<-- Return to the previous page

Kevin D. Costa

Faculty Photo
Kevin D. Costa
Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
351 Engineering Terrace
1210 Amsterdam Avenue, Mail Code: 8904

Phone: +1 212-854-9163
Fax: +1 212-854-8725
Email:
Home Page


Education

  • 1988: B.S., Biomedical Engineering, Boston University

  • 1990: M.S., Biomedical Engineering, Boston University

  • 1996: Ph.D., Bioengineering, U.C. San Diego
  • 1996-97: Post-doctoral Fellow, The Johns Hopkins University,
  • 1997-99: Post-doctoral Fellow, Washington University in St. Louis

Awards/Honors

  • 2002: NAE Symposium on Frontiers of Engineering, Invited Participant
  • 2000: Faculty Appreciation Certificate from Columbia University BME Senior Class

  • 1996-97: Vice President, The Johns Hopkins Postdoctoral Society
  • 1996-98: NIH postdoctoral training grant (Johns Hopkins University)
  • 1991-95: NIH predoctoral training grant (U.C., San Diego)
  • 1991: T.A. Excellence Scholarship (U.C., San Diego)

Work Experience

Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, 1999-Present

Active Grant Support

  • 7/02-6/05: Co-PI (JW Holmes, PI), Parameterization of Cardiac Wall Motion: Reuniting Engineering and Cardiology, NSF Research Grant ($287,614 tdc)

  • 7/02-6/05: Co-I (CT Hung, PI) Novel Determination of Chondrocyte Material Properties, NIH R21 ($225,000 tdc)

  • 9/01-8/04: PI, Guiding Cardiac Tissue Architecture by in vitro Mechanical Stimulation, Whitaker Foundation Biomedical Engineering Research Grant ($233,024 tdc)

Research Summary

In the Cardiac Cell Mechanics Laboratory we study constitutive modeling, cell and tissue adaptation to mechanical loading, and development of myocardial tissue architecture. Equipment includes cell and tissue culture facilities, cell stretch and shear devices, a customized atomic force microscope, a digital fluorescence microscope, and Silicone Graphics workstations for computational modeling. The lab is an integral part of the Cardiac Biomechanics Group at Columbia University, which will soon have capabilities to perform experiments from the level of individual cells, to isolated muscle strips, to whole hearts in animals and humans.

selected Recent Publications

  • Costa KD. Imaging and probing cell mechanical properties with the atomic force microscope. Methods Mol Biol, 319:331-361, 2006.
  • Costa KD, Sim, AJ, Yin FCP. Non-Hertzian approach to analyzing mechanical properties of endothelial cells probed by atomic force microscopy. J Biomech Eng, 128:176-184, 2006.
  • Costa KD, Hucker WJ, Yin FCP. Stress fibers buckle in rapidly shortened cells: A wrinkle in the cytoskeletal tapestry. Cell Motil Cytoskel, 52:266-274, 2002.
  • Takayama Y, Costa KD, Covell JW. Contribution of the laminar fiber architecture to load dependent changes in the mechanics of the ventricular myocardium. Am J Physiol, 282:H1510-H1520, 2002.
  • Costa KD, Holmes JW, McCulloch AD. Modeling cardiac mechanical properties in three dimensions. Phil Trans Royal Soc Lond A, 359:1233-1250, 2001.
  • Guccione JM, Moonly SM, Moustakidis P, Costa KD, Moulton MJ, Ratcliffe MB, Pasque MK. Mechanism underlying mechanical dysfunction in the border zone of left ventricular aneurysm: a finite element model study. Ann Thorac Surg, 71:654-662, 2001.
  • Costa KD, Yin FCP. Analysis of indentation: implications for measuring mechanical properties with atomic force microscopy. ASME J Biomech Eng, 121:462-471, 1999.

Teaching

  • BMEN E4340: Biomechanics of Cells - Spring 2003

  • BMEN E3001: Quantitative Physiology 1: Cells and Molecules - Fall 2002

  • BMEN E3310: Solid Biomechanics - Spring 2000, Spring 2001


  • BMEN E3840: Biomedical Engineering Lab IV - Spring 2000, Spring 2001


  • BMEN E3830: Biomedical Engineering Lab III - Fall 2000


  • BMEN E4340: Biomechanics of Cells - Spring 2001