The McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine operates under three main pillars of research – Medical Devices and Artificial Organs, Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials, and Cellular Therapies – with a commitment to rapid Clinical Translation.
Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials
Within the Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials program, Institute researchers are working to create biodegradable polymeric materials with appropriate mechanical properties that can be modified to incorporate biological activity. Using these biodegradable materials, tissue engineers are combining temporary scaffolds with cellular components to regenerate tissue.
Cellular Therapies
The field of celluar therapeutics is vast, affording an exciting array of potential applications. Within the Cellular Therapies program, researchers are working with a variety of cells, including stem cells and genetically manipulated cells, to repair or replace cellular function.
Medical Devices and Artificial Organs
The goal of the Medical Devices and Artificial Organs program is to develop and refine technologies that will maintain, improve or even restore the function of diseased organs. Research in this area focuses on efforts to replace tissue function with entirely synthetic constructs (fully artificial organs) or with constructs made of both synthetic and cellular components (biohybrid organs).
Clinical Translation
Through its affiliation with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine has access to one of the nation’s finest health systems. In fact, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is consistently ranked by U.S. News and World Report as one of the best health systems in the country, with a well-established and well-organized clinical trial infrastructure, and a large, diverse population from which to draw study subjects.
