The heart of the Institute’s research is to determine how mechanical forces play a role in the normal physiology and pathology of blood vessels, bone, and muscle. The Institute uses an interdisciplinary approach that involves fluid and solid mechanics and molecular and cell biology to answer this fundamental question. The work on mechanochemical signal transduction in endothelial and bone cells has provided insight of direct clinical relevance.

A major thrust of the Institute is the Malarial Pathogenesis. The focus of the Center for Malaria Research at  LJBI is to understand the microcirculatory complications of cerebral malaria with the ultimate goal of identifying targets for intervention to be used as potential adjunctive therapies for this lethal malaria complication. We use as tools a well-established in vivo models,  brain intravital microscopy and a number of accessory methods, which enable us to follow in vivo dynamic changes in the cerebral microcirculation in during malaria infection and test interventions to modify vascular pathology and disease outcome. We have been pioneering this field and published seminal work in malaria cerebrovascular pathogenesis. In addition, we have identified compounds and therapeutic strategies that increase survival of animals with late-stage cerebral malaria when administered as adjunctive therapies with antimalarial drugs such as artesunate.