Newsletter

Newsletter | August 2021

August 2021 | VOL. 20, NO. 8| www.McGowan.pitt.edu

ISSRDC Highlights Opportunities Within Biomanufacturing in Space

The 2021 International Space Station Research and Development Conference (ISSRDC) featured a fireside chat on biomanufacturing in space. Gary Rodrigue, MBA, director of programs and partnerships at the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), moderated a discussion with William Wagner, PhD, director of the University of Pittsburgh’s McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The discussion focused on the value of space-based biomanufacturing and the critical role of the orbiting laboratory in advancing this research area. Read More

Newsletter | July 2021

July 2021 | VOL. 20, NO. 7| www.McGowan.pitt.edu

Pitt-UPMC Scientists Are Inventing mRNA Vaccine to Cure Liver Failure

Today, the only cure for end-stage liver disease is an organ transplant – an expensive treatment, and the demand for which outweighs the supply. Nearly 12,000 people in the U.S. are waiting for a liver as of July 2021. Read More

Newsletter | June 2021

By The McGowan Institute For Regenerative Medicine | Newsletter, Newsletter 2021 | Comments are Closed | 30 June, 2021 | 0

June 2021 | VOL. 20, NO. 6| www.McGowan.pitt.edu

Injection of Light-Sensitive Proteins Restores Blind Man’s Vision

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

Newsletter | May 2021

By The McGowan Institute For Regenerative Medicine | Newsletter, Newsletter 2021 | Comments are Closed | 25 May, 2021 | 0

May 2021 | VOL. 20, NO. 5| www.McGowan.pitt.edu

Serving Those Who Serve

The third Saturday in May marks National Armed Forces Day. Here are some In the News articles which detail the ways in which the research of McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty members supports members of the military community: Read More

Newsletter | April 2021

By The McGowan Institute For Regenerative Medicine | Newsletter, Newsletter 2021 | Comments are Closed | 29 April, 2021 | 0

April 2021 | VOL. 20, NO. 4| www.McGowan.pitt.edu

Pitt Innovation Awards

In a April 22nd virtual presentation, the University of Pittsburgh Innovation Institute has recognized the achievements of three McGowan affiliated faculty members: Read More

Newsletter | March 2021

By The McGowan Institute For Regenerative Medicine | Newsletter, Newsletter 2021 | Comments are Closed | 30 March, 2021 | 0

March 2021 | VOL. 20, NO. 3| www.McGowan.pitt.edu

Pitt Health Academy: Research in Orbit

In 2019, the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory formed a research partnership with the University of Pittsburgh’s McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Read More

Newsletter | February 2021

By The McGowan Institute For Regenerative Medicine | Newsletter, Newsletter 2021 | Comments are Closed | 25 February, 2021 | 0

February 2021 | VOL. 20, NO. 2| www.McGowan.pitt.edu

2021 Class of NAI Senior Members Announced

The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) has named 63 of the world’s best emerging academic inventors to its 2021 class of Senior Members. Three of those honorees are McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty members (pictured top to bottom): Read More

Newsletter |January 2021

By The McGowan Institute For Regenerative Medicine | Newsletter, Newsletter 2021 | Comments are Closed | 29 January, 2021 | 0

January 2021 | VOL. 20, NO. 1| www.McGowan.pitt.edu

Breathing Easier with a Better Tracheal Stent

Pediatric laryngotracheal stenosis (LTS), a narrowing of the airway in children, is a complex medical condition. While it can be something a child is born with or caused by injury, the condition can result in a life-threatening emergency if untreated. Treatment, however, is challenging. Depending on the severity, doctors will use a combination of endoscopic techniques, surgical repair, tracheostomy, or deployment of stents to hold the airway open and enable breathing. Read More

Newsletter |December 2020

By The McGowan Institute For Regenerative Medicine | Newsletter, Newsletter 2020 | Comments are Closed | 18 December, 2020 | 0

December 2020 | VOL. 19, NO. 12| www.McGowan.pitt.edu

Synthetic Biology and Machine Learning Speed the Creation of Lab-Grown Livers

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have combined synthetic biology with a machine-learning algorithm to create human liver organoids with blood- and bile-handling systems. When implanted into mice with failing livers, the lab-grown replacement livers extended life. Read More

Newsletter |November 2020

By The McGowan Institute For Regenerative Medicine | Newsletter, Newsletter 2020 | Comments are Closed | 25 November, 2020 | 0

November 2020 | VOL. 19, NO. 11| www.McGowan.pitt.edu

Hydroxychloroquine Doesn’t Help COVID-19 In Patients

UPMC and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine physician-scientists—including McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member Derek Angus, MD, MPH, UPMC chief healthcare innovation officer, chair of the UPP Department of Critical Care Medicine and physician director of the UPMC ICU Service Center, University of Pittsburgh’s inaugural associate vice chancellor for health care innovation, and Distinguished Professor and the Mitchell P. Fink Endowed Chair in Critical Care Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine—contributed to a national study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reporting findings that “do not support” the use of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of adult patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Read More

Newsletter |October 2020

By The McGowan Institute For Regenerative Medicine | Newsletter, Newsletter 2020 | Comments are Closed | 30 October, 2020 | 0

October 2020 | VOL. 19, NO. 10| www.McGowan.pitt.edu

Dr. Alejandro Soto-Gutierrez Receives NIH Funding to Use Tiny, Bioengineered Organ Models to Improve Clinical Trials’ Development and Design

Approximately 85% of late-stage clinical trials of candidate drugs fail because of drug safety problems or ineffectiveness, despite promising preclinical test results. To help improve the design and implementation of clinical trials, the National Institutes of Health has awarded 10 grants to support researchers’ efforts in using tiny, bioengineered models of human tissues and organ systems to study diseases and test drugs. One major goal of the funded projects is to develop ways to better predict which patients are most likely to benefit from an investigational therapy prior to initiating clinical trials. McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member Alejandro Soto-Gutierrez, MD, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh and an affiliated faculty member of the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, is a co-principal investigator on one of the 10 recently funded projects. Read More

Newsletter |September 2020

By The McGowan Institute For Regenerative Medicine | Newsletter, Newsletter 2020 | Comments are Closed | 30 September, 2020 | 0

September 2020 | VOL. 19, NO. 9| www.McGowan.pitt.edu

$31 Million Received to Study Regenerative Therapy Solutions for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Medicine

A multi-institute collaboration including the University of Pittsburgh received more than $31 million by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) to study regenerative therapies and to improve patient care by providing solutions for the unmet clinical problems in dental, oral, and craniofacial medicine. Read More