26.08.2026 | People | Biomechanics

PhD Defense: Chryso Lambride Provides Mechanistic Insight into Cerebral Blood Flow Regulation

On August 26, 2026, Chryso Lambride successfully defended her PhD thesis: “In Silico Modelling of Perfusion Dynamics in Health and Ischaemic Stroke – The Interplay Between Vascular Topology and Vasodynamics.”

In this thesis, Chryso presented a computational framework to investigate how vascular topology and cerebral autoregulation jointly shape cerebral hemodynamics under physiological and pathological conditions.

Chryso Lambride at her PhD defense in Zurich. © Chryso Lambride

Cerebral blood flow is tightly regulated through the complex interplay between vascular topology and vessel-specific regulatory mechanisms, to ensure adequate oxygen and nutrient delivery to the brain despite continuous changes in physiological demand and systemic blood pressure. Ischaemic stroke is one of several cerebrovascular disorders in which disruption of this regulation has been implicated, and alterations in vascular structure and function critically influence post-stroke outcome.

Her simulations demonstrated that vascular architecture is itself a functional determinant of cerebral haemodynamics and revealed how cerebral autoregulation emerges from coordinated responses across the vascular network.

Workflow for reconstructing semi-realistic whole-brain vasculature derived from arterial datasets. A) Distribution of descending arterial (DA) trees and their surface root nodes. B) Computation of local DA density across the cortical surface. C–D) Sampling of ascending vein (AV) root locations and insertion of realistic AV trees. E) Construction of an artificial honeycomb-like capillary network. F) Reconstructed cortical microvascular network integrating the artificial capillary bed with surface arteries (SAs), DAs, and AVs. © Chryso Lambride, 2026

During post-stroke reperfusion, alterations in vasoreactivity emerged as a major contributor to pathological hyperperfusion, identifying preservation of myogenic responsiveness as a potential therapeutic strategy for mitigating reperfusion-related injury. This thesis presents a framework that provides new mechanistic insights into cerebral blood flow regulation and establishes the foundation for future whole-brain haemodynamic studies.

Using realistic cortical microvascular networks derived from mouse cerebral vasculature, Chryso investigated the influence of key anatomical features such as descending arterial (DA) density and leptomeningeal collateral (LMC) extent, and developed a novel vessel-resolved model of static cerebral autoregulation incorporating myogenic and endothelial mechanisms to quantify cerebrovascular responses during healthy autoregulation, chronic autoregulatory dysfunction, and ischaemic-reperfusion with altered vascular reactivity.

Congratulations to Dr. Chryso Lambride on this incredible achievement and developing a foundational framework for future whole-brain haemodynamic studies!

Her PhD was hosted at the University of Zurich, and she was co-supervised by Prof. Dr. Susanne Wegener from the University Hospital Zurich and PD Dr. Franca Schmid at ARTORG’s Cardiovascular Engineering Group.

Publications:

Mironova, Galina; Baudel, Miguel; Lambride, Chryso; Kharche, Sanjay; Steven, David; Lau, Jonathan; MacDougall, Keith; Boulton, Melfort; Schmid, Franca; Navedo, Manuel; Welsh, Donald (2026). Blood Pressure Regulates Functional Coupling of L-Type Ca2+ Channels: Reimaging the Foundation of Cerebral Blood Flow Control. Submitted. bioRxiv 10.64898/2026.03.02.708544

Lambride, Chryso; El Amki, Mohamad; Wegener, Susanne; Schmid, Franca (2026). Loss of Cerebral Autoregulation After Stroke Drives Abnormal Perfusion Patterns. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 123(40): e2534566123. PNAS 10.1073/pnas.2534566123

Binder, Nadine Felizitas; El Amki, Mohamad; Glück, Chaim; Middleham, William; Reuss, Anna Maria; Bertolo, Adrien; Thurner, Patrick; Deffieux, Thomas; Lambride, Chryso; Epp, Robert; Handelsmann, Hannah-Lea; Baumgartner, Philipp; Orset, Cyrille; Bethge, Philipp; Kulcsar, Zsolt; Aguzzi, Adriano; Tanter, Mickael; Schmid, Franca, Vivien, Denis; Wyss, Matthias Tasso, Luft, Andreas; Weller, Michael; Weber, Bruno; Wegener, Susanne (2024). Leptomeningeal collaterals regulate reperfusion in ischemic stroke and rescue the brain from futile recanalization. Neuron 112(9): 1456-1472. Elsevier 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.01.031