Professor Paul Watton
BSc, MSc, PhD
School of Computer Science
Professor of Computational & Theoretical Modelling
Head of the Complex Systems Modelling research group
+44 114 222 6076
Full contact details
School of Computer Science
Regent Court (DCS)
211 Portobello
Sheffield
S1 4DP
- Profile
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Paul Watton has a first degree in Pure & Applied Mathematics from the University of Newcastle, an MSc in Mathematical Logic and the Foundations of Computer Science from the University of Manchester, and a PHD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Leeds. Following his PhD he had postdoctoral positions at the University of Glasgow (2003-2006) and the University of Oxford (2006-2013).
The main focus of his research is developing theoretical/computational models for the biomechanics and mechanobiology of soft biological tissues with application to homeostasis, ageing and disease.
Paul was appointed as Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science in 2013, promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2017 and Professor of Computational and Theoretical Modelling in 2024. He also holds an adjunct professorship with the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Pittsburgh.
- Research interests
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Mathematical and computational biomechanics and mechanobiology; constitutive modelling of soft biological tissues; theoretical and computational analyses of growth and remodeling; cardiovascular mechanics; arterial mechanics; biofluid mechanics; continuum mechanics; vascular mechanobiology; aneurysms; bladder biomechanics and mechanobiology.
- Publications
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Journal articles
- A constrained mixture-micturition-growth (CMMG) model of the urinary bladder: Application to partial bladder outlet obstruction (BOO). Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials, 134.
- Modeling intracranial aneurysm stability and growth: an integrative mechanobiological framework for clinical cases. Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology, 19(6), 2413-2431.
- Shear stress rosettes capture the complex flow physics in diseased arteries. Journal of Biomechanics, 104. View this article in WRRO
- The unexplained success of stentplasty vasospasm treatment. Clinical Neuroradiology, 29(4), 763-774.
- Optimization Schemes for Endovascular Repair with Parallel Technique based on Hemodynamic Analyses. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Biomedical Engineering. View this article in WRRO
- Correction to: The unexplained success of stentplasty vasospasm treatment. Clinical Neuroradiology, 29(4), 775-775.
- A biomechanical model for fibril recruitment: Evaluation in tendons and arteries. Journal of Biomechanics. View this article in WRRO
- Layer-dependent role of collagen recruitment during loading of the rat bladder wall. Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology, 17(2), 403-417. View this article in WRRO
- Quantitative multiphoton microscopy of murine urinary bladder morphology during in situ uniaxial loading. Acta Biomaterialia. View this article in WRRO
- Hemodynamic parameters that may predict false-lumen growth in type-B aortic dissection after endovascular repair: A preliminary study on long-term multiple follow-ups. Medical Engineering & Physics. View this article in WRRO
- Growth Description for Vessel Wall Adaptation: A Thick-Walled Mixture Model of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Evolution. Materials, 10(9). View this article in WRRO
- A novel chemo–mechano–biological model of arterial tissue growth and remodelling. Journal of Biomechanics, 49(12), 2321-2330. View this article in WRRO
- Transitional flow in aneurysms and the computation of haemodynamic parameters. Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 12(105).
- A Thick-Walled Fluid–Solid-Growth Model of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Evolution: Application to a Patient-Specific Geometry. Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, 137(3).
- Modelling volumetric growth in a thick walled fibre reinforced artery. Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, 73, 134-150. View this article in WRRO
- Modelling the influence of endothelial heterogeneity on the progression of arterial disease: application to abdominal aortic aneurysm evolution.. Int J Numer Method Biomed Eng, 30(5), 563-586.
- Modelling the evolution of cerebral aneurysms: Biomechanics, mechanobiology and multiscale modelling. Procedia IUTAM, 10, 396-409.
- Investigating the influence of haemodynamic stimuli on intracranial aneurysm inception.. Ann Biomed Eng, 41(7), 1492-1504.
- Influence of differing material properties in media and adventitia on arterial adaptation - application to aneurysm formation and rupture. Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering, 16(1), 33-53.
- Effect of bending rigidity in a dynamic model of a polyurethane prosthetic mitral valve.. Biomech Model Mechanobiol, 11(6), 815-827.
- Computational fluid dynamics in aneurysm research: critical reflections, future directions. American journal of neuroradiology, 33, 992-995.
- Multiscale modeling of intracranial aneurysms: Cell signaling, hemodynamics, and remodeling. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, 58(10 PART 2), 2974-2977.
- Modelling evolution and the evolving mechanical environment of saccular cerebral aneurysms.. Biomechanics and modeling in mechanobiology, 10, 109-32.
- Patient-specific modelling of intracranial aneurysm evolution. ASME 2011 Summer Bioengineering Conference, SBC 2011(PARTS A AND B), 691-692.
- Multi-scale interaction of particulate flow and the artery wall. Medical Engineering and Physics, 33(7), 840-848.
- Multi-scale interaction of particulate flow and the artery wall.. Med Eng Phys, 33(7), 840-848.
- Impact of transmural heterogeneities on arterial adaptation. BIOMECHANICS AND MODELING IN MECHANOBIOLOGY, 9(3), 295-315.
- Effects of flow vortex on a chorded mitral valve in the left ventricle. International Journal for Numerical Methods in Biomedical Engineering, 26(3-4), 381-404.
- Rest versus exercise hemodynamics for middle cerebral artery aneurysms: a computational study.. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol, 31(2), 317-323.
- Coupling the haemodynamic environment to the evolution of cerebral aneurysms. Proceedings of the ASME Summer Bioengineering Conference 2009, SBC2009(PART A), 161-162.
- 3D modelling of arterial growth for adaptation to hypertension - the influence of transmural changes in the mechanical environment. PAMM, 9(1), 71-74.
- Risk evaluation and interventional planning for cerebral aneurysms: Computational models for growth, coiling and thrombosis. International Journal of Computational Fluid Dynamics, 23(8), 595-607.
- Modelling evolution of saccular cerebral aneurysms. Journal of Strain Analysis for Engineering Design, 44(5), 375-389.
- Modelling the mechanical response of elastin for arterial tissue.. J Biomech, 42(9), 1320-1325.
- Modelling the growth and stabilization of cerebral aneurysms.. Math Med Biol, 26(2), 133-164.
- Evolving mechanical properties of a model of abdominal aortic aneurysm.. Biomech Model Mechanobiol, 8(1), 25-42.
- Computational modelling for cerebral aneurysms: risk evaluation and interventional planning.. Br J Radiol, 82 Spec No 1, S62-S71.
- Coupling the Hemodynamic Environment to the Evolution of Cerebral Aneurysms : Computational Framework and Numerical Examples. Journal of Biomechanical Engineering, 131, 101003-101003.
- Modelling the interaction of haemodynamics and the artery wall: current status and future prospects.. Biomed Pharmacother, 62(8), 530-535.
- MODELLING THE INFLUENCE OF HAEMODYNAMICS ON THE GROWTH OF CEREBRAL ANEURYSMS. Journal of Biomechanics, 41, S329-S329.
- MODELLING GROWTH AND DAUGHTER BLEB FORMATION OF CEREBRAL ANEURYSMS. Journal of Biomechanics, 41, S298-S298.
- Computational modeling of cerebral aneurysm formation - Framework for modeling the interaction between fluid dynamics, signal transduction pathways and arterial wall mechanics. IFMBE Proceedings, 22, 1894-1898.
- Effect of ventricle motion on the dynamic behaviour of chorded mitral valves. Journal of Fluids and Structures, 24(1), 58-74.
- Computational model can predict aneurysm growth. SPIE Newsroom.
- Dynamic modelling of prosthetic chorded mitral valves using the immersed boundary method.. J Biomech, 40(3), 613-626.
- Effects of ventricle motion on chorded mitral prostheses. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Pressure Vessels and Piping Division (Publication) PVP, 2006.
- Effects of ventricle motion on chorded mitral prosthesis. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Pressure Vessels and Piping Division (Publication) PVP, 9, 531-536.
- Mechanical behaviour of a mathematical model of an abdominal aortic aneurysm subject to a prorogating pulse wave. Proceedings of the 2005 Summer Bioengineering Conference, 2005, 63-64.
- Dynamic behaviour of aortic and chorded mitral prostheses. Proceedings of the 2005 Summer Bioengineering Conference, 2005, 579-580.
- A mathematical model for the growth of the abdominal aortic aneurysm.. Biomech Model Mechanobiol, 3(2), 98-113.
- Modelling chorded prosthetic mitral valves using the Immersed Boundary method. Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology - Proceedings, 26 V, 3745-3748.
- ON THE STRUCTURE OF PROBABILITY FUNCTIONS IN THE NATURAL WORLD. International Journal of Uncertainty, Fuzziness and Knowledge-Based Systems, 08(03), 311-329.
Chapters
- Biological fluid mechanics: Integrative and multiscale computational modeling, Comprehensive Biotechnology (pp. 18-31).
- Mechanobiology of the Arterial Wall, Transport in Biological Media (pp. 275-347). Elsevier
- Mechanobiology of the Arterial Wall In Becker S & Kuznetsov A (Ed.), Transport in Biological Media (pp. 275-347). Elsevier Science Limited
- Intracranial Aneurysms: Modeling Inception and Enlargement In Holzapfel G & Kuhl E (Ed.), Computer Models in Biomechanics: From Nano to Macro (pp. 161-173). Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.
- Intracranial Aneurysms: Modelling Inception and Enlargement In Holzapfel G & Kuhl E (Ed.), Computer Models in Biomechanics (pp. 161-173). Springer
- Multi-scale Modelling of Vascular Disease: Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Evolution In Geris L (Ed.), Computational Modeling in Tissue Engineering Heidelberg: Springer Berlin / Heidelberg.
- Biological Fluid Mechanics: Integrative and Multiscale Computational Modeling, Comprehensive Biotechnology, Second Edition (pp. 203-216).
- Biological Fluid Mechanics, Comprehensive Biotechnology (pp. 203-216). Elsevier
- Modelling Cerebral Aneurysm Evolution, Studies in Mechanobiology, Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials (pp. 373-399). Springer Berlin Heidelberg
- Modelling Cerebral Aneurysm Evolution In McGloughlin T (Ed.), Biomechanics and Mechanobiology of Aneurysms (pp. 307-322). Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.
- On the dynamic behaviour of chorded mitral valves, Computational Mechanics (pp. 311-311). Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Conference proceedings papers
- A mechanobiological model of the urinary bladder: modelling the adaptive response to outlet obstruction. 9th World Congress of Biomechanics Abstract Book
- A CHEMO-MECHANO-BIOLOGICAL MODEL OF EVOLVING OSTEOARTHRITIS. Conference Proceedings 2022 Summer Biomechanics, Bioengineering and Biotransport Conference (pp 352-353), 20 June 2022 - 23 June 2022.
- Framework for Realistic Mechanobiological Modelling of Personalised Aneurysm Disease Evolution. VPH2020 24-28 AUGUST BOOK OF ABSTRACTS VPH Institute Building the Virtual Physiological Human (pp 136-137)
- Modeling the Multi-stage Remodeling during Bladder Outlet Obstruction. Proceedings of the 16th International Symposium on Computer Methods on Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering (CMBBE2019)
- View this article in WRRO Application of Theories of Arterial Growth, Remodelling and Damage to Understand Cerebral Vasospasm and its Response to Treatment. Proceeding of the Fourth Soft Tissue Modelling Workshop (pp 40-40), 5 June 2019 - 7 June 2019.
- View this article in WRRO Modelling intracranial aneurysm stability/enlargement: a patient-specific mechanobiological framework. Proceedings of 6th International Conference of Computational and Mathematical Biomedical Engineering (pp 718-721). Sendai City, Japan, 10 June 2019 - 12 June 2019.
- MODELING ADAPTIVE REMODELING OF THE BLADDER WALL DURING AGING. Proceedings of the 2019 Summer Biomechanics, Bioengineering, and Biotransport Conference June 25 - 28, Seven Springs, PA (pp 415-416)
- View this article in WRRO Intracranial Aneurysms: A Patient-Specific Fluid-Solid-Growth (FSG) Framework with Modelling of Endothelial Response. Proceedings of the Virtual Physiological Human conference (VPH), Zaragoza, Spain, 5-7 September 2018
- View this article in WRRO Soft Tissue Growth and Remodelling Framework: Application in Myocardial Infarction. Proceedings of the Virtual Physiological Human conference (VPH), Zaragoza, Spain, 5-7 September 2018
- View this article in WRRO A Mathematical Model of Cerebral Vasospasm and Comparison between Treatment Strategies. Proceedings of the Virtual Physiological Human conference (VPH), Zaragoza, Spain, 5-7 September 2018
- View this article in WRRO In-Silico Modelling of Oesophageal Tissue for Treatment of Long Gap Oesophageal Atresia. Proceedings of the Virtual Physiological Human conference (VPH), Zaragoza, Spain, 5-7 September 2018
- View this article in WRRO A data driven micro-structural model for the bladder wall in health and disease. Proceedings of the World Congress of Biomechanics 2018
- View this article in WRRO A biomechanical model for fibril recruitment: evaluation in tendons and arteries. Proceedings of the World Congress of Biomechanics 2018
- View this article in WRRO A CONSTRAINED MIXTURE MODEL OF THE LEFT VENTRICLE AND ITS APPLICATION TO SIMULATING MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Computational & Mathematical Biomedical Engineering (pp 1273-1276), 10 April 2017 - 12 April 2017.
- View this article in WRRO A NOVEL FLUID-SOLID-GROWTH-TRANSPORT (FSGT) FRAMEWORK FOR MODELLING THE EVOLUTION OF INTRACRANIAL ANEURYSM DISEASE. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Computational & Mathematical Biomedical Engineering (pp 1271-1272), 10 April 2017 - 12 April 2017.
- View this article in WRRO MODELLING THE CHEMO-MECHANO-BIOLOGY OF INTRACRANIAL ANEURYSM EVOLUTION: A PATIENT-SPECIFIC FLUID-SOLID-GROWTH SIMULATION. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Computational & Mathematical Biomedical Engineering (pp 251-254), 10 April 2017 - 12 April 2017.
- View this article in WRRO ISOTROPIC VERSUS ANISOTROPIC GROWTH DESCRIPTION FOR ABDOMINAL AORTIC ANEURYSM EVOLUTION. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Computational & Mathematical Biomedical Engineering (pp 127-130)
- View this article in WRRO AN EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH FOR UNDERSTANDING THE LAYER DEPENDENT ROLE OF COLLAGEN RECRUITMENT DURING LOADING IN THE RAT BLADDER WALL. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Computational & Mathematical Biomedical Engineering (pp 396-399), 10 April 2017 - 12 April 2017.
- Regulation of scellular contractility by TGFβ and dynamic stretch in fibroblasts. Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Biomedical Engineering
- Fibril Recruitment in Collagenous Tissue. Proceedings of the 22nd Congress of European Society of Biomechanics
- Developing a mechanobiological model of the murine bladder: in vivo, in vitro and in silico modelling. Proceedings of the 7th European Congress on Computational Methods in Applied Sciences and Engineering
- Modelling the chemo-mechano-biology of arterial growth and remodelling: a 3-dimensional Fluid-Solid-Growth Simulation. Proceedings of the European Congress on Computational Methods in Applied Sciences and Engineering
- skeletal muscle mechanics: modelling the interaction between the microstructure and the environmental mechanical envelope. Proceedings of the 7th European Congress on Computational Methods in Applied Sciences and Engineering
- Modelling the mechanobiological evolution of intracranial aneurysms: an integrative in vivo, in vitro and in silico approach. Proceedings of the 7th European Congress on Computational Methods in Applied Sciences and Engineering
- Vascular cells as dynamic integrators—actuators: A multiscale theoretical framework applied to fibroblast differentiation in aneurysm development. Proceedings of the 11th International Symposium on Biomechanics in Vascular Biology and Cardiovascular Disease
- Multiphoton Imaging and Mechanobiological Modelling of the Urinary Bladder. Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Mechanics of Biomaterials and Tissues
- A Chemo-Mechano-Biological Model of Arterial Tissue Growth and Remodeling: Signaling Pathways governing Myofibroblast Persistence underlying Vascular Pathology. Proceedings of Vasculata 2015
- A Chemo-Mechano-Biological Model of Arterial Tissue Growth and Remodeling: Signaling Pathways governing Myofibroblast Persistence underlying Vascular Pathology. Proceedings of the 13th U.S. National Congress on Computational Mechanics
- Investigating the role of cell-signalling on intracranial aneurysm evolution: A novel chemo-mechanobiological mathematical model. Proceedings of the 7th World Congress of Biomechanics
- Fluid-Solid-volumetric Growth Framework of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Evolution. Proceedings of the 7th World Congress of Biomechanics
- Modelling the mechanobiology of cerebral aneurysm evolution. Proceedings of the 7th World Congress of Biomechanics
- A novel mathematical model for the microstructural adaption of collagen fabric during aneurysm evolution. Proceedings of the 7th World Congress of Biomechanics
- A Novel Mathematical Model for the Microstructural Adaption of the Collagen Fabric during Aneurysm Evolution. Proceedings of the XXIV Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics
- A computational model of arterial wall degeneration: Coupling signalling pathways to vascular mechanobiology. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Computational & Mathematical Biomedical Engineering (pp 119-122)
- Volumetric growth and remodelling of a fibre composite. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Computational & Mathematical Biomedical Engineering (pp 123-126)
- A novel chemo-mechano-biological mathematical model of intracranial aneurysm evolution. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Computational & Mathematical Biomedical Engineering (pp 111-114)
- A novel mathematical model for the microstructural adaptation of the collagen fabric during aneurysm evolution. Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Computational & Mathematical Biomedical Engineering (pp 115-118)
- Modelling the Influence of Endothelial Cell Heterogeneity on Abdominal Aneurysm Evolution: a Patient-specific Simulation using a novel Fluid-Solid-Growth (FSG) Framework.. Proceedings of the XXIV Congress of the International Society of Biomechanics
- Patient-Specific Modelling of Cerebral Aneurysm Evolution. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Mathematical and Computational Biomedical Engineering (pp 43-46)
- A computational framework to explore the role of pulsatile haemodynamics on cerebral aneurysm development for patient-specific arterial geometries. Proceedings of the 6th World Congress of Biomechanics (WCB 2010). (pp 759-762)
- A computational framework to explore the role of pulsatile haemodynamics on cerebral aneurysm development for patient-specific arterial geometries. IFMBE Proceedings, Vol. 31 IFMBE (pp 759-762)
- AN INTEGRATIVE APPROACH TO CEREBROVASCULAR DISEASE HEALTHCARE: IT FOR CEREBRAL ANEURYSMS. 2009 IEEE INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON BIOMEDICAL IMAGING: FROM NANO TO MACRO, VOLS 1 AND 2 (pp 378-381)
- Modelling the Growth and Stress in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms. Proceedings of Summer Bioeingeering Conference
- Remodelling and Deformation of the Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm. 4th World Congress of Biomechanics: Proceedings
- Abdominal aortic aneurysms a new mathematical model. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Bioengineering Division (Publication) BED, Vol. 50 (pp 513-514)
- A CHEMO-MECHANO-BIOLOGICAL MODEL OF CARTILAGE IN FEBIO: STUDIES OF PATHOLOGICAL LOADING, HOMEOSTATIC ADAPTATION AND BIO-CHEMICAL TREATMENTS. Proceedings of the Proceedings of the 2023 Summer Biomechanics, Bioengineering and Biotransport Conference (SB3C)
- A Coupled Chemo-Mechano-Biological Model of Cartilage in 3-D Nonlinear Finite Elements using FEBio. Proceedings of 17th U. S. National Congress on Computational Mechanics (USNCCM)
- COUPLED CHEMO-MECHANO-BIOLOGICAL SIMULATIONS OF EVOLVING OSTEOARTHRITIS: THEORY AND 3-D SIMULATIONS. Proceedings of 18th International Symposium on Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering
Preprints
- Modelling Growth, Remodelling and Damage of a Thick-walled Fibre-reinforced Artery with Active Response: Application to Cerebral Vasospasm and Treatment, arXiv.
- Layer dependent role of collagen recruitment during loading of the rat bladder wall, arXiv.
- A chemo-mechano-biological modeling framework for cartilage evolving in health, disease, injury, and treatment.
- Grants
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Current grants
- BOOM: A Digital Twin for Designing Bladder Treatment Informed By Bladder Outlet Obstruction Mechanobiology, NIH, 08/2023 - 08/2028, £408,226, as PI
- Capacity Building and Computing Technologies for Healthcare: An Application in Transforming Mental Health Research and Services in Vietnam, Academy of Medical Sciences, 03/2024 - 03/2025, £45,431. as Co-I.
- Modelling Cartilage Chemo-Mechanobiology with Application to Predicting Osteoarthritis Progression and Treatment, Royal Society, 03.2024 - 03.2026, £12,000, as PI
- The SofTMech Statistical Emulation and Translation Hub, EPSRC, 03/2021 - 02/2025, £207,617, as Co-PI
- SANO: Centre for New Methods in Computational Diagnostics and Personalised Therapy, EC H2020, 08/2019 - 07/2026, £2,497,386, as Co-PI
Previous grants
- EPSRC Centre for Multiscale soft tissue mechanics with application to heart & cancer, EPSRC, 04/2016 to 03/2020, £131,726, as PI
- Development of a novel diagnostic model of urinary dysfunction, Sheffield Hospitals Charitable Trust, 03/2014 to 08/2014, £15,715, as PI
- Integrative In vitro and In silico Modelling of Arterial Mechanobiology for Health and Disease, The British Council, 03/2014 to 08/2016, £30,720, as PI
- Professional activities and memberships
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- Watton PN (with Robertson A) Organiser for Mini-Symposium on Modelling and Simulation of Aneurysms, European Solid Mechanics Conference, Madrid, Spain, July 6-10, 2015.
- Watton PN (with Cebral J & Meng H & Raghavan M & Robertson A & Steinmann D ) Organiser for Mini-Symposium on Intracranial Aneurysms, 7th World Congress of Biomechanics, Boston, USA, July 6-11, 2014.
- Watton PN (with Cebral J & Robertson A) Organiser for Mini-Symposium Aneurysm Modelling: from basic science to clinical translation, 3rd International Conference on Computational & Mathematical Biomedical Engineering, Hong Kong, Dec 16-18, 2013.
- Watton PN (with Robertson A) Organiser for Mini-Symposium on Modelling and Simulation of Aneurysms, European Solid Mechanics Conference, Graz University of Technology, Austria, July 9-13, 2012.