Guy Genin

Focus

Mechanobiology, biomechanics, quantitative image analysis, interfaces and adhesion

Research

Guy Genin advances understanding of how mechanical forces regulate cell and tissue function, translating these insights into biomedical devices and engineered systems that improve patient health. Central to his approach is the recognition that living cells respond to the entire set of signals they encounter, including the full tensorial character of stress and its history, including its direction, anisotropy, and the architecture of the fibrous matrix that transmits it. His work spans four interconnected areas: (1) integrated experimental and theoretical mechanobiology, studying how cells sense and respond to mechanical forces, including the mechanical feedback loops that drive fibrosis, metastatic cancer, and kidney disease; (2) the mechanics of biological interfaces, especially the tendon-to-bone attachment, whose toughness arises from gradients in mineralized collagen; (3) mechanobiology beyond medicine, including the discovery that hair cells on plant leaves act as mechanical and acoustic sensors, enabling new approaches to agricultural protection and soil remediation; and (4) translational mechanobiology, developing nature-inspired medical devices and therapies such as specialized intravascular catheters and surgical adhesives. Through collaboration across disciplines and with industry, his group combines theoretical and computational modeling, novel experimental tools, and clinical partnerships to move discoveries from basic science into improved patient care.

Biography

Guy Genin advances understanding of how mechanical forces regulate cell and tissue function, translating these insights into biomedical devices and engineered systems that improve patient health. His research combines experimental and computational approaches to understand mechanobiology across scales, from cell-level responses to tissue-level applications. Through these efforts, Genin and his group develop innovative medical technologies, including novel intravascular catheters, improved surgical repair techniques, and therapies for fibrosis and kidney disease.

Genin is the Harold and Kathleen Faught Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, with appointments in Biomedical Engineering and Neurological Surgery at WashU Medicine. He previously served as Distinguished Visiting Professor at Tsinghua University. Genin co-founded and co-directs the NSF Science and Technology Center for Engineering MechanoBiology, a $50 million investment and one of only 14 NSF Science and Technology Centers across all fields of science. He also co-directs CVISE, the NIH-funded Center for CardioVascular Research Innovation in Surgery and Engineering. He serves as Chief Technology Officer for Vascorra, LLC, and has helped launch several other successful biomedical startups.

Genin is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineers (IAMBE, class of 2023), and the National Academy of Inventors. He serves on numerous editorial boards, including as associate editor of Biophysical Journal, and is a past member of the Society of Engineering Science Board of Directors, and past chair of the ASME Bioengineering Division. From 2026 to 2038 he serves on the World Council of Biomechanics. His honors include selection as the 2026 ASME Robert Henry Thurston Lecturer, the ASME Savio L-Y. Woo Medal for Translational Biomechanics (2024), the James B. Eads Award from the Academy of Science of St. Louis (2020), the Changjiang Scholar Award from the Chinese Ministry of Education (2015), and the ASME Richard Skalak Award (2013).

Genin joined Washington University in 1999. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Case Western Reserve University and master's and doctoral degrees in applied mechanics from Harvard, followed by postdoctoral training at Cambridge and Brown.

Centers & Affiliations

• Center for Engineering Mechanobiology
• Center for Innovation in Neuroscience and Technology
• CVISE, the center for Cardiovascular Innovation in Surgery and Engineering
• Division of Neurotechnology
• The Institute of Materials Science & Engineering
• Synthetic biology Manufacturing of Advanced materials Research Center (SMARC)

Video Spotlight