Yearly Archives: 2013

Registration Now Open for the 2014 McGowan Institute Scientific Retreat

The 13th Annual McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine Scientific Retreat will take place on March 9-11, 2014, at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort.

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Dr. Krzysztof Matyjaszewski Named National Academy of Inventors Fellow

McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, PhD, the J.C. Warner University Professor of Natural Sciences and professor of chemistry in the Mellon College of Science, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), has been elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).

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Synthetic, man-made cells and ultrathin electronics built from a new form of “zero-dimensional” carbon nanotube may be possible through research at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering co-directed by McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine faculty member Steven Little, PhD, chair of the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, associate professor, and Bicentennial Alumni Faculty Fellow of the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, and McGowan Institute affiliated faculty member Anna Balazs, PhD, the distinguished Robert Von der Luft professor of chemical and petroleum engineering. The research, ““Zero-Dimensional” Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes,” was recently published in the journal Angewandte Chemie.

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Novel Biological Sources for Battery Materials

The squirmy marine cuttlefish may be the next best source of electrode materials for batteries to power edible medical devices.

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On October 26, 2013, McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine faculty member Savio L-Y. Woo, PhD, DSc, DEng, distinguished university professor and director of the Musculoskeletal Research Center in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh, presented the Keynote Lecture at the Taiwan Orthopaedic Research Society (TORS) Annual Meeting held in Taipei, Taiwan. The lecture was titled, “Recent Contribution of Biomechanics on ACL Injury and Reconstruction,” and focused on a combined experimental and computation approach to determine ligament function and joint motion accurately, specifically the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). With such information, it will then be possible to evaluate surgical procedures and their outcome, to improve rehabilitation protocols, to determine the mechanisms of ACL injury, and to develop sound training procedures for injury prevention that are scientifically based.

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Co Investigator Pamela Moalli and Steven Abramowitch

Title Macrophage Phenotype as a Determinant of Outcome in Pelvic Organ Prolapse Repair

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Ballet and Sports Medicine

Led by McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine faculty member Freddie Fu, MD, today the UPMC Sports Medicine’s staff of experts is skilled in the assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation of dance-related injuries and dance-specific training programs. As reported by Jane Vranish of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Dr. Fu has been attending to Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre dancers since 1983 when he quickly embraced the connection and singular importance of dance.  Dr. Fu has been attending to the dancers ever since, physically, mentally, and emotionally.  He realized that it was an art form that didn’t have the financial wherewithal to care for artists who often just had to dance “hurt,” grinning and bearing it for the audience, or simply quit.

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Regenerative Medicine Partnership with Cornell University

Scientists at McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine are partnering with innovators at Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine to advance healing techniques and technologies for animals and humans.

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Muscle Morbidity and Reduced Regenerative Capacity 

While the widely reported incidence of arsenic use in past centuries for medicinal, industrial, and homicidal purposes has declined dramatically, modern times have seen a resurgence in the attention paid to this organic metalloid. This is due, in large part, to the increasingly recognized presence of arsenic in the food and drinking supplies serving more than 140 million individuals worldwide and nearly 4 million individuals in the United States alone. Unfortunately, the very same characteristic that makes arsenic such an effective tool for acute poisoning also makes it a dangerous environmental contaminant: it is largely undetected because it is odorless, tasteless, and colorless. Increasingly, however, arsenic is being recognized for its adverse, yet clandestine, effects on tissue functioning and regenerative capacity—even at low, everyday concentrations.

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Pitt Team Aims to Change Tissue Microenvironment to Fend Off Cancerous Tumors

Instead of developing new drugs that directly target tumors, the team has been working on adjuvant agents that alter the immunological microenvironment around the tumor…

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When a chair leg breaks or a cell phone shatters, either must be repaired or replaced. But what if these materials could be programmed to regenerate themselves, replenishing the damaged or missing components, and thereby extend their lifetime and reduce the need for costly repairs?

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Dr. Joseph Glorioso Recognized with the Pioneer Series Award by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

The peer-reviewed journal Human Gene Therapy will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2014.  The journal will commemorate its silver anniversary in several ways, including publishing a series of Perspectives by Top Pioneers in the field of cell and gene therapy who will be featured in the 2014 issues of the journal.  McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member Joseph Glorioso, PhD, was named a Top Pioneer for his development of HSV as a vector for gene therapy.

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Personalized Medicine for Pancreatic Diseases

McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member David Whitcomb, MD, PhD, the Giant Eagle foundation professor of cancer genetics, chief of gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition, professor of medicine, cell biology and physiology, and founder and director of the Center for Genomic Sciences, was an invited lecturer hosted by the University of Auckland Department of Surgery in New Zealand.  As an internationally respected expert in personalized medicine, Dr. Whitcomb spoke of personalized medicine for pancreatic diseases and how that can be applied as a model for other diseases.

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Dr. Kacey Marra Named Associate Editor for Cells Tissues Organs

McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine faculty member Kacey Marra, PhD, associate professor, Departments of Plastic Surgery and Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, and co-director, Adipose Stem Cell Center, has been named an associate editor for the journal, Cells Tissues Organs.

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Multicenter, Multidisciplinary Effort to Study Hemorrhaging in Trauma Patients

McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member Stephen Wisniewski, PhD, senior associate dean and co-director of the Epidemiology Data Center at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, will coordinate a new, multicenter, multidisciplinary effort – supported by a 5-year, $23.8 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant – to study a deadly bleeding syndrome called coagulopathy, which occurs without warning in some trauma patients.

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Sensory Substitution Helps the Blind See

In late 2010, Wicab, Inc. announced receipt of a grant for $3.2M from the Defense

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Dr. Valerian Kagan Honored With Core Fulbright U.S. Scholar Grant

McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member Valerian Kagan, PhD, a professor and vice chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health in the Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, has been selected for a 2013-14 Core Fulbright U.S. Scholar grant.  Administered by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program is the flagship international educational exchange effort sponsored by the U.S. government.  The Fulbright Program provides teaching and/or research opportunities to U.S. faculty and experienced professionals in a wide variety of academic and professional fields.

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Compounded Medication to Prevent Preterm Birth Not a Safety Risk

A new study published online in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology by McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member Raman Venkataramanan, PhD, professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Pittsburgh as well as professor of pathology within the School of Medicine, and a team of researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, reports that 17-hydroxyprogesterone caproate (17-OHPC), a medication that reduces the rate of preterm birth in high-risk women, did not raise any safety concerns when the medication was prepared and dispensed by independent compounding pharmacies throughout the United States.

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Weighing In: Three Years Post-Op Bariatric Surgery Patients See Big Benefits

For millions of Americans struggling with obesity and considering surgical procedures to achieve weight loss and alleviate obesity-related health complications, a new study adds weight to the health benefits attributed to bariatric surgery.

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Co Investigator Donna Stolz, PhD

Title Mechanisms of arsenic-induced muscle morbidity and reduced regenerative capacity

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Gum Disease Treated by Using Homing Beacon to Bring Needed Immune Cells to Inflamed Area

The red, swollen, and painful gums and bone destruction of periodontal disease could be effectively treated by beckoning the right kind of immune system cells to the inflamed tissues, according to a new pre-clinical study conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, including McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine faculty members Steven Little, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering, and Charles Sfeir, D.D.S., Ph.D., director, Center for Craniofacial Regeneration, and associate professor, Departments of Periodontics and Oral Biology, Pitt’s School of Dental Medicine.  Their findings, published in the early online version of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, offer a new therapeutic paradigm for a condition that afflicts 78 million people in the U.S. alone.

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Gum Disease Treated by Using Homing Beacon to Bring Needed Immune Cells to Inflamed Area

The red, swollen, and painful gums and bone destruction of periodontal disease could be effectively treated by beckoning the right kind of immune system cells to the inflamed tissues, according to a new pre-clinical study conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, including McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine faculty members Steven Little, PhD, associate professor and chair of the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering, and Charles Sfeir, DDS, PhD, director, Center for Craniofacial Regeneration, and associate professor, Departments of Periodontics and Oral Biology, Pitt’s School of Dental Medicine. Their findings, published in the early online version of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, offer a new therapeutic paradigm for a condition that afflicts 78 million people in the U.S. alone.

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Burn Therapy: An Award-Winning Regenerative Medicine Approach

The 115th Ladies Hospital Aid Society Gala was held at Pittsburgh’s Omni William Penn. During “An Evening of Enchantment,” McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine faculty member Jörg Gerlach, MD, PhD, professor in the Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, and Alain Corcos, MD, FACS, director of Trauma Services, UPMC Mercy Hospital, received the Innovation Award in support of their ongoing research to improve the treatment of burn patients. The McGowan Institute received a $25,000 donation for such work and Mercy’s Trauma Services received $50,000.

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Traumatic Brain Injury Research Advances with $18.8M NIH Award

The National Institutes of Health is awarding $18.8 million over 5 years to support worldwide research on concussion and traumatic brain injury.  The NIH award, part of one of the largest international research collaborations ever coordinated by funding agencies, will be administered through University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and includes McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member David Okonkwo, MD, PhD, assistant professor with the Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, director of Neurotrauma and of the Spinal Deformity Program, clinical director of the Brain Trauma Research Center, and associate director of the Center for Injury Research and Control.  Dr. Okonkwo will serve as the principal investigator for the University of Pittsburgh in the award.

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As reported by Azom.com, Instron, a leading provider of testing equipment designed to evaluate mechanical properties of materials and components, is collaborating with McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty members Julie Phillippi, PhD, research assistant professor in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and Thomas Gleason, MD, associate professor of surgery, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, director of the Center for Thoracic Aortic Disease, and co-director of the Center for Heart Valve Disease at the Heart, Lung and Esophageal Surgery Institute, both at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

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Regenerative Medicine Partnership with Cornell University

Scientists at McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine are partnering with innovators at Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine to advance healing techniques and technologies for animals and humans.

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McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine Affiliated Faculty Member Wins Prestigious Medal

McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member Anna Balazs, PhD, distinguished professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh and also the current Robert Von der Luft professor in that department, has been selected as the 5th recipient of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology “Mines Medal.”  This award recognizes the overall contributions of Dr. Balazs’ career, her influence in engineering or science, and the significance of extraordinary, meritorious, or prestigious contributions toward resolution or understanding of the technological challenges that impact society.  Candidates for the Mines Medal:

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Title Strategy for enhance mentor replacement of hypodermis to improve skin quality influencing dermal components for improving the quality of skin after acute burn debridement

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McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine to Co-Direct $75 Million Second Phase of National Effort to Aid Wounded Warriors

The Armed Forces Institute for Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM) will continue its efforts to apply the latest in tissue engineering and other regenerative medicine techniques to the treatment of battlefield injuries in a $75 million, 5-year second phase.

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Pitt Scientists Solve Mystery of Basic Cellular Process

A mix of serendipity and dogged laboratory work allowed a diverse team of University of Pittsburgh scientists to report in Nature Cell Biology that they had solved the mystery of a basic biological function essential to cellular health.  McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty members in this team included:

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Entering a New Dimension: 4D Printing

Imagine an automobile coating that changes its structure to adapt to a humid environment or a salt-covered road, better protecting the car from corrosion. Or consider a soldier’s uniform that could alter its camouflage or more effectively protect against poison gas or shrapnel upon contact.

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Third Annual Regenerative Rehabilitation Symposium, April 10-11, 2014, San Francisco, California

Like no other time in our nation’s history, the enthusiasm surrounding regenerative medicine is now being matched with clinical deliverables, and the number of clinical trials in the field is growing at an unprecedented rate. Over the next decades, stem cell and tissue engineering protocols hold the possibility of becoming the standard of care for several diseases and injuries.

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McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine to Co-Direct $75 Million Second Phase of National Effort to Aid Wounded Warriors

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Drs. Rubin and Marra Comment on Denmark Stem Cell-Enriched Fat Grafts Clinical Study

In Denmark, the first clinical study shows the potential of stem cell-enriched fat grafts to transform reconstructive surgery. McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine faculty members—J. Peter Rubin, MD, and Kacey Marra, PhD—weigh in on the results.

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The Latest Advances in Technology for People with Spinal Cord Injury

A special issue of The Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, published by Maney Publishing, examines various advances made in technology to aid people with spinal cord injury (SCI).

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McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine Distinguished Lecture October 10, 2013

The McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine’s Fall Distinguished Lecturer is Glenn Prestwich, PhD, Presidential Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Research Professor of Biochemistry, University of Utah.  Dr. Prestwich’s lecture is entitled “The Entrepreneurial Ecosytem and Its Role in Translating Hyaluronan Materials to the Clinic.”

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A computational “fabric” envisioned by University of Pittsburgh researchers could lead to the development of clothing that could respond to external stimuli, monitor vital signs of patients or athletes, and help the visually impaired “sense” their surrounding environment.

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Unusual Combination Therapy Shows Promise for Preventing Prostate Cancer

 Combining a compound from broccoli with an antimalarial drug prevents prostate cancer in mice, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) researchers—including McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty members Simon Watkins, PhD, and Donna Stolz, PhD—discovered.

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Co Investigator Gorantla, Solari, Maul, Vodovotz

Title Ex-Vivo Machine Perfusion with a Novel Oxygen Carrier System to enhance graft preservation and immunologic outcomes
Description: This study will reproduce our initial successful experience with livers in a very challenging transplant model (9 hours of cold ischemia time – CIT). The CTA will be preserved under these new conditions (machine perfusion with a HBOC solution) and compared to the current standard of care. This study is specifically designed to improve the functionality of the CTA tissues (e.g. muscular, neural) after transplantation. The central hypothesis is to demonstrate the benefits of full tissue perfusion and oxygenation during the graft preservation period.

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Decellularized Mouse Heart Beats Again after Regeneration with Human Heart Precursor Cells

A Pittsburgh-based team, that includes two McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty members, has reported that they have performed a study where a mouse heart was able to contract and beat again after its own cells were stripped and replaced with human heart precursor cells. The McGowan Institute affiliated faculty members who were contributors to the study are Kimimasa Tobita, MD, research assistant, professor of developmental biology, pediatrics, and bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh and a director of Rangos Research Center Animal Imaging Core, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, and Guy Salama, PhD, professor within the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, along with scientists from Pitt School of Medicine. The findings, reported online in Nature Communications, show the promise that regenerating a functional organ by placing human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells – which could be personalized for the recipient – in a three-dimensional scaffold could have for transplantation, drug testing models, and understanding heart development.

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