Kevin Costa, PhD
- ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR | Medicine, Cardiology
Research Topics:
Biomechanics/Bioengineering, Cardiovascular, Cellular Differentiation, Computer Simulation, Cytoskeleton, Mathematical Modeling of Biomedical Systems, Muscle Cells, Regeneration, Stem Cells, Tissue Engineering, Wound HealingKevin D. Costa earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Boston University in 1988 and 1990, respectively, and the Ph.D. in Bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego in 1996. Following postdoctoral fellowships at Johns Hopkins University and Washington University, Dr. Costa joined the faculty at Columbia University from 1999 to 2008, where he was Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Director of the Cardiac Biomechanics Laboratory. In 2009, Dr. Costa was recruited to the Cardiovascular Research Center at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where he is Associate Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) and Director of Cardiovascular Cell and Tissue Engineering.
Research in the Costa Laboratory is focused on understanding how biomechanical factors impact cardiovascular cell and tissue function in healthy and diseased states. Sophisticated computational modeling is combined with state-of-the-art experimental methods to attack this challenging multi-scale problem. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is used to probe the micro-scale viscoelastic mechanobiological response of living cells and tissue samples. Novel engineered tissues and organoids are created for investigating mechanisms of cardiovascular remodeling, injury, repair, and regeneration. These living model systems allow unprecedented control of tissue composition, structure, and geometry combined with advantages of long-term viability and high-throughput therapeutic screening capability. An emphasis on human-derived cell sources helps to ensure clinically translatable outcomes from modulating patient-specific cardiovascular niche environments, ultimately helping to transform the fields of tissue engineering, cardiology, and personalized regenerative medicine.
Dr. Costa has received research funding from the Whitaker Foundation, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH; NHLBI, NIBIB, and NIGMS). He was a recipient of the prestigious Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award from the NSF, and has served on the Editorial Boards for Biophysical Journal and the new journal Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering.
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Multi-Disciplinary Training Areas
Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies in Medicine [AIET], Development Regeneration and Stem Cells [DRS], Disease Mechanisms and Therapeutics (DMT)Education
MS, Boston University
PhD, University of California, San Diego
Tissue Engineering And Cardiac Repair
This research involves development of innovative new tools and approaches combining soft lithography, cell patterning, and bioreactor design for tissue and organoid engineering, with the overall objective of improving the understanding and efficacy of novel cell- and gene-therapy based approaches for cardiac repair.
Atomic Force Microscopy And Cell Mechanobiology
This research is focused on enhancing and expanding the kinds of measurements that can be obtained from AFM mechanical testing experiments, to better understand how physical forces impact cardiovascular cell function.
Physicians and scientists on the faculty of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai often interact with pharmaceutical, device and biotechnology companies to improve patient care, develop new therapies and achieve scientific breakthroughs. In order to promote an ethical and transparent environment for conducting research, providing clinical care and teaching, Mount Sinai requires that salaried faculty inform the School of their relationships with such companies.
Below are financial relationships with industry reported by Dr. Costa during 2022 and/or 2023. Please note that this information may differ from information posted on corporate sites due to timing or classification differences.
Company Founder:
- NovoHeart, LTD
Equity (Stock or stock options valued at greater than 5% ownership of a publicly traded company or equity of any value in a privately held company)
- Medera Biopharmaceutical
Other Activities: Examples include, but are not limited to, committee participation, data safety monitoring board (DSMB) membership.
- Novoheart US Corp
Royalty Payments:
- Novoheart, Ltd.
Service on Board of Directors: Service in a fiduciary capacity, such as an officer or director, for the following companies:
- NovoHeart, LTD
Mount Sinai's faculty policies relating to faculty collaboration with industry are posted on our website. Patients may wish to ask their physician about the activities they perform for companies.