Jose Colmenarez ’26 Ph.D. and his co-authors, including professor Linxia Gu and assistant professor Pengfei Dong, have been recognized by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) for their research paper, “Evaluating the Influence of Morphological Features on the Vulnerability of Lipid-Rich Plaques During Stenting,” published in the ASME Journal of Biomechanical Engineering.
The paper was named an Editors’ Choice selection and was one of 18 papers nominated for the 2026 Richard Skalak Award.
“I’m incredibly honored to have this work recognized, and it means a great deal to see the research that I’ve worked so hard on alongside my faculty mentors and collaborators receive this distinction,” Colmenarez said.
The research looks at how lipid deposits in arteries respond when a stent is placed, and which characteristics of those deposits raise the risk that the plaque will rupture during the procedure, a complication that can cause serious problems even after an otherwise successful stent placement.
Heart disease and arterial lipid buildup remain among the leading causes of illness and death worldwide, and stents are a standard treatment. But complications can still arise without careful planning ahead of the procedure.
Using a three-dimensional model built from a real patient’s artery imaging, along with a broader analysis of thousands of simulated plaque geometries, Colmenarez and his team found that the extent of arterial narrowing and the angular spread of a plaque’s lipid core were stronger predictors of rupture risk during stenting than fibrous cap thickness, long considered the field’s primary indicator.
“I’m especially proud of the outcomes of this research because they not only help us understand how lipid deposits can contribute to complications during stent deployment but also highlight the potential of computational biomechanics to address important cardiovascular problems,” Colmenarez said.
The findings suggest that predicting stenting complications may require weighing a wider set of plaque characteristics rather than relying on a single measurement.
“I hope to build on these findings to further advance the field and our understanding of vulnerable plaques, ultimately contributing to safer, more effective cardiovascular care and better patient outcomes,” Colmenarez said.
