McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine Holds Its Annual Scientific Retreat

The McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine held its 2018 Scientific Retreat March 5-6, 2018. The focus was on peer-to-peer networking, and the retreat provided many opportunities to explore collaborative endeavors with other researchers, participating guests, and external partners who are working to bring regenerative medicine technologies to clinical use.

The participation and contributions of the guests and external collaborators – along with McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty and trainees – provided for insightful discussions and identification of opportunities for partnerships.  This year’s program committee under the leadership of Julie Phillippi, PhD, Patrick Cantini, and Christopher Bettinger, PhD, designed an exciting program.

Program Highlights

The Director’s Welcome and State of the Institute Address was presented by McGowan Institute Director William Wagner, PhD, Professor of Surgery, Bioengineering, and Chemical Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh.  Dr. Wagner followed his presentation with an introduction of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine Distinguished Lecturer, Molly Shoichet, PhD, University Professor, Program of Neuroscience, University of Toronto.  Dr. Shoichet’s presentation was entitled “Regenerative Strategies in the Central Nervous System.”

The Retreat included numerous general sessions throughout the 2-day event with a focus on these research and/or strategic planning areas:

• Cell and Tissue Regenerative Therapies at UPMC
• Reproductive Tissue Engineering and Women’s Health
• Vision Restoration
• Nano- and Microfabrication Methods for Medical Applications
• Advancing Your Early-Stage Research Toward Commercial Translation
• Stem Cells and Aging
• Translating Redox Vascular Biology to the Clinic
• Craniomaxillofacial Tissue Engineering
• Pittsburgh Biomedical Breakfast
• Opening Doors to the Future of Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine
• Translating the Science of Tissue Plasticity for Human Performance Optimization and Injury Prevention
• Cancer Immunotherapy
• Pediatric Innovations
• Additive Manufacturing
• Medical Technology Development—From Prototype to FDA Approval
• Sponsored Project Research Overview—Successful Submission and Post Award Management
• Pitt is Open for Business
• Innovations in Clinical Diagnostics and Biomarkers
• Drug Delivery
• Strategic Planning Session—Optimizing Human
• Materials and Systems Performance

The Retreat program also included 91 presentations addressing a great cross-section of scientific topics given by McGowan Institute affiliated faculty and 59 invited researchers from   other institutions and agencies who are not formally affiliated with the McGowan Institute (in alphabetical order):

• Esta Abelev, PhD, Technical Director, Petersen Institute of Nanoscience and Engineering, University of Pittsburgh: Nano-and Microfabrication Methods for Medical Applications (session organizer)
• Salah Al-Zaiti, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, Assistant Professor, Acute & Tertiary Care, School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh: ECG Method to Detect Non-ST Cardiac Events
• Michael Annichine, Chief Executive Officer, Magee-Womens Research Institute and Foundation: Magee-Womens Research Institute’s Scientific Entrepreneurship and Its Impact
• Edgar Aranda-Michel, BS, MD/PhD Candidate, Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University: Novel Biological Muscle Powered Heart Assist Device
• Amanda Artsen, MD, Graduate Medical Trainee, University of Pittsburgh: Mesh for Pelvic Organ Prolapse Repair: Optimizing Biomechanics and Exploring the Immune Response
• Christian Barrow, Executive Director of Life Sciences, JP Morgan: Comments on the 2018 JP Morgan Healthcare Conference
• Rachel Berger, MD, MPH, Child Protection Team, Pittsburgh Child Advocacy Center, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC; and Director, Child Abuse Research, Safar Center for Resuscitation Research, University of Pittsburgh: The Biomarkers for Infant Brain Injury Score (BIBIS): Improving Identification of Intracranial Hemorrhage in Infants and Young Children Using Serum Biomarkers
• Michael Buckenmeyer, MS, PhD Candidate, University of Pittsburgh: Regenerative Therapies for Medically Induced Infertility
• Amin Cheikhi, PhD, Postdoctoral Assignment, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh: Mitochondrial Architecture as Read-Out for Cell Memory and Aging
• Bill Chen, PhD, Director, Small Molecule Therapeutic Center Co-Director, Acute Lung Injury Center of Excellence, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh: Targeting Fbxo48/AMPK Axis in Metabolic Diseases
• Paola Corti, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, Division of Cardiology Vascular Medicine Institute, University of Pittsburgh: Globin X, Nitrite and Heart Regeneration
• Noel Jabbour, MD, MS, FACS, Assistant Professor, Department of Otolaryngology; Fellowship Director, Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology; Associate Director, Otolaryngology Residency Program; Director, Congenital Ear Center, University of Pittsburgh: Born Without an Ear: Current and Future Solutions for Congenital Auricular Deformities
• Juan Taboas, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Oral Biology, School of Dental Medicine, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Swanson School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh: Vital-Dent
• Heather Szabo-Rogers, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Oral Biology, Center for Craniofacial Regeneration, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pittsburgh: Lessons from Developmental Biology toward Regeneration
• Fatima Syed-Picard, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Oral Biology, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pittsburgh: Dental Stem Cells and Scaffold-free Tissue Engineering for Craniofacial Regeneration
• Garrett Coyan, MD, Integrated 6-year Residency Program (PGY4)-Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center: Acute In Vivo Assessment of Tissue Engineered Heart Valves: Early Successes and Challenges
• Julie Cramer, PhD, MS, Commercialization Translation Program Manager, sciVelo, University of Pittsburgh: Innovations in Clinical Diagnostics and Biomarkers (co-chair) and Cancer Immunotherapy (session co-organizer)
• Diwikar Davar, MBBS, MSc, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology/ Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh: Novel Targets in Immunotherapy for Cancer
• Evan Delgado, PhD, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Department of Cellular and Molecular Pathology, University of Pittsburgh: Innovations in Clinical Diagnostics and Biomarkers (session co-chair)
• Terence Dermody, MD, Vira I. Heinz Professor and Chair, Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh; and Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Physician-in-Chief and Scientific Director, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC: New Research Initiatives at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC
• Alex Ducruet, PhD, CLP: Patenting Process at Pitt
• Leonid Emerel, MD, Integrated 6-year Residency Program (PGY5)-Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh: Biomechanical Properties and Stress Mapping Dissection Probability Models in Ascending Aortas of Patients Sustaining Acute Type A Aortic Dissection
• Max Fedor: How to Find Start-Up Funding
• Toren Finkel, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, G. Nicholas Beckwith III and Dorothy B. Beckwith Chair in Translational Medicine; Director, Aging Institute of UPMC and University of Pittsburgh: Mitochondria, Aging and Stem Cell Function
• Olivera Finn, PhD, Distinguished Professor, Departments of Immunology and Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine: Vaccines for Cancer Prevention and A Lot More
• Shawn Flanagan, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Sports Medicine and Nutrition, University of Pittsburgh: Neurobiology Plasticity: Corticospinal Basis of Persistent Functional Deficits after Traumatic Musculoskeletal Injury
• Aditi Gurkar, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh: Endogenous DNA Damage Drives Dilated Cardiomyopathy
• Jeffrey Gusenoff, MD, Department of Plastic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center: Adipose Therapy for Foot Pain: A New Paradigm for Treating a Difficult Problem Translated to the Clinic
• J. Hinton, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University: 3D Bioprinting of Soft and Living Materials Using Open Source Hardware
• Deborah Hollingshead, MS: Increasing Data Reproducibility
• Michael Hufford, PhD, Vice President for Regulatory Affairs, Behavioral Science, and Innovation, Pinney Associates: Citius, Altius, Fortius: Drug Delivery and the Generation, and Destruction, of Value in Drug Development
• Julie Hughes, PhD, Research Physiologist, U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine: Bone Plasticity: Exploiting the Adaptive Bone Formation Process to Prevent Stress Fractures in Warfighters
• Theodore Huppert, PhD, Associate Professor, Departments of Radiology and Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh: Neuromonitoring After Brain Injury in Pediatrics
• Noel Jabbour, MD, MS, FACS, Assistant Professor, Department of Otolaryngology; Fellowship Director, Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology; Associate Director, Otolaryngology Residency Program; Director, Congenital Ear Center, University of Pittsburgh: Born Without an Ear: Current and Future Solutions for Congenital Auricular Deformities
• Ashu Jadhav, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center: Regenerative Cell Therapy for Brain Injury
• Katrina Knight, PhD, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh: Mesh for Pelvic Organ Prolapse Repair: Optimizing Biomechanics and Exploring the Immune Response
• Takaaki Kuwajima, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine: Dissecting Molecular Mechanisms of Retinal Axon Degeneration and Regeneration
• Bill LaFramboise, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center: Bladder Cancer Biomarkers
• Janette Lamb, PhD: Increasing Data Reproducibility
• Chris Mahoney, MS, PhD Candidate, University of Pittsburgh: Tissue Engineering Strategies for Breast Cancer Reconstruction
• Christian Manders, Promethean LifeSciences, Inc.: Pittsburgh Biomedical Breakfast (session organizer)
• Mioara Manole, MD, FAAP, Director of Basic and Translational Research, Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC; Associate Director, Safar Center for Resuscitation Research; and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine: Neuromonitoring After Brain Injury in Pediatrics
• Quyen Nguyen, MD, Associate Professor, Fellow, Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, UPMC Montefiore Hospital: Platelet Mitochondrial Bioenergetics in Pulmonary Hypertension
• Nick Nystrom, Director, Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center: Unleashing AI and Data for Medicine
• Kentaro Onishi, DO, Associate Faculty, Assistant Professor Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh: Regenerative Cell Therapy for Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Problems: Opportunities and Challenges
• Kyle Orwig, PhD, Professor, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh: Regenerative Therapies for Medically Induced Infertility
• Amy Phillips, MBA, Director, Office of Corporate Engagement, University of Pittsburgh: Pitt is Open for Business
• Ian Pollack, MD, Co-director, Brain Tumor Program, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute; Chief, Pediatric Neurosurgery, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC; and A. Leland Albright Professor of Neurosurgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine: Peptide-Based Immunotherapy for Childhood Gliomas
• Margaret Prendergast, Director of Bioengineering, Allevi: Allevi–Automating Biology
• Abhijit Roy, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh: Additive Manufacturing Approaches to Resorbable Metals, Ceramics and Polymers
• George Santo, Vice President, Middle Market Life Sciences Banking, JP Morgan: Comments on the 2018 JP Morgan Healthcare Conference
• Ben Schilling, MS, PhD Candidate, University of Pittsburgh: Tissue Engineering Strategies for Breast Cancer Reconstruction
• Francisco Schopfer, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh: Nitrated Fatty Acids: The Road from Discovery to the Clinic
• Brian Smith, Senior Financial Analyst, McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine: Sponsored Project Research Overview: Successful Submission and Post Award Management
• Nick Smith, Graduate Student Researcher, Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh: Breast Cancer Genetic Profiling
• Lorenzo Soletti, PhD: How to Start a Company
• Adam Straub, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology; and Principal Investigator, Vascular Medicine Institute, University of Pittsburgh: Heme Redox Regulation and NO Signaling
• Eric Sugalski, President and Founder, Smithwise: Medical Technology Development: From Prototype to FDA Approval (session organizer)
• Stephen Thorne, PhD, Assistant Professor, Departments of Surgery and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; and Leader of Small Animal Optical and Ultrasound Imaging Services In Vivo Imaging Facility, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute: Developing Multi-Mechanistic Cancer Immunotherapies, Experiences in Academia and Industry
• Brian Vidic, Executive Director, Research Operations and Business Engagement Office, University of Pittsburgh: Pitt is Open for Business
• Theresa Whiteside, PhD, Professor of Pathology, Immunology, and Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; and Laboratory Director of Immunologic Monitoring and Cellular Products Laboratory, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute: Tumor-Derived Exosomes as Potential Biomarkers in Cancer
• Eunice Yang, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown: Orthostatic Hypotension Detection to Predict Falls
• Luke Ziegler, BS, Hemorheology, Hemodynamics and Artificial Blood Research Laboratory, McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh: Sickle Cell Hemoglobin Replacement Therapy

The closing banquet included three excellent presentations.  They included:

“Reflections on the Patient Experience in Respiratory Failure”
Jonathan D’Cunha, MD, PhD, FACS
Associate Professor of Surgery Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery; Vice Chair, Research and Education; and Chief, Division of Lung Transplant/Lung Failure University of Pittsburgh

“An Accidental Entrepreneur’s Journey Toward Portable Respiratory Assist Devices”
William J. Federspiel, PhD
William Kepler Whiteford Professor Department of Bioengineering University of Pittsburgh; and Director, Medical Devices Laboratory McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine

“Keynote Presentation: Pittsburgh as the Future of Health Care—The Role of the Local Biomedical Research Ecosystem”
Steven Shapiro, MD
Executive Vice President Chief Medical and Scientific Officer President, Health Services Division University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

Poster Session

The poster session was effective in introducing the focus of the Retreat and interests of the faculty and the guests.  McGowan Institute faculty member Andrew Duncan, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology, Division of Experimental Pathology, University of Pittsburgh, and his committee organized the session and judged the posters. The winners of the poster session were:

Cell and Gene Therapy

First Place
Patrick Wilkinson
A role for polyploid hepatocytes in liver repopulation and adaptation to chronic injury
Mentor: Andrew Duncan, PhD
Dept. of Pathology, McGowan Institute
University of Pittsburgh

Second Place
Matthew Rannals
Targeted translatome profiling using in utero gene transfer identifies ion channel pathophysiology in a brain development model of transcription factor 4 (TCF4) function
Mentor: Nathan Urban, PhD
Dept. of Neurobiology
University of Pittsburgh

Third Place
Aaron Sun
Differences in Neural Stem Cell Identity and Differentiation Capacity Modulate Divergent Regenerative Outcomes in Lizards and Salamanders
Mentors: Thomas Lozito, PhD; Rocky Tuan, PhD
Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery, McGowan Institute
University of Pittsburgh

Computation and Modeling

First Place
Ehab Tamimi
Computationally optimizing the compliance of biopolymer tissue engineered vascular grafts
Mentor: Jonathan Vande Geest, PhD
Dept. of Bioengineering, McGowan Institute
University of Pittsburgh

Second Place
Reza Behkam
The aorta and vocal fold paralysis: is there a connection?
Mentor: Jonathan Vande Geest, PhD
Dept. of Bioengineering, McGowan Institute
University of Pittsburgh

Third Place
Lukas Schimunek
Controllability Analysis of Protein-Protein Interaction Networks for Antiviral Drug Development
Mentor: Yoram Vodovotz, PhD
Dept. of Surgery, McGowan Institute
University of Pittsburgh

Medical Devices

First Place
Firuz Feturi
Enzyme Responsive-Release Hydrogel for Targeted Immunosuppression in Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation
Mentor: Vijay Gorantla, MD, PhD
Dept. of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, McGowan Institute
University of Pittsburgh

Second Place
Aimon Iftikhar
A Clinically Relevant Rabbit Surgical Model of Pelvic Reconstruction to Evaluate the Regenerative Immune Response to Novel Surgical Materials
Mentor: Bryan Brown, PhD
Dept. of Bioengineering, McGowan Institute
University of Pittsburgh

Third Place
Eoghan Cunnane
Developing urinary catheter safety devices and improving tissue engineered urethral scaffolds through an enhanced understanding of human urethral biomechanics
Mentors: Michael Walsh, PhD; David Vorp, PhD
School of Engineering, Bernal Institute, University of Limerick
Dept. of Bioengineering, McGowan Institute, University of Pittsburgh

Tissue Engineering

First Place
Sahil Rastogi
Graphene-based Biocompatible and Transparent Micro-Electrode Arrays for Simultaneous Electrical and Optical Measurements of Electrogenic Cells
Mentor: Tzahi Cohen-Karni, PhD
Dept. of Biomedical Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University

Second Place
Lindsey Saldin
Extracellular Matrix Hydrogel Downregulates Neoplastic Esophageal Cell Phenotype
Mentor: Stephen Badylak, DVM, PhD, MD
Dept. of Bioengineering, McGowan Institute
University of Pittsburgh

Third Place
Harman Ghuman
ECM hydrogel injection for the treatment of stroke: Time course comparison of hydrogel retention and phenotypic characterization of invading cells
Mentor: Mike Modo, PhD
Dept. of Radiology, McGowan Institute
University of Pittsburgh

People’s Choice (inaugural award this year)

First Place
Vishal Rakshe
Shape Dependent Effects of Nanomaterials on Macrophage Polarization
Mentor: Shilpa Sant, PhD
Dept. of Pharmaceutical Science, McGowan Institute
University of Pittsburgh

Second Place
Akhil Patel
RegenMatrix: A Growth Factor-free Bone Graft for Craniofacial Bone Regeneration
Mentor: Shilpa Sant, PhD
Dept. of Pharmaceutical Science, McGowan Institute
University of Pittsburgh

Third Place
Karis Kosar
Treatment of a Mouse Model of Cholestasis with a Thyromimetic Improves Biliary Injury but Exacerbates Hepatocyte Injury
Mentor: Kari Nejak-Bowen, PhD, MBA
Dept. of Pathology, McGowan Institute
University of Pittsburgh

Poster Awards Sponsored by sciVelo
First place: $200 (each category)
Second place: $125
Third place: $75

CATER Program

First Place
Aaron Sun
Differences in Neural Stem Cell Identity and Differentiation Capacity Modulate Divergent Regenerative Outcomes in Lizards and Salamanders
Mentors: Thomas Lozito, PhD, and Rocky Tuan, PhD
Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery, McGowan Institute
University of Pittsburgh

Second Place
Colin Beckwitt
Adjuvant Statin Therapy Efficacy is dictated by Tumor Dormancy and Statin Lipophilicity in ex vivo and in vivo Models of Metastatic Breast Cancer
Mentor: Alan Wells, MD, DMS
Dept. of Pathology
University of Pittsburgh

Third Place
Jacquelyn Russell
Lack of Beta-catenin in Hepatocytes Impairs Proliferation and Promotes Liver Progenitor Cell-Mediated Repair in Response to the Choline-Deficient Ethionine-Supplemented Diet
Mentor: Paul Monga, MD
Dept. of Pathology
University of Pittsburgh

Awards by CATER
First place: $200
Second place: $125
Third place: $75

A special thank you is extended to all who made this year’s Retreat a success!

See the full Retreat Program here.