MIRM Retreat 2019 1

The McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine held its 2019 Scientific Retreat March 11-12, 2019.  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 (listed below) 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 also introduced the Distinguished Lecturer, Jennifer Elisseeff, PhD, Professor of Ophthalmology, Director of the Translational Tissue Engineering Center, Johns Hopkins University.  Dr. Elisseeff’s presentation was entitled, “Lessons in Regenerative Medicine Translation: Are We Designing for the Right Therapeutic Target?”

A first-time-ever, open-to-the-public program was also held.  “Stem Cell Therapies: Hope vs Hype” focused on understanding both the potential and the limitations of stem cells.  Bill Flanagan, chief corporate relations officer, Allegheny Conference on Community Development, served as the panel moderator.  Panelists included:

  • Lawrence Wechsler, MD, Chair, Department of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
  • Carl Kurlander, documentarian and filmmaker, Visiting Distinguished Senior Lecturer, University of Pittsburgh
  • J. Peter Rubin, MD, chair, Department of Plastic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh

A video of this discussion can be viewed here.

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

  • Pulmonary Bioengineering/Biohybrid Organs
  • Importance of (Re)Vascularization in Tissue Regeneration
  • Computational Modeling of Injury, Infection, Inflammation, and Healing
  • Regenerative Rehabilitation
  • Pediatric Device Initiative
  • Drug Delivery Strategies in the Extracellular and Intracellular Space
  • Tumor Immunotherapy: Novel Research Foci and Improved Clinical Targets
  • Emerging Military Threats, Combat Casualty Gaps and Opportunities for Innovation
  • Liver Regeneration
  • Image-Guided Drug Delivery in Regenerative Medicine
  • Let’s Talk Science: Communicating Your Research to Different Audiences

The Retreat program also included 88 presentations addressing a great cross-section of scientific topics given by McGowan Institute affiliated faculty and 57 invited researchers from other institutions and agencies who are not formally affiliated with the McGowan Institute (in alphabetical order):

  • Peter Alexander, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of   Pittsburgh: “Development of Human MSC-Based Organotypic Cultures for Toxicity Testing”
  • Carl Anderson, PhD, Division Head, Pharmaceutical, Administrative & Social Sciences, Duquesne University School of Pharmacy: “Process Analytical Technology (PAT) Technology and Applications”
  • Ali Aral, MD, Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Poster 40: “Elucidation and Integration of Tissue-Specific, Protein-Level Inflammatory Networks following Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation”
  • David Bartlett, MD, Bernard Fisher Professor of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine: “Oncolytic Vaccinia Virus Delivering Cytokines – Trials and Tribulations”
  • Michael Behrens, BS, PhD Student, Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh Poster 4: “Biomagnetic Genetically Programmed Multicellular Microrobots”
  • Andrew Bradshaw, BS, PhD Student, Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh: “The Therapeutically Induced Matrisome (Tim) Protects and Promotes Metastatic Disease”
  • Donna Brezinski, MD, CEO and Founder, Little Sparrows Technologies, Inc.: “Bili-Hut™:  Merging Human Centered Design, Usability, Biomedical Engineering and Health Economics to Democratize Newborn Jaundice Treatment”
  • Tullia Bruno, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh: “Tumor Infiltrating B Cells: An Immunotherapy Target on the Rise”
  • Maysam Chamanzar, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer   Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University: “Parylene Photonics: A New Platform for Flexible Optoelectronic Sensors”
  • Ryan Champagne, Grants Development Coordinator, Office of Research, University of Pittsburgh: “Finding Money”
  • Stephen Chan, MD, PhD, FAHA, Director, Center for Pulmonary Vascular Biology and Medicine; Associate Professor of Medicine, Pittsburgh Heart, Lung, Blood, and Vascular Medicine Institute, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, UPMC and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine: “Iron-Sulfur Biogenesis Controls Endothelial Dysfunction in Pulmonary Hypertension”
  • David Chi, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh; Clinical Director, Division of Pediatric Otolaryngology, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh: “Biodegradable Magnesium Alloy-Based Tracheal Stent”
  • Vaughn Cooper, PhD, Professor, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh: “Being Social: Dos and Don’ts of Talking Science on Social Media”
  • Leonardo D’Aiuto, PhD, Research Instructor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh: “iPSC-Based Three-Dimensional Neuronal Platforms for Modeling CNS Infections and Drug Screening”
  • Greg Delgoffe, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh: “Engineering Metabolic Sufficiency in Adoptive Cell Therapies for Cancer”
  • Cameron Dezfullian, MD, Assistant Professor, Adult and Pediatric Critical Care Medicine and Clinical and Translational Science; Scientist, Safar Center for Resuscitation Research; Faculty, Vascular Medicine Institute, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine: “ThreadRiteIV Catheter”
  • Rajeev Dhupar, MD, MBA, Assistant Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery; Chief, Thoracic Surgery, VAMC of Pittsburgh; Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh: “Novel Immune Approaches to the Pleural Space”
  • James K. Drennen, PhD, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs, Duquesne University School of Pharmacy: “Quality by Design: Modern Strategies for Product Development”
  • Chigozirim Ekeke, MD, Cardiothoracic Surgery Resident, UPMC: “Current Therapies for Malignant Pleural Effusion”
  • Swaytha Ganesh, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine—Division of   Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition; Medical Director of Living Donor Program—UPMC Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, Center for Liver Diseases, University of Pittsburgh: “Liver Regeneration Making Living Donation Feasible”
  • Jorge Genovese, MD, PhD, Vice President of Electrical Stimulation Regeneration Research, BioLeonhardt LTP; Cal-X Starts Business Accelerator; Leonhardt’s Launchpads Utah: “Bioelectric Medicine: A Regenerative Approach”
  • Anne Germain, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Clinical and Translational Science (on leave), University of Pittsburgh; CEO, Noctem LLC: “Life Sciences Start-Ups: Lessons from the First Year”
  • Miroslaw Janowski, MA, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University: “Interventional PET for Precise and Quantitative Monitoring of the Delivery of Biologicals to the Brain”
  • Jana Kainerstorfer, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University: “Monitoring of Cerebral Perfusion Continuously and at the Bedside with Near-Infrared Light”
  • Arthur Levine, MD, Senior Vice Chancellor for the Health Sciences, John and Gertrude Petersen Dean, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine: “Institutional Environment and Support for New/Early Stage Investigators”
  • Jingjing Li, MD, Research Fellow, Department of Plastic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh: “Local Delivery of Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Promotes Immunomodulation      and Allograft Survival in Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation (VCA)”
  • Zhong Li, PhD, Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh: “Organ-on-a-Chip System for the Modeling of Synovial Joint Pathologies”
  • Lu Liu, MS, PhD Candidate, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chronic Pain Research Consortium, Duquesne University Poster 76: “Theranostic Analgesic Regenerative Gel-Emulsion Technology (T.A.R.G.E.T.) Platform for Local Analgesia and Promotion of Nerve Regeneration”
  • Jason Lohmueller, PhD, Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh: “Engineering Universal CAR and SynNotch Receptors for Programmable Antigen Targeting”
  • Katherine Lorentz, MS, PhD Student, Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh Poster 100: “Cytokine Mimicking Microspheres for Use in Porous Scaffolds”
  • Marcus Malek, MD, FAAP, Assistant Professor of Surgery; Director, Pediatric Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh: “PET Probe for Radioguided Surgery”
  • Hikaru Mamiya, BS, PhD Student, Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh: “Exposure of Muscle Stem Cells to a Stiff Microenvironment Drives an “Aged” Mitochondrial Phenotype”
  • Devika S. Manickam, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Duquesne University: “Nanoparticle-mediated CNS Drug Delivery”
  • Shibin Mathew, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Cancer Biology, Dana Farber Cancer Institute; Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School: “Computing Stem Cell Fate Choice for Regenerative Medicine Applications”
  • Michael McClincy, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh: “interACTION: ACL”
  • Christine McDonough, PT, PhD, Assistant Professor, Departments of Physical Therapy and Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine: “Evaluating Clinical Outcomes of Biological Treatments”
  • Mara McFadden, MBA, VP of Product and Medical Devices, LifeX Ventures: “Regional Resources for Taking a Company from Concept to Start-Up”
  • Charlie O’Hanlon, President and CEO, CelSense: “Development of Imaging Nanoparticles for Translational MR Imaging in Regenerative Medicine”
  • Ryan Orizondo, PhD, Postdoctoral Associate, McGowan Institute, University of Pittsburgh: “Thirty-Day In Vivo Evaluation of a Wearable Pumping Artificial Lung”
  • Burak Ozdoganlar, PhD, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University: “Microneedles Arrays for Transdermal and Intradermal Deliver of Bioactive Molecules and their Application for Endogenous Sensing”
  • Vaibhav P. Pai, PhD, Research Scientist II, Allen Discovery Center, Tufts University: “Exploiting Endogenous Bioelectric Signaling for Regenerative Medicine”
  • Monica Pearl, MD, DABR, Associate Professor, Interventional Neuroradiology; Director, Interventional Neuroradiology Fellowship Program; Director of Faculty Experience, Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University: “Unmet Needs and Opportunities for Regenerative Medicine in Interventional Neuroradiology”
  • Ngoc Pham, BS, PhD Student, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Duquesne University: “Kinetic Model Simulation and Antigenicity Analysis of a Miniaturized Fc-Binding Domain for Local Deposition of Antibodies”
  • Joseph Pugar, CEO, Aruga Technologies LLC: “Life Sciences Start-Ups: Lessons from the First Year”
  • Liz Reid, Health & Science Editor, 90.5 WESA FM: “Science in the News: What Makes Your Research Interesting to a Reporter”
  • Nicholas L. Robbins, DO, Surgical Resident, AIRMED, 59th MDW, U.S. Air Force: “Prevention of Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury and Chronic Rejection in a Porcine Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation Model”
  • Jacquelyn Russell, BS, PhD Student, Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh: “Lack of Beta-Catenin in Hepatocytes Impairs Proliferation and Promotes Liver Progenitor Cell-Mediated Repair in Response to Hepatic Injury”
  • Margaux Salas, PhD, Senior Scientist, AIRMED, 59th MDW, U.S. Air Force: “Prolonged Field Care on the Multi-Domain Battlefield: Current Emphasis and Future Needs”
  • Pablo G. Sanchez, MD, PhD, FACS, Assistant Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery; Vice Chairman, Benign Lung Diseases; Surgical Director, Lung Transplantation and ECMO; Director, Lung Transplant Research; Director, Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion (EVLP) Program, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh: “Clinical Aspects of Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion”
  • Benjamin K. Schilling, MS, PhD Student, Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh Poster 106: “Adipose-Derived Stem Cells Partially Mitigate Muscle Atrophy after Peripheral Nerve Injury in the Rodent Model”
  • Michael Sippel, MD, Surgical Resident, AIRMED, 59th MDW, U.S. Air Force: “The AIRMED Program: Regenerative, Resuscitative and Restorative Technologies in Combat Casualty Care”
  • Brian Stancil, PhD, President, Lifeware Labs: “Continuous Monitoring and Treatment Opportunities, Applications and Challenges Using Biosensing Stickers”
  • Antonio Torres, Entrepreneur in Residence, University of Pittsburgh: “Business Basics: Pitching your Invention to Potential Partners”
  • Piotr Walczak, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University: “Image-Guided Intra-Arterial Delivery of Cell Therapy for Stroke”
  • Mallory R. Wampler, MD, Postdoctoral Scholar, AIRMED/RESTOR, United States Army Institute of Surgical Research: “Theranostic Analgesic Regenerative Gel-Emulsion Technology (T.A.R.G.E.T.) Platform for Local Analgesia and Promotion of Nerve Regeneration”
  • Jacqueline Wittmer, BS, PhD student, Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University   Poster 110: “Perfused 3D Printed Collagen Tubes Support Tissue Viability”
  • Sai Yerneni, BS, PhD Student, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University: “Decellularized Chick Chorioallantoic Membrane as an Inductive Biomaterial for Functional Blood and Lymph Vasculature”

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

Jingjing Li
Local Delivery of Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Promotes Immunomodulation and Allograft Survival in Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation (VCA)
Mentor: Mario Solari, MD
Dept. of Plastic Surgery
University of Pittsburgh

Second Place

Daniel Zuppo
Foxm1 drives Cardiomyocyte Proliferation during Zebrafish Cardiac Regeneration
Mentor: Michael Tsang, PhD
Dept. of Developmental Biology
University of Pittsburgh

Third Place

Kyle Sylakowski
The Angiogenic Capability of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Coupled with Tenascin-C Under Hypoxic Conditions 
Mentor: Alan Wells, MD, DMS
Dept. of Pathology
University of Pittsburgh

Computation and Modeling

First Place

Leonid Emerel
Pre-Dissection-Derived Geometric and Distensibility Indices Reveal Increased Peak Longitudinal Stress and Stiffness in Patients Sustaining Acute Type A Aortic Dissection: Implications for Predicting Dissection
Mentors: Thomas Gleason, MD, Julie Phillippi, PhD, Marie Billaud, PhD
Dept. of Cardiothoracic Surgery, McGowan Institute
University of Pittsburgh

Second Place

George Gabriel
Characterization of Neurodevelopmental Defects Associated with a Mouse Model of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
Mentor: Cecilia Lo, PhD
Dept. of Developmental Biology
University of Pittsburgh

Third Place

Ronald Fortunato
Failure Biomechanics of Arterial Tissue
Mentor: Spandan Maiti, PhD
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science
University of Pittsburgh

Medical Devices

First Place

Alexis Nolfi
Polyelectrolyte multilayer coating for delivery of IL-4 from contact lenses for dry eye disease
Mentor: Bryan Brown PhD
Dept. of Bioengineering, McGowan Institute
University of Pittsburgh

Second Place

Edgar Aranda-Michel
Beating Heart Simulation of Left Ventricular Compression for Heart Failure
Mentor: Dennis Trumble, PhD
Dept. of Biomedical Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University

Third Place

Catherine Go
A Novel Retrievable Rescue Stent as a Comprehensive Solution to Non-Compressible Traumatic Hemorrhage
Mentor: Bryan Tillman, MD, PhD
Dept. of Surgery, McGowan Institute
University of Pittsburgh

Tissue Engineering

First Place

Saigopalakrishna Yerneni
Transdermal Delivery of Extracellular Vesicles Using Dissolvable Microneedle Arrays to Control Inflammation
Mentor: Phil Campbell, PhD
Dept. of Biomedical Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University

Second Place

Sahil Rastogi
Novel Three-Dimensional Fuzzy Graphene (3DFG)-Based Ultra Microelectrodes Array for Sub-Cellular Electrical Recordings
Mentor: Tzahi Cohen-Karni, PhD
Dept. of Biomedical Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University

Third Place

Michael Buckenmeyer
The Development of Ovarian Hydrogels as an Alternative Strategy for Fertility Preservation Mentor: Bryan Brown PhD
Dept. of Bioengineering, McGowan Institute
University of Pittsburgh

People’s Choice

Ngoc Pham
Kinetic Model Simulation and Antigenicity Analysis of a Miniaturized Fc-Binding Domain for Local Deposition of Antibodies
Mentor: Wilson Meng, PhD
Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Duquesne University

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

CATER Program

First Place

Alexis Nolfi
Polyelectrolyte multilayer coating for delivery of IL-4 from contact lenses for dry eye disease
Mentor: Bryan Brown PhD
Dept. of Bioengineering, McGowan Institute
University of Pittsburgh

Second Place

George Gabriel
Characterization of Neurodevelopmental Defects Associated with a Mouse Model of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
Mentor: Cecilia Lo, PhD
Dept. of Developmental Biology
University of Pittsburgh

 Third Place

Andrew Bradshaw
The Therapeutically Induced Matrisome (Tim) Protects and Promotes Metastatic Disease
Mentor: Alan Wells, MD, DMS
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.

Photos Credit:  Aimee Colabine Beattie.