Newsletter

Newsletter | May 2019

May 2019 | VOL. 18, NO. 05| www.McGowan.pitt.edu

Clinical Trials Moving Forward for ALung Technologies, Inc.

Technology developed in the McGowan Institute Medical Devices Lab under the leadership of William Federspiel, PhD, William Kepler Whiteford Professor of Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, and Critical Care Medicine has been incorporated into products for clinical use by ALung, a University of Pittsburgh spinout company. Dr. Federspiel is the Head of the Scientific Advisory Board and co-founder of ALung Technologies, Inc. The ALung devices are now being evaluated in several clinical trials. ALung is the leading provider of low-flow extracorporeal carbon dioxide removal (ECCO2R) technologies for treating patients with acute respiratory failure. Read More

Newsletter | April 2019

April 2019 | VOL. 18, NO. 04| www.McGowan.pitt.edu

Potential Treatment for Chronic Pain Getting Closer

McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member Joseph Glorioso III, PhD, Co-founder, CODA Biotherapeutics, and Professor and Emeritus Chair, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, is working on a gene therapy approach for treating chronic pain. CODA is developing engineered neurotransmitter receptors that are activated exclusively by orally bioavailable drugs to control the activity of hyperexcitable neurons responsible for chronic neuropathic pain. The gene encoding the receptor is delivered to dysfunctional neurons by proprietary viral vectors that are optimized for robust and targeted gene transfer. Standard neurosurgical procedures are used to administer these viral vectors directly to the neurons to be controlled. Once expressed, the engineered receptor can be activated by the drug to modulate neuronal activity. This enables the selective, tunable and reversible regulation of the receptor – and hence cellular activity – based on the dosing regimen of the drug. CODA is engineering receptors to have exquisite sensitivity for the pharmacological activator, which should dramatically limit off-target side effects that plague many pharmaceutical treatments. Read More

Newsletter | March 2019

By The McGowan Institute For Regenerative Medicine | Newsletter, Newsletter 2019 | Comments are Closed | 27 March, 2019 | 0

March 2019 | VOL. 18, NO. 03| www.McGowan.pitt.edu

McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine Holds Its Annual Scientific Retreat

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. Read More

Newsletter | February 2019

By The McGowan Institute For Regenerative Medicine | Newsletter, Newsletter 2019 | Comments are Closed | 26 February, 2019 | 0

February 2019 | VOL. 18, NO. 02| www.McGowan.pitt.edu

Celebrating a Milestone—Dr. Stephen Badylak’s H-index Reaches 100

Congratulations to McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine deputy director Stephen Badylak, DVM, PhD, MD, professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh and director of the Center for Pre-Clinical Tissue Engineering within the McGowan Institute, as his h-index (Scopus) has reached 100. The h-index is an author-level metric that attempts to measure both the productivity and citation impact of the publications of a scientist. The index is based on the set of the scientist’s most cited papers and the number of citations that they have received in other publications. Read More

Newsletter | January 2019

By The McGowan Institute For Regenerative Medicine | Newsletter, Newsletter 2019 | Comments are Closed | 31 January, 2019 | 0

January 2019 | VOL. 18, NO. 01| www.McGowan.pitt.edu

A Single Injection May Mean a Permanent Cure

Julie Grant, reporting for Pittsburgh’s local CBS affiliate, KDKA, recently visited with McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member George Gittes, MD, Director of the Richard King Mellon Foundation Institute for Pediatric Research and Co-Scientific Director at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. She learned that reversing autoimmune type 1 diabetes without immunosuppression has proven to be extremely difficult, but Dr. Gittes and researchers at Children’s Hospital and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have achieved that outcome in pre-clinical trials with an engineered, safe virus that does gene therapy. Read More

Newsletter | December 2018

By The McGowan Institute For Regenerative Medicine | Newsletter, Newsletter 2018 | Comments are Closed | 19 December, 2018 | 0

December 2018 | VOL. 17, NO. 12| www.McGowan.pitt.edu

‘Longevity Protein’ Rejuvenates Muscle Healing in Old Mice

One of the downsides to getting older is that skeletal muscle loses its ability to heal after injury. New research from the University of Pittsburgh implicates the so-called “longevity protein” Klotho, both as culprit and therapeutic target. Read More

Newsletter | November 2018

By The McGowan Institute For Regenerative Medicine | Newsletter, Newsletter 2018 | Comments are Closed | 30 November, 2018 | 0

November 2018 | VOL. 17, NO. 11| www.McGowan.pitt.edu

Statins May Help Prevent Breast Cancer Metastasis

Mary Kekatos Health Reporter for the Dailymail.com and the Dailymail.com Reporter, recently detailed in her article that statins could prevent the spread of breast cancer, per a new study. Researchers say the drugs, which combat high cholesterol, do not prevent the cancer from occurring but stop it from spreading to other organs. Experiments performed in human cells and laboratory mice found that the pills prevent tumors from migrating to the lungs and liver. Read More

Newsletter | October 2018

By The McGowan Institute For Regenerative Medicine | Newsletter, Newsletter 2018 | Comments are Closed | 30 October, 2018 | 0

October 2018 | VOL. 17, NO. 10| www.McGowan.pitt.edu

Technologies from the Badylak Lab Licensed for Development

ECM Therapeutics, Inc. has licensed multiple extracellular matrix (ECM) technologies developed in the laboratory of Stephen Badylak, DVM, PhD, MD (pictured top), including hydrogels, bioactive derivatives and methods for delivering these materials within the body. Dr. Badylak is a professor in the Department of Surgery, a deputy director of the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and the director of the Center for Pre-Clinical Tissue Engineering within the Institute. Read More

Newsletter | September 2018

By The McGowan Institute For Regenerative Medicine | Newsletter, Newsletter 2018 | Comments are Closed | 28 September, 2018 | 0

September 2018 | VOL. 17, NO. 9| www.McGowan.pitt.edu

2018 Health Care Hero Award Winners: Drs. Stephen Badylak and J. Peter Rubin

Sponsored by the Pittsburgh Business Times, the 2018 Health Care Hero Awards honor the individuals, companies, and organizations in western Pennsylvania for their contributions to improving health care in our region. Read More

Newsletter | August 2018

By The McGowan Institute For Regenerative Medicine | Newsletter, Newsletter 2018 | Comments are Closed | 30 August, 2018 | 0

August 2018 | VOL. 17, NO. 8| www.McGowan.pitt.edu

Platelet-Rich Plasma Does Not Promote Stem Cell-Mediated Cartilage Repair

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is believed to provide pain relief and help to improve joint function in degenerative joint disease, but a new study—coauthored by McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member Rocky Tuan, PhD, Vice-Chancellor and President of The Chinese University of Hong Kong—has shown that it does not act by promoting stem cell proliferation or enhance the cartilage formation capabilities of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The effects of PRP treatment on cartilage formation and chondrogenesis in the presence of adult human MSCs derived from two different sources are reported in the study published in Tissue Engineering, Part A, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. Read More

Newsletter | July 2018

By The McGowan Institute For Regenerative Medicine | Newsletter, Newsletter 2018 | Comments are Closed | 31 July, 2018 | 0

July 2018 | VOL. 17, NO. 7| www.McGowan.pitt.edu

Seeing a Brighter Future

In the Pitt Summer 2018 edition, author Jennie Dorris highlights the career paths of McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member James Funderburgh, PhD, Professor of Ophthalmology and Cell Biology & Physiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and his wife, Martha Funderburgh, MPH, Lab Manager and Sr. Research Technician, Corneal Cell Biology Laboratory, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The story provides “an exciting outlook for a research team inspired by personal experience and driven by the desire to help others see a brighter future.” Read More

Newsletter | June 2018

By The McGowan Institute For Regenerative Medicine | Newsletter, Newsletter 2018 | Comments are Closed | 28 June, 2018 | 0

June 2018 | VOL. 17, NO. 6| www.McGowan.pitt.edu

Dr. Steven Little Receives International Young Investigator Award for Development of Novel Drug Delivery Systems

The Controlled Release Society has announced that McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine faculty member and University of Pittsburgh professor Steven Little, PhD, is the recipient of its 2018 Young Investigator Award. The honor annually recognizes one individual in the world, 40 years of age or younger, for outstanding contributions to the science of controlled release. Dr. Little is the William Kepler Whiteford Endowed Professor and Chair of the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering. Read More