Dr. Lucas Timmins has one major mission: to improve patient care. As part of reaching that goal, Timmins sees his research equipping clinicians with tools to tailor treatments to individual patient anatomies. Timmins is also training the next generation of change-makers in medical care.
As a new associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M, Timmins provides a look into his research, aspirations, and why Texas A&M is the place he wants to be.
Q: What is your lab’s research focus?
A: We broadly apply engineering mechanics to study cardiovascular disease. We evaluate both the fluid and solid mechanical environments in the body and explore various forms of cardiovascular disease. For example, we can model how blood moves through the vessels in the heart by taking medical imaging data to build what we refer to as patient-specific models — computational models unique to a given patient's anatomy. We know exactly what their blood vessels look like, which differs from patient to patient, so we can develop these patient-specific models and understand how blood moves through their heart and how changes in vessel stiffness may impact their mechanical performance. We use these approaches as diagnostic tools to potentially identify individuals at risk for cardiovascular disease or understand how existing disease may progress, as well as how these models can optimize the treatment for heart disease, such as vascular stenting or bypass grafting.
Q: Why did you choose to work at Texas A&M?
A: I have three main reasons. First is A&M's commitment to research excellence. The support for faculty and student success is unmatched, particularly at the College of Engineering. A&M provides faculty and students with the resources to promote research success and impact. The second is the strength of the Department of Biomedical Engineering in terms of research impact the quality of the education, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. This department's research and academic rigor are exceptional, and the directed focus on educating students to be problem-solvers and impact society is impressive. Being a part of a program with such high expectations for its students is exciting. Third, and most importantly, is the quality of the students at Texas A&M. Aggies are incredibly driven, intelligent, innovative, and resilient individuals, and it's wonderful to be part of an environment where students take ownership of their education and research while striving to do good.
Q: What brought you to the Texas Medical Center in Houston for your research?
A: Our research is tightly integrated into clinical medicine. Nearly all of the data in our lab is human-based, whether it's medical imaging data or tissue samples. We rely heavily on medical collaborations and engagement with clinicians and clinical-scientists. There's no better place in the world for our research to be located than in the Texas Medical Center - Period.
Q: How do you work with local hospitals and institutes in Houston to advance your research?
A: There are already established relationships between Texas A&M engineering and academic entities at the medical center. A&M has a history of research excellence in the TMC with the Institute for Biosciences and Biotechnology (IBT), so it’s wonderful to join and work alongside IBT faculty, students, and staff to advance health care. On the clinical side, Houston Methodist Houston is one of the most prominent collaborators, and that is largely driven by the partnership with Texas A&M School of Engineering Medicine. The Department of Biomedical Engineering also has partnerships with the Texas Heart Institute and MD Anderson Cancer Center, so it's leveraging and expanding these developed partnerships. Specific to our cardiovascular research is that Houston Methodist has a rich history in cardiovascular disease, largely driven by Michael DeBakey’s leadership for decades. Partnering with entities with well-established medical programs is central, as is identifying clinicians who recognize the importance of engineering and innovation in addressing problems in medicine. Fortunately, there is a significant demand for engineers and engineering research in the TMC, and I am eager for my research group to contribute and help meet that need.
Q: How do you see your research impacting patient care in the Texas Medical Center and beyond?
A: One is the research tools we build when they are used in the clinic. When the clinicians that we collaborate with come back to us and try to understand how our research can be better used to manage the patient they're treating. For me, success would be even if that happened one time, but it's to a point where our research is now going back to the clinic. The second is recognizing that my broadest impact is going to be the training of students. Many of them may go to work in the medical center as medical doctors or in the engineering technology community, so I see them promoting patient management with their engineering education as a way I'm impacting the medical center.
Q: What are some upcoming projects that you're excited about?
A: First, we are just beginning projects directed at understanding the role of biomechanics in diseases of the aorta. The aorta is the largest blood vessel in your body. It originates from your heart, and blood moves through it at about five liters per minute. There are medical conditions where the aorta can physically tear open, called aortic dissection, and it's largely a fatal event if not treated immediately. Clinicians see types of dissections where they don't know how they will progress over time. Some patients can be relatively stable, and return often for repeat imaging, whereas others can have a major medical event without notice. We are trying to develop computational approaches that can aid clinicians in identifying if patients may be more or less stable. We do this through modeling and medical imaging. It's a tremendous unmet clinical need that we're excited to explore with colleagues at Houston Methodist.
Another area is peripheral vascular disease, where a common course of treatment is amputation, which tremendously impacts their quality of life. Many of the treatments for peripheral disease were designed to work in the heart, and the heart and legs are very different. Working with a vascular surgeon, Dr. Trisha Roy, we are trying to explore the mechanical environment in the setting of peripheral disease. We're trying to characterize the type of disease since it differs from those in other areas of the vascular system, why some treatments work, and others don't and think of how we can optimize treatment based on the patient's presentation.
Q: What are some long-term goals for your lab in research and collaboration?
A: From the research perspective, our long-term goal is to reach a point where the technologies and tools we develop in the lab are at a point of maturity where they can be translated into the clinic and impact patient care. As an educator and mentor, I strive to create an exciting, intellectual-stimulating, diverse, and fun academic environment for my students. Be it undergraduate students, graduate students, postdocs, or staff, it's creating and fostering an environment where everyone can thrive and contribute to both individual and collective successes.