: Mechanics of Cells and Matrix Molecules; Endogenous Force Generation
- Part III: Tissue Mechanics
Readings
Readings for the course comprise lecture notes, PowerPoint slides, and journal articles.
Grading
The final grade was based principally on 3 quizzes and a term report.
- 25% Quiz 1
- 25% Quiz 2
- 20% Quiz 3
- 10% Oral presentation
- 20% Written term report
Term Report
The term report was a quantitative analysis of the following:
- how a certain tissue responds to exogenous mechanical forces; or
- how exogenous mechanical forces generated by cells in a tissue are involved in the physiology or pathology of the tissue; or
- both (e.g., how exogenous forces “regulate” cell contraction).
A report was prepared individually by each student. Possible topics for the report were discussed in class during the first weeks of class. The focus of the term report should not be on work related to a master’s or doctoral thesis. Topics for the reports were finalized before quiz 1. Progress of the reports was required to be reported before quiz 2.
The final oral presentation was presented with PowerPoint. The 15-minute presentation was followed by questions.
The written term report was 12 pages maximum. The report needed to be meaningfully annotated and needed to include references. The 12-page limit included all text, images and references. Citation needed to be provided for the source of text that had been copied and pasted into the report.
No collaboration was permitted on the problem sets, quizzes, and the term report.
“Credential” Letter
An option for select students, who are not enrolled at MIT or Harvard, is to obtain a letter grade for taking this course, certified in a letter from Professor Spector. The grade would not be recognized by MIT or Harvard; there will be no official record of the grade at the institutions. In exercising this option, the student would meet periodically by Zoom with Professor Spector, who would also administer and grade the 3 quizzes. Students interested in this option should contact Professor Spector at mspector@mit.edu.
