Andrew E. Ekpenyong, MS, PhD

Department

• Physics

Position

• Associate Professor

• Biological Physics
• General Physics for Life Sciences
• Medical Physics (Dosimetry and Radiation Protection)
• Medical Physics (Radiation Therapy Physics)
• Nuclear Instruments and Methods
• Quantum Physics

Fr Andrew Ekpenyong joined the Physics Department as a faculty member in 2014. He teaches Quantum Mechanics, General Physics, Nuclear Instruments and Methods, Biological Physics and  Medical Physics courses such as Dosimetry. Fr Andrew also coordinates the undergraduate teaching laboratories. His research is at the interface of physics and biomedicine with a translational focus. For instance, he has developed microfluidic mimetics enabling in vitro modelling of the human pulmonary microcirculation with potential impact on the clinical management of lung diseases and inflammatory disorders. He established and runs the Translational Biomedical Physics Research Group (TBP) (see https://physicsweb.creighton.edu/content/translational-biomedical-physics-research-group).  A Creighton alumnus, Fr Andrew earned his PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK, and did postdoctoral work at Technische Universität, Dresden, Germany.

Books

• , 3, 777

Articles

• , 125, 143-159
• , 12, 199-202> 4 p following 202
• , 1853:11, 3105-3116
• , 12:3, 199-202
• , 4:6
• , 106:2, 42a
• , 6:5, 393-397
• , 224:4, 819-839
• , 7, e45237
• , 4, 280-284
• , 51:33, 7934-7944
• , 77620G-77620G-6
• , 48, 6344-6354
• , 2, 521-527
• , 7367, 1J-7
• , Paper 37, 192-196

Publications

Presentations

Research and Scholarship Interests

• Almost all the vital signs are biophysical properties: blood pressure, pulse rate, body temperature, etc. With collaborators from the Departments of Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics, the School of Medicine, Creighton University, as well as international collaborators in the UK and Germany, I develop and use novel biophysical tools to discover new biomarkers that provide diagnostic information and new therapeutic options. I address the physician’s wish list in order to improve disease diagnosis, patient monitoring, drug development and testing, etc. While these efforts seek to improve biomedicine using principles and tools of physics, I also aim at advancing the physics of complex systems such as living matter. In particular, I seek to understand how biological cells function as mechanical units, with material properties.

Current Research Projects

• 1. The Physics of Cancer: role of cell mechanics in metastasis. 2. Impact of radiotherapy on cell mechanical properties. 3. Cellular response to gravity and microgravity. 4. Impact of chemotherapy on cell mechanical properties. 5. In vitro modelling of microcirculation for clinical studies involving COPD, sepsis, ARDS, ALI and Sickle Cell Anaemia.