Extremity trauma has been the predominant cause of combat casualties for U.S. armed forces members in recent military conflicts. These injuries often result in long-term functional disabilities, pain, and neurologic dysfunction. Our work utilizes preclinical models of extremity trauma to test new tissue engineered therapies in combination with rehabilitation regimens. The overall objective of this work is to develop novel tissue engineered therapies--combining new biomaterials, stem cells, and biologics--for muscle and bone defects and improve the physical rehabilitation methods used for treating multi-tissue trauma. Some of our current projects include:
- Development pre-vascularized bone constructs as tissue engineered therapeutics and microphysiologic systems
- Investigation of the role of osteopontin in MSCs
- Development and biological evaluation of porous, patient-specific interbody fusion devices