Regenerative Medicine Partnership with Cornell University

Scientists at McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine are partnering Brownwith innovators at Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine to advance healing techniques and technologies for animals and humans.

The research partnership has spawned shared grant funding.  For example, McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine affiliated faculty member Bryan Brown, PhD, and Jon Cheetham, DVM, PhD, a large animal surgeon and equine researcher at Cornell, have just received a 3-year National Institutes of Health grant to explore new techniques for improving nerve repair, to heal debilitating nerve injuries in people, and restore laryngeal function in people, dogs, and horses.

Cornell and McGowan Institute scientists also work together to use regeneration techniques in the meniscus, a jaw joint in which tears can affect chewing and speech.

The McGowan Institute and several College of Veterinary Medicine faculty members work on the potential of regenerative techniques – such as tissue engineering, cellular therapies, and artificial organ devices – in repairing damaged tissues and organs. In the collaboration, professionals from both institutions exchange research, techniques, and ideas to advance the science and application of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine across species.

“This is a natural partnership,” said Dr. Cheetham. “We have expertise in preclinical animal models of human disease and special resources for research – like looking at laryngeal function over time in horses on a treadmill or taking MRIs of the temporomandibular joint in pigs. We also have experts in developmental biology. That’s important because aspects of regenerative medicine attempt to mimic the early stages of development, when true regeneration, not just repair, can happen.”

Read more…

Cornell University