Limb and Digit Projects

Recruiting Cells for Regeneration

Taking cues from salamanders that can re-grow limbs, this team is investigating mechanisms for recruiting large populations of stem cells to the site of limb and digit injury and then “instructing” these cells to form functional limb and finger tissue to replace the damaged or missing structures.

Project Leader:
Steve Badlyak, M.D., Ph.D., D.V.M., University of Pittsburgh

Hand Transplantation

The powerful anti-rejection drugs required with current hand transplants are often enough to deter patients from undergoing the procedure. Using donor bone marrow stem cells in combination with novel proteins, this group aims to reduce of drugs, and eventually wean patients off immunosuppressant therapy.

Project Leader:
Andrew Lee, M.D., University of Pittsburgh

Restoring Function after Trauma

Large injuries often involve injury to nerves, blood vessels and bone. By learning more about the cues that direct the growth of these components in a synchronized manner, researchers are working to develop and test technologies that will enable the restoration of limb function after trauma.

Project Leader:
Robert Guldberg, Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology

Peripheral Nerve Repair

When nerve fibers are cut or crushed, one current option to promote repair is placing an empty tube, called a nerve guide, between the cut ends so that nerve fibers can grow through it and back into the muscle. The project aims to develop a novel proactive nerve guide that combines biomaterials, growth factors and cells to promote nerve regrowth.

Project Leaders:
Kacey G. Marra, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh, David Kaplan, Ph.D., Tufts University, and Tom Smith, Ph.D., Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Nerve regeneration

Peripheral nerve damage is a significant limiting factor in regeneration of traumatic limb wounds. The project works to induce peripheral nerve growth by modulating components of the naturally occurring materials that support nerve cells.

Project Leader:
Matthew Tirrell, Ph.D., University of California at Santa Barbara

Oxygen Generating Biomaterials

Lack of oxygen due to a disrupted blood supply is a key factor that limits tissue salvage and wound healing. This team is creating an injectable oxygen-generating biomaterial that can provide a sustained release of oxygen to wounds while supporting blood vessel networks are established or repaired.

Project Leader:
Ben Harrison, Ph.D., Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Identifying Genes Involved in Limb Regeneration

Extracellular matrix, the naturally occurring materials that support cells, has shown promise in regenerating cells after amputation. This project will explore the genes that expressed in developing or regenerating limbs and fingers, with the goal of identifying genes that will need to be activiated or suppressed to augment regeneration.

Project Leaders:
Ron Stewart, Ph.D., and Jamie Thomson, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin

Cell Sorting for Transplant Therapies

Cells with regenerative capabilities are the basis of regenerative medicine. Because these cells are extremely rare, isolating them from a small tissue biopsy or blood sample is challenging. This team is developing devices that can sort and isolate cells from complex mixtures of cells.

Project Leader:
H. Tom Soh, Ph.D., University of California – Santa Barbara