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Academic Staff

Dr Valentina Balbi

PhD, MSc

 
researcher
 

Biography

I joined the School of Maths in January 2021 as a lecturer in Applied Mathematics (Galway University Foundation). Previously I was a lecturer in the Department of Maths and Stats at the University of Limerick. My background is in Applied Maths, I got my BSc and MSc in Mathematics for Engineering from the Politecnico di Torino. In 2015 I got my PhD in solid mechanics from the D'Alembert Institute at the UPMC-Paris 6. The topic of my thesis was the modelling of morphogenesis in living tissues. 

I am currently looking for a PhD student to work on the project: ``Modelling the non-linear visco-elastic behaviour of soft tissues''. For more info, please visit my website and get in touch!

Research Interests

My research field is in soft tissues mechanics, I am interested in both experimental and theoretical aspects. Due to their complexity, soft tissues are difficult to test. From the experimental viewpoint, I am interested in developing robust and reliable testing protocols suitable for different tissues. Theoretically, I develop new mathematical models to capture the non-linear mechanical behaviour of soft tissues. Continuum mechanics, non-linear elasticity and visco-elasticity are my everyday tools. 

Research Projects

  Project Start Date End Date
Mathematical modelling of soft tissues 01-MAR-17 28-FEB-19

Peer Reviewed Journals

  Year Publication
(2015) 'Morphoelastic control of gastro-intestinal organogenesis: Theoretical predictions and numerical insights'
Balbi, V;Kuhl, E;Ciarletta, P (2015) 'Morphoelastic control of gastro-intestinal organogenesis: Theoretical predictions and numerical insights'. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 78 :493-510 [DOI] [Details]
(2015) 'Helical buckling of thick-walled, pre-stressed, cylindrical tubes under a finite torsion'
Balbi, V;Ciarletta, P (2015) 'Helical buckling of thick-walled, pre-stressed, cylindrical tubes under a finite torsion'. Mathematics And Mechanics Of Solids, 20 :625-642 [DOI] [Details]
(2014) 'Pattern Selection in Growing Tubular Tissues'
Ciarletta, P;Balbi, V;Kuhl, E (2014) 'Pattern Selection in Growing Tubular Tissues'. Physical Review Letters, 113 [DOI] [Details]
(2013) 'Morpho-elasticity of intestinal villi'
Balbi, V;Ciarletta, P (2013) 'Morpho-elasticity of intestinal villi'. Journal Of The Royal Society Interface, 10 [DOI] [Details]

Book Chapters

  Year Publication
(2016) 'Mathematical Modeling of Morphogenesis in Living Materials'
Valentina Balbi, Pasquale Ciarletta (2016) 'Mathematical Modeling of Morphogenesis in Living Materials' In: Mathematical Models and Methods for Living Systems. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. [Details]

Conference Publications

  Year Publication
(2013) 21ème Congrès Français de Mécanique
Valentina Balbi, Pasquale Ciarletta (2013) Morpho-elasticity of intestinal villi 21ème Congrès Français de Mécanique [Details]

Thesis

  Year Publication
(2015) Modeling morphogenesis in living matter.
Valentina Balbi (2015) Modeling morphogenesis in living matter. Thesis [Details]

Honours and Awards

  Year Title Awarding Body
2016 Marie Curie Individual Fellowship European Commission
2016 IRC Postdoctoral Fellowship Irish Research Council
2012 PhD grant Ministère de l'éducation et de la recherche française

Employment

  Employer Position From / To
NUI Galway Marie Curie research fellow 01-MAR-17 /
The University of Manchester Research associate 08-FEB-17 / 15-FEB-17
NUI Galway Research Assistant 12-NOV-15 / 12-JAN-16

Education

  Year Institution Qualification Subject
2015 Université Pierre et Marie Curie DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Modeling morphogenesis in living matter
2012 Politecnico di Torino MASTERS OF SCIENCE Applied Mathematics
2010 Politecnico di Torino BACHELOR OF SCIENCE Applied Mathematics

Languages

  Language
Italian
French
English
German

Community Engagement

  Title Type From / To
Outreach Big Bang Fair 2016 16-MAR-16 / 19-MAR-16

Modules Taught

  Term/Year Module Title Module Code Subject / Desc
Winter 2016/17, University of Manchester Calculus and Vectors B MATH10131

Internal Collaborators

  Name Description of Collaboration
Michel Destrade
Investigating the mechanical properties of soft tissues

External Collaborators

  Name Organisation / Institute Country Description of Collaboration
Aisling Ní Annaidh University College Dublin IRELAND
Mechanical testing of brain
William Parnell University of Manchester UNITED KINGDOM
Developing viscoelastic constitutive models for soft tissues
Tom Shearer University of Manchester UNITED KINGDOM
Developing viscoelastic constitutive models for soft tissues
Ellen Kuhl Stanford University U.S.A.
Improving stiffness mapping of the brain through numerical simulations
Pasquale Ciarletta MOX, Politecnico di Milano ITALY
Modelling of growth and morphogenetic processes