Current News

DiFusion Technologies, Inc. recently announced landmark data for the company’s ZFUZE Surgical Polymer and how it compares to traditional biomaterials like Titanium and Poly-Ether-Ether-Ketone (PEEK). The data and the importance of the immune system response in new technologies such as ZFUZE were debated by Stephen Badylak, DVM, MD, PhD, Deputy Director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh, and Director of the Center for Pre-Clinical Tissue Engineering within the Institute, at the International Society for Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS) in late May 2021 in Miami.  Dr. Badylak is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of DiFusion Technologies, Inc. Read More

The Starzl Network for Excellence in Pediatric Transplantation led by UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh has partnered with OmniLife to drive innovation around transplant graft selection and acceptance, specifically with the goal of reducing pediatric waitlist mortality. Read More

Recently, leaders of the Pennsylvania National Guard awarded McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member Rory Cooper, PhD, FISA & Paralyzed Veterans of America Professor and Distinguished Professor of the Department of Rehabilitation Science & Technology, Professor of Bioengineering, Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, and Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh, and Founding Director and VA Senior Research Career Scientist of the Human Engineering Research Laboratories (HERL), and Garrett Grindle, PhD, Associate Director for Engineering at HERL and a Research Scientist at the University of Pittsburgh, the Pennsylvania Veterans Service Award for their work protecting veterans and their caregivers during the pandemic. Read More

McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member Victoria Webster-Wood, PhD, an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering with a courtesy appointment in Biomedical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, received a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award for her work on robotic design. Her research will focus on creating actuators for biohybrid robots using living muscle and controlling these actuators with neurons. Dr. Webster-Wood’s project uses animal-inspired designs to improve robotic mobility. She hopes that muscle-based robots will be more adaptable and self-healing. Her award also describes outreach programs to increase numbers of underrepresented groups in robotics. Read More

It is not every day that scientists come across a phenomenon so fundamental that it is observed across fruit flies, rodents, and humans. Read More

There is no long-term benefit to surgically placing tympanostomy tubes in a young child’s ears to reduce the rate of recurrent ear infections during the ensuing two years compared with giving oral antibiotics to treat ear infections, a randomized trial led by UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh pediatrician-scientists determined. McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member Joseph Dohar, MD—Co-Director of the Wound Healing Program at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, the Research Director of Children’s Aerodigestive Center, the Medical Director of its Voice, Resonance, and Swallowing Center, a Professor of Otolaryngology in the School of Medicine, a Professor of Communication Science and Disorders in the School of Health and Rehabilitation at the University of Pittsburgh, and a Staff Otolaryngologist at both UPMC Presbyterian Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC—is a co-author on the study. Read More

The McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine applauds its affiliated faculty members who were recently recognized by Pittsburgh Magazine as a Top Doctor.  Castle Connolly Top Doctors is a healthcare research company and the official source for Top Doctors for the past 25 years.  In 2021, 677 doctors in 63 specialties were honored. Read More

Paul Kirsch of Greentree is a retired U.S. Marine and Reservist, teacher and administrator in the Northgate and Keystone Oaks school districts, and a former Keystone Oaks School Board member. He had his first job in sixth grade and worked post-retirement until he was 80, teaching education classes at a local college. Now at age 87, Mr. Kirsch’s upbeat attitude and enthusiasm for life hasn’t waned. Read More

After 40 years of blindness, a 58-year-old man can once again see images and moving objects, thanks to an injection of light-sensitive proteins into his retina. Read More

Three current and one former McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty

members were named Fellows of the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering (IAMBE).  IAMBE is made up of fellows who are recognized for their outstanding contributions to the profession of medical and biological engineering. Read More