ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research

Group Members

Dr. Franca Schmid

SNF Ambizione Fellow

University of Bern, ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research, Cardiovascular Engineering

Phone
+41 31 684 14 38
E-Mail
franca.schmid@unibe.ch
Postal Address
ARTORG Center for Biomedical Engineering Research
Freiburgstrasse 3
3010 Bern
Switzerland
private website
franca-schmid.com

Education and Academic Career

Curriculum Vitae

07/2022 - present: Sub-group leader | SNF Ambizione Fellow at the ARTORG Center

03/2023 - 06/2023: Visiting Researcher, Laboratory of Structural Plasticity, ICM Brain and Spine Institute, Paris, France

11/2021 – 06/2022: Maternity leave

09/2020 - 03/2022: Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute of Fluid Dynamics, ETH Zurich

10/2019 - 11/2019: Visiting Researcher, Institute for Modeling Hydraulic and Environmental Systems, University of Stuttgart, Germany

09/2017 - 08/2020: Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich

11/2021 - 06/2017: PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Fluid Dynamics, ETH Zurich (Thesis: Cerebral blood flow modeling with discrete tracking of red blood cells - analyzing microvascular networks and their perfusion.)

10/2006 - 07/2012: Mechanical Engineering Diploma, University of Stuttgart, Germany

Approved research projects

  • 07/2022-06/2026 - SNF Ambizione Fellow - University of Bern - Title: Energy supply in whole brain microvascular networks in health and disease - quantifying the relevance of small-scale disturbances.

  • 08/2019-08/2020 - Forschungskredit Postdoc - University of Zurich - Title: In-depth characterization of the brain microvasculature focusing on layer-specificity in topology, perfusion and nutrient supply.

  • 10/2019-11/2018 - GRC Travel Grant (Graduate Campus) - University of Stuttgart - Title: Oxygen discharge from one-dimensional red blood cells to tissue.

 

On-going projects

  • Whole-brain blood flow modeling
  • Pathological microvascular alterations
  • Oxygen transport (PhD student: Gaia Stievano)
  • Perfusion during stroke and treatment (PhD student: Chryso Lambride)

Research interests

  • Cerebral blood flow
  • Vascular networks
  • Hemodynamics
  • Biological flows and transport
  • Numerical modeling
  • Biomedical imaging

Publications

1) The role of leptomeningeal collaterals in redistributing blood flow during stroke. R Epp, C Glück, NF Binder, M El Amki, B Weber, S Wegener, P Jenny and F Schmid. PLoS Computational Biology. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011496

2) Fast convergence strategy for ambiguous inverse problems based on hierarchical regularization. R Epp, F Schmid and P Jenny. 2023. Journal of Computational Physics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcp.2023.112264

3) Pericyte remodeling is deficient in the aged brain and contributes to impaired capillary flow and structure. AA Berthiaume, F Schmid, S Stamenkovic, V Coelho-Santos, CD Nielson, B Weber, MW Majesky and AY Shih. Nature Communications. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-33464-w

4) A FACED lift for cerebral blood flow imaging (Commentary). B Weber and F Schmid. PNAS. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2207474119

5) Hierarchical regularization of solution ambiguity in underdetermined inverse and optimization problems. R Epp, F Schmid and P Jenny. 2022. Journal of Computational Physics: X. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcpx.2022.100105.

6) The severity of microstrokes depends on local vascular topology and baseline perfusion. F Schmid, G Conti, P Jenny and B Weber. 2021. eLife. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.60208

7) Simulation of intravoxel incoherent perfusion signal using a realistic capillary network of a mouse brain. VP Van, F Schmid, G Spinner, S Kozerke and C Federau. 2021. NMR in Biomedicine. https://doi.org/10.1002/nbm.4528

8) Predicting vessel diameter changes to up-regulate biphasic blood flow during activation in realistic microvascular networks. R Epp, F Schmid, B Weber and P Jenny. 2020. Frontiers in Physiology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2020.566303

9) Red blood cells stabilize flow in brain microvascular networks. F Schmid, MJP Barrett, D Obrist, B Weber and P Jenny. 2019. PLoS Computational Biology. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007231

10) Vascular density and distribution in neocortex. F Schmid, MJP Barrett, P Jenny and B Weber. 2019. Neuroimage. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.06.046

11) Depth-dependent flow and pressure characteristics in cortical microvascular networks. F Schmid, PS Tsai, D Kleinfeld, P Jenny and B Weber. 2017. PLOS Computational Biology. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1005392

12) The impact of capillary dilation on the distribution of red blood cells in artificial networks. F Schmid, J Reichold, B Weber and P Jenny. 2015. American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00335.2014