The long-term goal of Dr. Schmid-Schoenbein's research is to examine how blood flow works in skeletal muscle and how muscle cells are supplied by nutrients. Recent research has shown that many aspects of this problem depend not only on the blood vessels but also on the operation of the lymphatics. In this research application, he proposes to focus specifically on the lymphatics.
While it is already known that lymphatics transport fluid away from the skeletal muscle, we do not know with any degree of certainty how lymphatics achieve that. In fact, the mechanisms of lymphatic transport in any organ are not understood. Therefore he is not able to influence lymphatic transport in a controlled fashion. The proposed research program is focused on the hypothesis that lymphatics require two valve systems. One of these valve systems is well known, but the other valve system which is equally important, remains largely unknown. This second valve system is located at the junctions between lymphatic endothelial cells. His research program will lead to a detailed description of this lymphatic endothelial valve system and will provide a bioengineering analysis how it works. Besides the fact that this is a fundamental problem in biology and physiology, this research has several applications: It will lead to the design of improved instruments to assist individuals with lymphatic vessels in the future for tissue engineering applications. It may suggest, by imitation of the way nature has solved this problem, the invention of a new class of valve mechanism, which can be applied to industrial, agricultural and environmental fluid drainag
