Loading...

Burn Repair Projects

Over the next five years, the Wake Forest-Pittsburgh Consortium expects to begin at least six clinical studies to test potential new treatments for burn patients. A variety of strategies are being pursued:

Tissue-engineered skin products

Several regenerative medicine technologies to provide a functional replacement for skin are being explored, including a cell-based therapy to treat deep, extensive burns and an “off the shelf” skin replacement that would be instantly available.

Project Leaders:
David Hurley, Ph.D., Organogenesis, Inc., and Paul D. Kemp, Ph.D., Regenerative Medicine Assets Limited


Spraying Stem Cells

Recell Spray A spray gun system to deliver skin cells directly to burns would eliminate the need for grafts. The goal is grow cells in the lab and preserve them through freezing, so that they could be banked and readily available for treating burn patients.

Project Leader:
Jorge Gerlach, M.D., Ph.D., McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine


Healing Gel

Keratin, a protein found in human hair, has shown promise for wound healing. Data suggests that keratin may protect cells from injury and promotes survival, which could help prevent a burn wound from growing larger.

Project Leader:
Mark Van Dyke, Ph.D.: Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine


Artificial Proteins for Skin Regeneration

By developing artificial proteins using artificial genes, scientists hope to create new biological materials that mimic the work of natural proteins that support cells. The ultimate goal is to develop new materials to promote burn repair.

Project Leader:
David Tirrell, Ph.D.: Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies, UCSB-California Institute of Technology


Bio-printing of Skin

Bioprinting Using the technology behind ink-jet printers, scientists are developing a portable system to “print” skin grafts. This would allow the ability to treat massive burns immediately, allowing for a rapid restoration of the skin and potentially minimizing scarring.

Project Leader:
James Yoo, M.D., Ph.D.: Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine


Amniotic-fluid stem cells for burns

Using the stem cells found in amniotic fluid, researchers hope to develop a renewable source of skin cells needed to engineer an “off the shelf” skin product for treating extensive burns. The use of stem cells would help ensure an immunological match of graft to recipient.

Project Leader:
Mark Furth, Ph.D.: Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine


ReCell® Device

Recell Device A clinical study is under way to test this technology, which involves harvested healthy skin cells in the operating room and multiplying them on-site. Cells are sprayed on a burn, covering an area 80 times the size of the biopsy. The cells multiple and create new skin tissue with no risk of rejection.

Project Leader:
James H. Holmes IV, M.D., Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine


Expanded Living Skin

Using a computer-controlled bioreactor system to generate living tissue in the lab, scientists can expand a skin biopsy to at least twice its size. The technology has the potential to provide an alternative for generating “more” skin for grafting when faced with limited donor sites.

Project Leaders:
Sang Jin Lee, Ph.D., James Yoo, M.D., Ph.D., and James H. Holmes IV, M.D., Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine