The aortic valve (AV) functions in arguably the most demanding mechanical environment in the body. The AV experiences fluid shear stress, cyclic pressure and mechanical strain in vivo. Recent evidence has shown the progression of degenerative aortic valve disease (AVD) to be an active cellular mediated process, altering the conception of the AV as a passive tissue. AVD has shown a strong correlation with altered hemodynamics and tissue mechanics. Aortic valve endothelial cells (AVECs) line the fibrosa (aortic facing) and ventricularis (left ventricle facing) surfaces of the valve. AVECs sense and respond to circulating stimuli in the blood stream while maintaining a non-thrombogenic layer. AVEC activation has been implicated in the initiation and progression of AVD, but the role of cyclic strain has yet to be elucidated. The hypothesis of this dissertation is that altered mechanical forces have a causal relationship with aortic valvular endothelial cell activation. To test this hypothesis 1) the role of in vitro cyclic strain in regulating expression of pro-inflammatory adhesion molecule was elucidated 2) cyclic strain-dependent activation of side-specific aortic valve endothelial cells was investigated 3) a novel stretch bioreactor was developed to dramatically increase the ability to correlate valvular endothelium response to physiologically relevant applied planar biaxial loads. The results from this study further the field of heart valve mechanobiology by correlating AVEC physiological and pathophysiological function to cellular and tissue level strain. Elucidating the AVEC response to an altered mechanical environment may result in novel clinical diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to the initiation and progression of degenerative AVD. Furthermore, a cardiovascular health outreach program, Bulldogs for Heart Health, has been designed and implemented to combat the startling rise in childhood obesity in the state of Mississippi. It is the hope that these results, novel methods, and outreach initiatives developed will significantly impact the study of the mechanobiology of the aortic valve endothelial cell and potential treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease.