Profile

Education

• Ph.D. Texas A&M University, 2006
• B.S., Texas A&M University, 2001

Background

Dr. Dixon began at Georgia Tech in August 2009 as an Assistant Professor. Prior to his current appointment, he was a staff scientist at Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology - Lausanne) doing research on tissue-engineered models of the lymphatic system. Dr. Dixon received his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering while working in the Optical Biosensing Laboratory, where he developed an imaging system for measuring lymphatic flow and estimating wall shear stress in contracting lymphatic vessels.

Research Areas and Descriptors

• Bioengineering: Lymphatics, lipid metabolism, biomechanics, biomedical optics, image processing, and tissue engineering

Research

Dr. Dixon's research focuses on elucidating and quantifying the molecular aspects that control lymphatic function. Through the use of tissue-engineered model systems and animal models, our research is shedding light on the active roles of the lymphatic system in lipid metabolism and transport. There are currently no efficacious cures for people suffering from lymphedema, and the molecular mechanisms connecting lymphedema severity with obesity and lipid accumulation are unknown. Knowledge of these mechanisms will provide insight for planning treatment and prevention strategies for people facing lipid-lymphatic related diseases.

Intrinsic to the lymphatic system are the varying mechanical forces (i.e., stretch, fluid shear stress) that the vessels encounter as they seek to maintain interstitial fluid balance and promote crucial transport functions, such as lipid transport and immune cell trafficking. Thus, we are also interested in understanding the nature of these forces in both healthy and disease states, such as lymphedema, in order to probe the biological response of the lymphatic system to mechanical forces. The complexity of these questions requires the development of new tools and technologies in tissue engineering and imaging.

In the context of exploring lymphatic physiology, students in Dr. Dixon's laboratory learn to weave together techniques in cell biology, molecular biology, imaging, computer programming, and image and signal processing. The students receive hands-on engineering experience as they design, build, and test new devices. They also have the opportunity to work in an interdisciplinary environment as we collaborate with clinicians, life scientists, and other engineers, which will help prepare the student for a career in academia and basic science research, or a career in industry.

3D reconstructions of images taken on a confocal microscope: Top - tissue engineered model of a lacteal developed and characterized by Dr. Dixon; Middle - mouse lacteal from the small intestine showing a lymphatic vessel (green) and blood vessels (red);   Bottom - Caco2 cells stained with phalloidin (red) showing the intracellular pooling of fluorescently labeled fatty acid (green) before its secretion and uptake by lymphatic endothelial cells.