O.E. Jensen: Research Interests

I give a brief introduction to Mathematical Biomechanics in the Princeton Companion to Applied Mathematics.

Application areas include the following:

• Mechanics of soft materials, particularly in tissue growth and development; plasticity
• Plant growth, particularly the biomechanics of cell and tissue expansion; photosynthesis
• The microcirculation: cell adhesion; drop and vesicle mechanics; capillary networks; flow and transport in the placenta
• Pulmonary airway mechanics: airway reopening; surface-tension-driven flows; particle transport
• Flow in collapsible tubes and its stability to self-excited oscillations; flow-structure interaction
• Surfactant-driven flows: spreading of surfactants on viscous fluids; contamination of superhydrophobic surfaces
• Transport in physiological systems including the eye and spatially disordered systems
• Other fluid mechanics applications: in micromechanical systems and in carbon sequestration

• Frontiers * Google Scholar * * Exaly * PURE * PubMed * ResearchGate * ResearcherID * Scopus * zbMATH

• Plant growth: we have developed multiscale models to describe plant cell and tissue expansion, working from the structure of the cell wall up to deformations of whole organs, as well as developing modelling tools for understanding the influence of fluctuating light patterns in photosynthesis. An outline of much of this work is given in an article for SIAM News.
  

  • REVIEWS
    • A field theory for plant tropisms
      Jensen, O.E. (2021) Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 118, e2023962118
    • Theoretical tools and concepts for modelling growing plant tissues
      Jensen, O.E. (2019) Lectures delivered at IUTAM-CISM International Summer School, Udine, Italy In: Soft Matter in Plants: From Biophysics to Biomimetics", ed. Jensen, K.H. & Forterre, Y. (2022)
    • Multiscale models in the biomechanics of plant growth
      Jensen, O.E. & Fozard, J.A. (2015) Physiology 30, 159-166
    • On the role of stress anisotropy in the growth of stems
      Baskin, T.I. & Jensen, O.E. (2013) J. Exp. Bot. 64, 4697-4707
    • Multiscale systems analysis of root growth and development: Modeling beyond the network and cellular scales
      Band, L.R., Fozard, J.A., Godin, C., Jensen, O.E., Pridmore, T., Bennett, M.J. & King, J.R. (2012) The Plant Cell 24, 3892-3906
  • PHOTOSYNTHESIS
  • Three-dimensional plant architecture and sunlit-shaded patterns: a stochastic model of light dynamics in canopies.
    Retkute, R., Townsend, A.J., Murchie, E.H., Jensen, O.E. & Preston, S.P. (2018) Ann. Bot.122, 291-302
  • The 4-dimensional plant: biological implications of mechanical canopy excitation.
    Burgess, A.J., Retkute, R., Preston, S.P., Jensen, O.E., Pound, M.P., Pridmore, T.T. & Murchie, E.H. (2016) Front. Plant Sci.
  • High-resolution 3D structural data quantifies the impact of photoinhibition on long term carbon gain in wheat canopies in the field.
    Burgess, A.J., Retkute, R., Pound, M.P., Foulkes, J., Preston, S.P., Jensen, O.E., Pridmore, T.T. & Murchie, E.H. (2015) Plant Physiol. 169, 1192-1204
  • Exploiting heterogeneous environments: does photosynthetic acclimation optimize carbon gain in fluctuating light?
    Retkute, R., Smith-Unna, S.E., Smith, R., Burgess, A.J., Jensen, O.E., Johnson, G.N., Preston, S.P. & Murchie, E.H. (2015) J. Exp. Bot. 66, 2437-2447 SI
  • GROWTH
  • Root hydrotropism is controlled via a cortex-specific growth mechanism.
    Dietrich, D., Pang, L., Kobayashi, A., Fozard, J.A., Boudolf, V., Bhosale, R., Antoni, R., Nguyen, T., Hiratsuka, S., Fujii, N., Miyazawa, Y., Bae, T.-W., Wells, D.M., Owen, M.R., Band, L., Dyson, R.J., Jensen, O.E., King, J.R., Tracy, S.R., Sturrock, C.J., Mooney, S.J., Roberts, J.A., Bhalerao, R., Dinneny, J.R., Rodriguez, P.L., Nagatani, A., Hosokawa, Y., Baskin, T.I., Pridmore, T.P.,De Veylder, L., Takahashi, H. & Bennett, M.J. (2017) Nature Plants 3:17057 SM
  • Hybrid vertex-midline modelling of elongated plant organs
    Fozard, J.A., Bennett, M.J., King, J.R. & Jensen, O.E. (2016) Interface Focus 6:20160043
  • Mechanical modelling quantifies the functional importance of outer tissues during root elongation and bending
    Dyson, R.J., Vizcay-Barrena, G., Band, L.R., Fernandes, A.N., French, A.P., Fozard, J.A., Hodgman, T.C., Kenobi, K., Pridmore, T., Stout, M., Wells, D.M., Wilson, M., Bennett, M.J. & Jensen, O.E. (2014) New Phytologist 202, 1212-1222 SI
  • Vertex-element models for anisotropic growth of elongated plant organs
    Fozard, J.A., Lucas, M., King, J.R. & Jensen, O.E. (2013) Front. Plant. Sci. 4: 233
  • Buckling as an origin of ordered cuticular patterns in flower petals
    Antoniou Kourounioti, R.L., Band, L.R., Fozard, J.A., Hampstead, A., Lovrics, A., Moyroud, E., Vignolini, S., King, J.R., Jensen, O.E., Glover, B.J. (2013) J. Roy. Soc. Interface 10, 2012.0847
  • A biomechanical model of anther opening reveals the roles of dehydration and secondary thickening
    Nelson, M.R., Band, L.R., Dyson, R.J., Lessinnes, T., Wells, D.M., Yang, C., Everitt, N.M., Jensen, O.E. & Wilson, Z.A. (2012) New Phytologist 196, 1030-1037 SI [Video]
  • Auxin regulates aquaporin function to facilitate lateral root emergence
    Peret, B., Li, G., Zhao, J., Band, L.R., Voss, U., Postaire, O., Luu, D., Casimiro, I., Lucas, M., Wells, D.M., Lazzerini, L., Nacry, P., King, J.R., Jensen, O.E., Schaeffner, A.R., Maurel, C. & Bennett, M.J. (2012) Nature Cell Biol. 14, 991-998 SI
  • A model of crosslink kinetics in the expanding plant cell wall: yield stress and enzyme action
    Dyson, R.J., Band, L. & Jensen, O.E. (2012) J. Theor. Biol. 307, 125-136.
  • Growth-induced hormone dilution can explain the dynamics of plant root cell elongation.
    Band, L.R., Ubeda-Tomas, S., Dyson, R.J., Middleton, A.M., Hodgman, T.C., Owen, M.R., Jensen, O.E., Bennett, M.J. & King, J.R. (2012) Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 109, 7577--7582
  • A fibre-reinforced fluid model of anisotropic plant cell growth
    Dyson, R.J. & Jensen, O.E. (2010) J. Fluid Mech. 655, 472-503

• Soft tissues: multiphase and multiscale models of growing cells and tissues find application in developmental biology, regenerative medicine and cancer.
  • TISSUE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
    • Apical size reduction by macropinocytosis alleviates tissue crowding
      Bresteau, E., Suva, E.E., Revell, C., Hassan, O.A., Grata, A., Sheridan, J., Mitchell, J., Arvantis, C., Korobova, F., Woolner, S., Jensen, O.E., Mitchell, B. (2025) Nature Comm. (to appear)
    • Spectral approaches to stress relaxation in epithelial monolayers.
      Cowley, N., Revell, C.K., Johns, E., Woolner, S. & Jensen, O.E. (2024) Proc. Roy. Soc. A 480, 20240224
    • Couple stresses and discrete potentials in the vertex model of cellular monolayers.
      Jensen, O.E. & Revell, C.K. (2023) Biomech. Model. Mechanobiol. 22, 1465-1486
    • Force networks, torque balance and Airy stress in the planar vertex model of a confluent epithelium.
      Jensen, O.E., Johns, E. & Woolner, S. (2020) Proc. Roy. Soc. A 20190716
      [Errata: on page 19, line 1, dim(im(A^T)) should read dim(im(A)) and dim(im(B^T)) should read dim(im(B)); on page 19, line 6, dim(im(A^T)) should read dim(ker(B)); on page 21, equation (E3), Ψ should read Ψ_i]
    • Decoupling the roles of cell shape and mechanical stress in orienting and cueing epithelial mitosis.
      Nestor-Bergmann, A., Stooke-Vaughan, G.A., Goddard, G.K., Starborg, T., Jensen, O.E. & Woolner, S. (2019) Cell Reports 26 P2088-2100.E4 SI

    • A mechanosensitive RhoA pathway that protects epithelia against acute tensile stress
      Acharya, B.R., Nestor-Bergmann, A., Liang, X., Gupta, S., Budnar, S., Marcq, P., Jensen, O.E., Bryant, Z. & Yap, A.S. (2018) Dev. Cell 47, 1-14
    • Mechanical characterisation of disordered and anisotropic cellular monolayers
      Nestor-Bergmann, A., Johns, E., Woolner, S. & Jensen, O.E. (2018) Phys. Rev. E 97, 052409
    • Relating cell shape and mechanical stress in a spatially disordered epithelium using a vertex-based model
      Nestor-Bergmann, A., Goddard, G., Woolner, S. & Jensen, O.E. (2017) Math. Med. Biol. 35 (suppl_1), i1-i27
    • Buckling of a growing tissue and the emergence of two-dimensional patterns
      Nelson, M.R., King, J.R. & Jensen, O.E. (2013) Math. Biosci. 246, 229-241
    • Early gene regulation of osteogenesis in embryonic stem cells
      Kirkham, G.R., Lovrics, A., Byrne, H.M., Jensen, O.E., King, J.R., Shakesheff, K.M. & Buttery, L.D.K. (2012) Integrative Biology 4, 1470-1477 SI
    • Techniques for analysing pattern formation in populations of stem cells and their progeny
      Fozard, J.A., Kirkham, G.R., Buttery, L.D.K., King, J.R., Jensen, O.E. & Byrne, H.M. (2011) BMC Bioinformatics 12:396
    • Growth-induced buckling of an epithelial layer
      Nelson, M.R., Howard, D., Jensen, O.E., King, J.R., Rose, F.R.A.J. & Waters, S.L. (2011) Biomech. Mod. Mechanobiol. 10, 883-900
    • Growth of the chorioallantoic membrane into a rapid-prototyped model pore system: experiments and mathematical model
      Lemon, G., Howard, D., Yang, H., Ratchev, S.M., Segal, J.I., Rose, F.R.A.J., Jensen, O.E., Waters, S.L. & King, J.R. (2011) Biomech. Mod. Mechanobiol. 10, 539-558
    • Continuum approximations of individual-based models for multicellular systems
      Fozard, J.A., Byrne, H.M., Jensen, O.E. & King, J.R. (2010) Math. Med. Biol. 27, 39-74
    • Multiphase modelling of tissue growth using the theory of mixtures
      Lemon, G., King, J.R., Byrne, H.M., Jensen, O.E., Shakesheff, K. (2006) J. Math. Biol. 52, 571-594
    
    
  • SUBCELLULAR PROCESSES
    • Mitotic spindle organisation and dynamics are fine-tuned by anisotropic tissue stretch via NuMA localisation
      Tarannum, N., Hargreaves, D., Ilieava, D., Goddard, G.K., Jensen O.E.& Woolner, S. (2024)
    • Relaxation and noise-driven oscillations in a model of mitotic spindle dynamics
      Hargreaves, D., Woolner, S. & Jensen O.E. (2024) Bull. Math. Biol. 86, 113
    • Curvature-sensitive kinesin binding can explain microtubule ring formation and reveals chaotic dynamics in a mathematical model
      Pearce, S.P., Heil, M., Jensen, O.E., Jones, G.W. & Prokop, A. (2018) Bull. Math. Biol. 80, 3002-3022.
    
    
  • COLORECTCAL CRYPT
    • A hybrid approach to multiscale modelling of cancer
      Osborne, J.M., Walter, A., Kershaw, S., Mirams, G.R., Fletcher, A.G., Pathmanathan, P., Gavaghan, D., Jensen, O.E., Maini, P.K. & Byrne, H.M. (2010) Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. A 368, 5013-5028 movie1 movie2 movie3
    • An integrative computational model for intestinal tissue renewal
      van Leeuwen, I.M.M., Mirams, G.R., Walter, A., Fletcher, A., Murray, P., Osborne, J., Varma, S., Cooper, J., Doyle, B., Pitt-Francis, J., Momtahan, L., Pathmanathan, P., Whiteley, J.P., Chapman, S.J., Gavaghan, D.J., Jensen, O.E., King, J.R., Maini, P.K., Waters, S.L. & Byrne, H.M. (2009) Cell Prolif. 42, 617-636
    • Elucidating the interactions between the adhesive and transcriptional functions of beta-catenin in normal and cancerous cells
      van Leeuwen, I.M.M., Byrne, H.M., Jensen, O.E. & King, J.R. (2007) J. Theor. Biol. 247, 77-102 SI
    • Crypt dynamics and colorectal cancer: advances in mathematical modelling
      van Leeuwen, I.M.M., Byrne, H.M., Jensen, O.E. & King, J.R. (2006) Cell Prolif. 39, 157-181
    
    
  • POROELASTICITY
    • Multiscale modeling of the acoustic properties of lung parenchyma
      Siklosi, M., Jensen, O.E., Tew, R.H. & Logg, A. (2008) ESAIM: Proceedings 23, 78-97
    • Linear flow and deformation in a poroelastic disc with a free surface
      Sachs, J.R., Glucksberg, M., Jensen, O.E. & Grotberg, J.B. (1994) J. Appl. Mech. 61, 726-728
    • Weakly nonlinear deformation of a thin poroelastic layer with a free surface
      Jensen, O.E., Glucksberg, M., Sachs, J.R. & Grotberg, J.B. (1994) J. Appl. Mech. 61, 729-731
    
    
  • EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX
    • Modeling collagen fibril self-assembly from extracellular medium in embryonic tendon
      Revell, C.K., Herrera, J.A., Lawless, C., Lu, Y., Kadler, K.E., Chang, J. & Jensen, O.E. (2023) Biophys. J. 122, 3219-3237
    • Collagen fibril assembly: new approaches to unanswered questions
      Revell, C.K., Jensen, O.E., Shearer, T., Lu, Y., Holmes, D.F. & Kadler, K.E. (2021) Matrix Biology Plus 12, 100079
    • Circadian control of the secretory pathway maintains collagen homeostasis
      Chang, J., Garva, R., Pickard, A., Yeung, C.-Y. C., Mallikarjun1, V., Swift, J., Holmes, D.F., Calverley, B., Lu, Y., Adamson, A., Raymond-Hayling, H., Jensen, O.E., Shearer, T., Meng, Q.J. & Kadler, K.E. (2020) Nature Cell Biol. 22, 74-86
  
  
  • PLASTICITY
  • Thin-sheet theory for soft materials
    Jensen,O.E. (2021) J. Fluid Mech. 910, F1
  • Ribbon curling via stress relaxation in thin polymer films
    Prior, C., Moussou, J., Chakrabati, B., Jensen, O.E. & Juel A. (2016) Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 113, 1719-1724 movie1 movie2

• The microcirculation: Biomechanical models can be used to examine how receptor-mediated forces attract blood cells (such as neutrophils) to the walls of blood vessels in response to injury or inflammation. Fluid-mechanical effects, cell deformation and binding kinetics together determine the rate at which a cell spreads, peels, rolls or slides over an adhesive surface. Fundamental model problems involving viscous drops and vesicles give valuable insights into biomechanical aspects of cell behaviour. Cell-cell and cell-wall interactions underly unusual flow properties of cell suspensions in capillary networks. These are studied in the context of flow and nutrient transport in the placenta.
  • REVIEWS
    • The complexities of the human placenta
      Clark, A., Chernyavsky, I.L. & Jensen, O.E. (2023) Physics Today 76(4), 26
    • Micro-haemodynamics at the maternal-fetal interface: experimental, theoretical and clinical perspectives
      Doman, E., Zhou, Q., Schirrmann, K., Chen, Q., Seed, E., Johnstone, E.D., Selvaganapathy, P.R., Juel, A., Jensen, O.E., Bernabeu, M., Krüger, T. & Chernyavsky, I.L. (2021) Curr. Opinion Biomed. Eng.
    • Blood flow and transport in the human placenta
      Jensen, O.E. & Chernyavsky, I.L. (2019) Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech. 51, 25-47
    • Theoretical models for coronary vascular biomechanics: progress and challenges
      Waters, S.L., Alastruey, J., Beard, D.A., Bovendeerd, P.H.M., Davies P.F., Jayaraman, G., Jensen, O.E., Lee, J., Parker, K.H., Popel, A.S., Secomb, T.W., Siebes, M., Sherwin, S.J., Shipley, R.J., Smith, N.P., van de Vosse, F.N. (2011) Prog. Biophys. Mol. Biol. 104, 49-76
    • Microhydrodynamics in Biological Systems
      O.E. Jensen (2001) Mec. Ind. 2, 283-287
    
    
  • PLACENTA & CAPILLARY NETWORKS
    • A functional exchange shunt in the umbilical cord: the role of coiling in solute and heat transfer
      Wan, T., Johnstone, E.D. Saw, S.N., Jensen, O.E., Chernyavsky, I.L. (2025)
    • Red blood cell dynamics in extravascular biological tissues modelled as canonical disordered porous media
      Zhou, Q., Schirrmann, K., Doman, E. Chen, Q., Singh, N., Selvaganapathy, P.R., Bernabeu, M.O., Jensen, O.E., Juel, A., Chernyavsky, I.L. & Krüger, T. (2022) J. Roy. Soc. Interface Focus 12, 20220037
    • Quantifying the impact of tissue metabolism on solute transport in feto-placental microvascular networks
      Erlich, A., Nye, G.A., Brownbill, P., Jensen, O.E. & Chernyavsky, I.L. (2019) Interface Focus 9, 20190021
    • Physical and geometric determinants of transport in feto-placental microvascular networks
      Erlich, A., Pearce, P., Plitman-Mayo, R., Jensen, O.E. & Chernyavsky, I.L. (2019) Sci. Adv. 5, eaav6326
    • Human placental oxygenation: its role in fetal health and disease
      Nye, G.A., Ingram, E., Johnstone, E.D., Jensen, O.E., Lewis, R.M., Chernyavsky, I.L. & Brownbill, P. (2018) J. Physiol. 596, 5523-5534
    • Image-based modelling of blood flow and oxygen transfer in feto-placental capillaries
      Pearce, P., Brownbill, P., Janáček, J., Jirkovská, M., Kubínová, L., Chernyavsky, I.L. & Jensen, O.E. (2016) PLOS One 11, e0165369
    • Transport in the placenta: homogenizing haemodynamics in a disordered medium.
      Chernyavsky, I.L., Leach, L., Dryden, I.L. & Jensen, O.E. (2011) Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. A 369, 4162-4182
    • A mathematical model of intervillous blood flow in the human placentone
      Chernyavsky, I.L., Jensen, O.E. & Leach, L. (2010) Placenta 31, 44-52 SI
    • Experimental and theoretical modelling of blind-ended vessels within a developing angiogenic plexus
      Guerreiro-Lucas, L.A., Pop, S.R., Machado, M.J.C., Ma, Y.L., Waters, S.L., Richardson, G., Saetzler, K. Jensen, O.E. & Mitchell, C.A. (2008) Microvasc. Res. 76, 161-168 SI
    • Shock formation and nonlinear dispersion in a microvascular capillary network
      S.R. Pop, G. Richardson, S.L. Waters & O.E. Jensen (2007) Math. Med. Biol. 24, 379-400,
    
    
  • CELL, DROP AND VESICLE MECHANICS
    • History-dependence of microbead adhesion under varying shear rate
      Reboux, S., Richardson, G. & Jensen, O.E. (2010) In Cell mechanics: from single scale-based models to multiscale modelling," ed. A. Chauviere, L. Preziosi & C. Verdier, Taylor & Francis
    • An asymptotic analysis of the buckling of a highly shear-resistant vesicle
      Reboux, S., Richardson, G. & Jensen, O.E. (2009) Eur. J. Appl. Math. 20, 479-518
    • Bond tilting and sliding friction in a model of cell adhesion
      S. Reboux, G. Richardson & O.E. Jensen (2008) Proc. R. Soc. A 464, 447-467
    • Buckling of an axisymmetric vesicle under compression: the effects of resistance to shear
      Preston, S.P., Jensen, O.E. & Richardson, G. (2008) Q. J. Mech. Appl. Math. 61, 1-24
    • Sliding, slipping and rolling: the sedimentation of a viscous drop down a gently inclined plane
      Hodges, S.R., Jensen, O.E. & Rallison, J.M. (2004) J. Fluid Mech. 512, 95-131
    • The motion of a viscous drop through a cylindrical tube
      Hodges, S.R., Jensen, O.E. & Rallison, J.M. (2004) J. Fluid Mech. 501, 279-301
    • Spreading and peeling dynamics in a model of cell adhesion
      Hodges, S.R. & Jensen, O.E. (2002) J. Fluid Mech. 460, 381-409

• Pulmonary airway mechanics: Small, liquid-lined, flexible-walled airways can become blocked with liquid because of a surface-tension-driven instability (leading to airway closure), which may be accompanied by wall buckling and collapse. An occluded, collapsed airway can be subsequently reopened by an advancing bubble of air, which must peel apart wet airway walls. Capillary forces also play an important role in controlling the liquid lining distribution in non-uniform geometries, such as in curved or bifurcating airways, or alveolar corners, which in turn has a significant effect on surfactant and particle transport. Flow-structure interactions are also responsible for snoring (and obstructive sleep apnea) in the upper airways and are implicated in particle transport in mucus-lined airways. Recent work has addressed the role of airway smooth muscle in airway narrowing in asthma.
  • REVIEWS
  • Surfactant and airway liquid flows
    Gaver, D.P. III, Halpern, D. & Jensen, O.E. (2005) In `Lung surfactant and disorder,' Lung Biology in Health and Disease Vol: 201, Chapter 8, Taylor & Francis, Boca Raton (ed. K. Nag.) [Book Cover]
  • Biofluidmechanics of flexible tubes
    J.B. Grotberg & O.E. Jensen (2004) Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech. 36, 121-147
  • VENTILATION
    • Non-local impacts of distal airway constrictions on patterns of inhaled particle deposition
      Shemilt, J.D., Horsley, A., Wild, J.M., Jensen, O.E., Thompson, A.B., Whitfield, C.A. (2024)
    • Model-based Bayesian inference of the ventilation distribution in patients with Cystic Fibrosis from multiple breath washout, with comparison to ventilation MRI
      Whitfield, C.A., Horsley, A., Jensen, O.E., Horn, F.C., Collier, G.J., Smith, L.J. \& Wild, J.M. (2022) Resp. Physiol. Neurobiol. 302, 103919
    • Spectral graph theory efficiently characterises ventilation heterogeneity in lung airway networks
      Whitfield, C.A., Latimer, P., Horsley, A., Collier, G.J., Wild, J.M. & Jensen, O.E. (2020) J Roy Soc Interface 20200253
    • Effect of intermittent inspiratory leaks on measurement of lung clearance index using nitrogen and sulfur hexafluoride
      Whitfield, C.A., Jensen, O.E. & Horsley, A. (2018) ERJ Open Research 4, 00132-2018
    • Modelling structural determinants of ventilation heterogeneity: a perturbative approach
      Whitfield, C.A., Horsley, A. & Jensen, O.E. (2018) PLOS One 13, e0208049 SI Video 1 Video 2

  • AIRWAY SMOOTH MUSCLE
    • Airway and parenchymal strains during bronchoconstriction in the precision cut lung slice
      Hiorns, J.E., Bidan, C.M., Jensen, O.E., Gosens, R., Kistemaker, L.E.M., Fredberg, J.J., Butler, J.P., Krishnan, R. & Brook, B.S. (2016) Front. Resp. Physiol. 7, 309 Corrigendum ibid. 8, 117
    • Static and dynamic stress heterogeneity in a multiscale model of the asthmatic airway wall
      Hiorns, J.E., Jensen, O.E. & Brook, B.S. (2016) J. Appl. Physiol.121, 233-247
    • Nonlinear compliance modulates dynamic bronchoconstriction in a multiscale airway model
      Hiorns, J.E., Jensen, O.E. & Brook, B.S. (2014) Biophys. J. 107, 3021-3033
    • The role of contractile unit reorganisation in force generation in airway smooth muscle
      Brook, B.S. & Jensen, O.E. (2014) Math. Med. Biol. 31, 99-124
    • The role of inflammation resolution speed in airway smooth muscle remodelling in asthma: insight from a theoretical model
      Chernyavsky, I.L., Croisier, H., Chapman, L.A.C., Kimpton, L.S., Hiorns, J.E., Brook, B.S., Jensen, O.E., Billington, C.K., Hall, I.P. & Johnson, S.R. (2014) PLOS One 9 e90162 SI
    • A biomechanical model of agonist-initiated contraction in the asthmatic airway
      Brook, B.S., Peel, S., Hall, I.P., Politi, A.Z., Sneyd, J., Bai, Y., Sanderson, M.J. & Jensen, O.E. (2010) Resp. Physiol. Neurobiol. 170, 44-58 SI
  • AIRWAY REOPENING
    • Patterns of recruitment and injury in a heterogeneous airway network model
      Stewart, P.S. & Jensen, O.E. (2015) J. Roy. Soc. Interface 12:20150523 SI mov.avi mov.mp4
    • Epithelial cell deformation during surfactant-mediated airway reopening: a theoretical model
      Naire, S. & Jensen, O.E. (2005) J. Appl. Physiol. 99, 458-471, SI
    • Unsteady bubble propagation in a flexible-walled channel: predictions of a viscous stick-slip instability
      Halpern, D., Naire, S., Jensen, O.E. & Gaver, D.P. III (2005) J. Fluid Mech. 528, 53-86
    • Modelling the reopening of liquid-lined lung airways
      Jensen, O.E. & Horsburgh, M.K. (2004) In Wall/Fluid Interactions in Physiological Flows, ed. Collins, M.W., Pontrelli, G. & Atherton, M.A. WIT Press, 59-101
    • An asymptotic model of unsteady airway reopening
      Naire, S. & Jensen, O.E. (2003) J. Biomech. Eng. 125, 823-831,
    • A semi-infinite bubble advancing into a planar tapered channel
      Halpern, D. & Jensen, O.E. (2002) Phys. Fluids 14, 431-442
    • The steady propagation of a bubble in a flexible-walled channel: asymptotic and computational models
      Jensen, O.E., Horsburgh, M.K., Halpern, D. & Gaver, D.P. III (2002) Phys. Fluids 14, 443-457
    • Bubble propagation in flexible channels with permeable walls
      Horsburgh, M.K. & Jensen, O.E. (2001) In IUTAM Symposium on Free Surface Flows, ed. A.C. King & Y.D. Shikmurzaev, 137-144
    • Bubble propagation in a flexible-walled channel
      Jensen, O.E., Horsburgh, M.K. & Gaver, D.P. III (2000) In IUTAM Symposium on Nonlinear Waves in Multi-Phase Flow, ed. H.-C. Chang, 149-157, Kluwer
    • The steady motion of a bubble through a flexible-walled channel
      Gaver, D.P. III, Halpern, D., Jensen, O.E. & Grotberg, J.B (1996) J. Fluid Mech. 319, 25-65
    
    
  • SURFACE-TENSION-DRIVEN FLOWS, AIRWAY CLOSURE, ELASTOHYDRODYNAMIC INTERACTIONS
    • Viscoplasticity can stabilise liquid collar motion on vertical cylinders
      Shemilt, J.D., Thompson, A.B., Horsley, A., Whitfield, C.A., Jensen, O.E. (2025)
    • Surfactant amplifies yield-stress effects in the capillary instability of a film coating a tube
      Shemilt, J.D., Horsley, A., Jensen, O.E., Thompson, A.B., Whitfield, C.A. (2023) 971, A24
    • Surface-tension-driven evolution of a viscoplastic liquid coating the interior of a cylindrical tube
      Shemilt, J.D., Horsley, A., Jensen, O.E., Thompson, A.B., Whitfield, C.A. (2022) J. Fluid Mech. 944, A22
    • The effect of isolated ridges and grooves on static menisci in rectangular channels
      Johnstone, E., Hazel, A.L., Jensen, O.E. (2022) J. Fluid Mech. 935, A32
    • Drop spreading and drifting on a spatially heterogeneous film: capturing variability with asymptotics and emulation
      Xu, F., Coveney, S. & Jensen, O.E. (2018) J. Eng. Math. 111, 191-208 , using GP_emu_UQSA
    • Trapping and displacement of liquid collars and plugs in rough-walled tubes
      Xu, F. & Jensen, O.E. (2017) Phys. Rev. Fluids 2, 094004 Lay summary
    • Drop spreading with random viscosity
      Xu, F. & Jensen, O.E. (2016) Proc. Roy. Soc. A 472, 20160270
    • Liquid film dynamics in horizontal and tilted tubes: dry spots and sliding drops
      King, A.A., Cummings, L.J. & Jensen, O.E. (2007) Phys. Fluids 19, 042102
    • Transient elastohydrodynamic drag on a particle moving near a deformable wall
      Weekley, S.J., Waters, S.L. & Jensen, O.E. (2006) Q. J. Mech. Appl. Math. 59, 277-300
    • Capillary drainage of an annular film: the dynamics of collars and lobes
      Lister, J.R., Rallison, J.M., King, A.A., Cummings, L.J. & Jensen, O.E. (2006) J. Fluid Mech. 552, 311-343
    • Thin-film flows near isolated humps and interior corners
      Jensen, O.E., Chini, G.P. & King, J.R. (2004) J. Eng. Math. 50, 289-309
    • Capillary-elastic instabilities of liquid-lined lung airways
      Rosenzweig, J. & Jensen, O.E. (2002) J. Biomech. Eng. 124, 650-655
    • Long-time draining of thin liquid films in buckled lung airways
      Rosenzweig, J. & Jensen, O.E. (2001) In IUTAM Symposium on Free Surface Flows, ed. A.C. King & Y.D. Shikmurzaev, 265-272
    • Draining collars and lenses in liquid-lined vertical tubes
      Jensen, O.E. (2000) J. Colloid Interface Sci. 221, 38-49
    • The thin liquid lining of a weakly curved cylindrical tube
      Jensen, O.E. (1997) J. Fluid Mech. 331, 373-403
    
    
  • UPPER AIRWAYS
    • Modelling the dynamics of odour transport in the olfactory epithelium.
      Taylor, A.J., Wulfert, F., Jensen, O.E., Borysik, A., Scott, D.J. (2008) In Expression of Multidisciplinary Flavour Science; Proc. 12th Weurman Symposium, Interlaken, Switzerland, Eds Blank, I., Wust, M. & Yeretzian, C.
    • Theory and mechanism of snores
      Gavriely, N. & Jensen, O.E. (1993) J. Appl. Physiol. 74, 2828-2837

• Flow in collapsible tubes: at high Reynolds numbers, a viscous fluid flowing through an externally pressurized, elastic-walled tube (a 'Starling Resistor') becomes unstable to self-excited oscillations. Similar instabilities generate Korotkoff sounds during blood-pressure measurement and venous pulsations in the back of the eye; they may also be related to wheezing in lung airways during forced expiration. We use theoretical and computational models to understand the fundamental physical mechanisms of fluid-structure interaction that generate these oscillations.
  
  • REVIEWS
    • Instabilities of flows through deformable tubes and channels
      Jensen, O.E. (2008) In Mechanics Down Under; Proc. XXII Int. Congr. Theor. Applied Mech., Adelaide, Australia, eds. J.P. Denier, M.D. Finn
    • Biofluidmechanics of flexible tubes
      J.B. Grotberg & O.E. Jensen (2004) Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech. 36, 121-147
    • Flows in deformable tubes and channels - Theoretical models and biological applications
      Heil, M. & Jensen, O.E. (2003) In Flow past highly compliant boundaries and in collapsible tubes. Eds. P.W. Carpenter and T.J. Pedley, pp. 15-49, Kluwer
    
    
  • A low-order model for slamming in a flexible-channel flow
    Xu, F. & Jensen, O.E. (2015) Q. J. Mech. Appl. Math. 68, 299-319
  • Resonance-driven oscillations in a flexible-channel flow with fixed upstream flux and a long downstream rigid segment
    Xu, F., Billingham, J. & Jensen, O.E. (2014) J. Fluid Mech. 746, 368-404 movie
  • Divergence-driven oscillations in a flexible-channel flow with fixed upstream flux
    Xu, F., Billingham, J. & Jensen, O.E. (2013) J. Fluid Mech. 723, 706-733 movie
  • Sloshing and slamming oscillations in a collapsible channel flow
    Stewart, P.S., Heil, M., Waters, S.L. & Jensen, O.E. (2010) J. Fluid Mech. 662, 288-319 movie
  • A rational derivation of a tube law from shell theory
    Whittaker, R.J., Heil, M., Jensen, O.E. & Waters, S.L. (2010) Q. J. Mech. Appl. Math. 63, 465-496 [MR review]
  • Predicting the onset of high-frequency self-excited oscillations in elastic-walled tubes
    Whittaker, R.J., Heil, M., Jensen, O.E. & Waters, S.L. (2010) Proc. Roy. Soc. A 466, 3635-3657
  • Local instabilities of flow in a flexible channel: asymmetric flutter driven by a weak critical layer
    Stewart, P.S., Waters, S.L. & Jensen, O.E. (2010) Phys. Fluids 22, 031902
  • Spatially localised growth within global instabilities of flexible channel flows
    Stewart, P.S., Waters, S.L., Billingham, J. & Jensen, O.E. (2010) In Seventh IUTAM Symposium on Laminar-Turbulent Transition ed. P. Schlatter, D.S. Henningson, Springer
  • The energetics of flow through a rapidly oscillating tube. Part 1: General Theory
    Whittaker, R.J., Waters, S.L., Jensen, O.E., Boyle, J. & Heil, M. (2010) J. Fluid Mech. 648, 83-121
  • The energetics of flow through a rapidly oscillating tube. Part 2: Application to an elliptical tube
    Whittaker, R.J., Waters, S.L., Jensen, O.E., Boyle, J. & Heil, M. (2010) J. Fluid Mech. 648, 123-153
  • Local and global instabilities of flow in a flexible-walled channel
    Stewart, P.S.,Waters, S.L. & Jensen, O.E. (2009) Eur. J. Mech. B 28, 541-557
  • High-frequency self-excited oscillations in a collapsible-channel flow
    Jensen, O.E. & Heil, M. (2003) J. Fluid Mech. 481, 235-268
  • An asymptotic model of viscous flow limitation in a highly collapsed channel
    Jensen, O.E. (1998) J. Biomech. Eng. 120, 544-547
  • A study of the bifurcation behaviour of a model of flow through a collapsible tube
    Armitstead, J., Bertram, C.D. & Jensen, O.E. (1996) Bull. Math. Biol. 58, 611-641
  • Prediction and measurement of the area-distance profile of collapsed tubes during self-excited oscillation
    Bertram, C.D., Sheppeard, M.D. & Jensen, O.E. (1994) J. Fluids Struct. 8, 637-660
  • Chaotic oscillations in a simple collapsible tube model
    Jensen, O.E. (1992) J. Biomech. Eng. 114, 55-59
  • Instabilities of flow in a collapsed tube
    Jensen, O.E. (1990) J. Fluid Mech. 220, 623-659,
  • The existence of steady flow in a collapsed tube
    Jensen, O.E. & Pedley, T.J. (1989) J. Fluid Mech. 206, 339-374

• Surfactant-driven flows: pulmonary surfactant plays an important role in lung mechanics, by reducing the surface tension forces acting on the liquid lining of lung airways. Surfactant deficiency in premature infants suffering respiratory distress can be alleviated by delivering artificial surfactant directly to the lungs as a bolus or an aerosol; the delivered surfactant spreads spontaneously under the action of surface-tension gradients. We have developed theoretical models describing the fundamental fluid mechanics of these spreading flows, which can involve a fingering instability, as well modelling surfactant transport in the lung. Recent work has addressed the manner in which surfactants compromise the drag-reducing performance of superhydrophobic surfaces.
  • SUPERHYDROPHOBIC SURFACES
    • Drag reduction in surfactant-contaminated superhydrophobic channels at high Peclet numbers
      Tomlinson, S.D., Gibou, F., Luzzatto-Fegiz, P., Temprano-Coleto, F., Jensen, O.E. & Landel, J.R. (2025) J. Fluid Mech. 1010,
    • Unsteady evolution of slip and drag in surfactant-contaminated superhydrophobic channels
      Tomlinson, S.D., Gibou, F., Luzzatto-Fegiz, P., Temprano-Coleto, F., Jensen, O.E. & Landel, J.R. (2024) J. Fluid Mech. 1000, A62
    • Laminar drag reduction in surfactant-contaminated superhydrophobic channels
      Tomlinson, S.D., Gibou, F., Luzzatto-Fegiz, P., Jensen, O.E. & Landel, J.R. (2023) J. Fluid Mech. 963, A10
    • A model for slip and drag in turbulent flows over superhydrophobic surfaces with surfactant
      Tomlinson, S.D., Peadecerf, F., Temprano-Coleto, F., Gibou, F., Luzzatto-Fegiz, P., Jensen, O.E. & Landel, J.R. (2023) Int. J. Heat Fluid Flow 103, 109171

  • SURFACTANT-DRIVEN SPREADING
    • Exogenous-Endogenous Surfactant Interaction Yields Heterogeneous Spreading in Complex Branching Networks
      McNair, R., Temprano-Coleto, F., Peaudecerf, F.J., Gibou, F., Luzzatto-Fegiz, P., Jensen, O.E. & Landel, J. (2025) Phys. Rev. Lett. 134 034001
    • Confinement-induced drift in Marangoni-driven transport of surfactant: a Lagrangian perspective
      McNair, R, Jensen, O.E. & Landel, J. (2024) J. Fluid Mech. 986 A5
    • Surfactant spreading in a two-dimensional cavity and emergent contact-line singularities
      McNair, R, Jensen, O.E. & Landel, J. (2022) J. Fluid Mech. 930 A15
    • The spreading and stability of a surfactant-laden drop on a prewetted substrate
      Jensen, O.E. & Naire, S. (2006) J. Fluid Mech. 554, 5-24
    • Two-dimensional nonlinear advection-diffusion in a model of surfactant spreading on a thin liquid film
      Williams, H.A.R. & Jensen, O.E. (2001) IMA J. Appl. Math. 66, 55-82
    • Surfactant transport over airway liquid lining of nonuniform depth
      Williams, H.A.R. & Jensen, O.E. (2000) J. Biomech. Eng. 122, 159-165
    • A theoretical study of surfactant and liquid delivery into the lung
      Halpern, D., Jensen, O.E. & Grotberg, J.B. (1998) J. Appl. Physiol. 85, 333-352
    • The stress singularity in surfactant-driven thin-film flows. Part 1. Viscous effects
      Jensen, O.E. & Halpern, D. (1998) J. Fluid Mech. 372 , 273-300
    • The stress singularity in surfactant-driven thin-film flows. Part 2. Inertial effects
      Jensen, O.E. (1998) J. Fluid Mech. 372, 301-322
    • Interaction of exogenous and endogenous surfactant: spreading-rate effects
      Grotberg, J.B., Halpern, D. & Jensen, O.E. (1995) J. Appl. Physiol. 78, 750-756
    • The spreading of insoluble surfactant at the free surface of a deep fluid layer
      Jensen, O.E. (1995) J. Fluid Mech. 293, 349-378
    • Self-similar, surfactant-driven flows
      Jensen, O.E. (1994) Phys. Fluids 6, 1084-1094
    • Transport of a passive solute by surfactant-driven flows
      Jensen, O.E., Halpern, D. & Grotberg, J.B. (1994) Chem. Eng. Sci. 49 , 1107-1117
    • The spreading of heat or soluble surfactant on a thin liquid film
      Jensen, O.E. & Grotberg, J.B. (1993) Phys. Fluids A5 , 58-68
    • Insoluble surfactant spreading on a thin viscous film: shock evolution and film rupture
      Jensen, O.E. & Grotberg, J.B. (1992) J. Fluid Mech. 240, 259-288
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  • Transport in physiological systems: We use multiscale methods (such as homogenization) to study blood flow and nutrient transport in organs such as the placenta, where there is a high degree of spatial disorder requiring tools of uncertainty quantification. Other work addresses transport in the gut, the eye, across cell membranes and within lymph nodes.
    • MULTISCALE AND SPATIALLY DISORDERED SYSTEMS
      • Advection-dominated transport past isolated disordered sinks: stepping beyond homogenization
        Price, G.F., Chernyavsky, I.L. & Jensen, O.E. (2022) Proc. Roy. Soc. A 478, 20220032
      • Homogenization approximations for unidirectional transport past randomly distributed sinks
        Russell, M.J. & Jensen, O.E. (2019) IMA J Appl Math 85, 231-262
      • Stochastic transport in the presence of spatial disorder: fluctuation-induced corrections to homogenization
        Russell, M.J., Jensen, O.E. & Galla, T. (2016) Phys. Rev. E 94, 042121
      • Characterising the multiscale structure of fluctuations of transported quantities in a disordered medium
        Chernyavsky, I.L., Dryden, I.L. & Jensen, O.E. (2012) IMA J. Appl. Math. 77, 697-725
      • A multi-scale model for solute transport in a wavy-walled channel
        Woollard, H.F., Billingham, J., Jensen, O.E. & Lian, G. (2009) J. Eng. Math. 64, 25-48 Erratum
      
      
    • EYE
      • Rapid amplification of cerebrospinal fluid pressure as a possible mechanism for optic nerve sheath bleeding in infants with nonaccidental head injury
        Stewart, P.S., Brook, B.S., Jensen, O.E., Spelman, T.A., Whittaker, R.J., Zouache, M.A.(2024) Invest. Opth. Vis. Sci. 659
      • Osmotic and electroosmotic fluid transport across the retinal pigment epithelium: a mathematical model
        Dvoriashyna, M., Foss, A.J.E., Gaffney, E.A., Jensen, O.E. & Repetto, R. (2018) J. Theor. Biol. 456, 233-248
      • A theoretical model to allow prediction of the CSF pressure from observing the retinal venous pulse
        Stewart, P.S., Jensen, O.E. & Foss, A.J.E. (2014) Invest. Ophthal. Vis. Sci. 55, 6319-6323 SI
      • Intracellular flow in optic-nerve axons: a mechanism for cell death in glaucoma
        Band, L., Hall, C., Richardson, G., Jensen, O.E., Siggers, J. & Foss A. (2009) Invest. Ophthal. Vis. Sci. 50, 3750-3758
      
      
    • On a biophysical and mathematical model of Pgp-mediated multi-drug resistance: understanding the "space-time" dimension of MDR
      Panagiotopoulou, V., Richardson, G., Jensen, O.E. & Rauch, C. (2010) Eur. Biophys. J. 39, 201-211
    • Modelling the dynamics of odour transport in the olfactory epithelium.
      In Expression of Multidisciplinary Flavour Science. Proc 12th Weurman Symposium, Interlaken, Switzerland, Eds. Blank, I., Wust, M. & Yeretzian, C.
    • T-cell motility in the early stages of the immune response modelled as a random walk amongst targets
      S.P. Preston, S.L. Waters, O.E. Jensen, P.R. Heaton & D.I. Pritchard (2006) Phys. Rev. E 74, 011910
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  • Other fluid mechanics applications:

    • FLOWS IN POROUS MEDIA. In this work I had the great privilege to collaborate with Andrew Cliffe (d. 2014) and Henry Power (d. 2017) on problems relating to carbon sequestration. Recent work has addressed underground hydrogen storage.
      • Dynamic injection of a compressible gas into a confined porous layer
        Castellucci, P., Boya, R., Ma, L., Chernyavsky, I.L. & Jensen, O.E. (2025)
      • Substrate degradation in high Rayleigh-number reactive convection
        Ward, T., Jensen, O.E., Power, H. & Riley, D.S. (2015) Phys. Fluids 27 , 116601
      • High Rayleigh-number convection of a reactive solute in a porous-medium
        Ward, T., Jensen, O.E., Power, H. & Riley, D.S. (2014) J. Fluid Mech. 760, 95-126 movie
      • Dissolution-driven porous-medium convection in the presence of chemical reaction
        Ward, T., Cliffe, K.A., Jensen, O.E. & Power, H. (2014) J. Fluid Mech. 747, 316-349
      • Photocatalytic conversion of CO₂ to hydrocarbons by light-harvesting complex assisted Rh-doped TiO₂ photocatalyst
        Lee, C.-W., Antoniou Kourounioti, R.L., Wu, J.C.S., Murchie, E., Maroto-Valer, M., Jensen, O.E., Huang, C.W, Ruban, A. (2014) J. CO₂ Util. 5, 33-40.
      • A model of carbon dioxide dissolution and mineral carbonation kinetics
        Mitchell, M.J., Jensen, O.E., Cliffe, K.A. & Maroto-Valer, M.M. (2010) Proc. Roy. Soc. A 466, 1265-1290

    • HYDRODYNAMICS IN MICROSCOPY
      • Three-dimensional elastohydrodynamics of a thin plate oscillating above a wall
        Clarke, R.J., Jensen, O.E. & Billingham, J. (2008) Phys. Rev. E 78, 056310 [MR review]
      • Stochastic elastohydrodynamics of a microcantilever oscillating near a wall
        Clarke, R.J., Jensen, O.E., Billingham, J., Pearson, A.P. & Williams, P.M. (2006) Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 050801
      • Three-dimensional flow due to a microcantilever oscillating near a wall: an unsteady slender-body analysis
        Clarke, R.J., Jensen, O.E., Billingham, J. & Williams, P.M. (2006) Proc. Roy. Soc. London A. 462, 913-933
      • The drag on a microcantilever oscillating near a wall
        Clarke, R.J., Cox, S.M., Williams, P.M. & Jensen, O.E. (2005) J. Fluid Mech. 545, 397-426

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