Grants We Funded

Abstract
Radiation therapy is a key component in the treatment of certain types of breast cancer and has well-documented adverse effects to adjacent tissues, namely the skin. Long-term consequences of radiation include thickened, fibrotic and inelastic skin which can limit reconstructive options for patients pursuing plastic surgery. Many studies have focused on the beneficial effects of fat grafting in the improvement of the overall appearance of skin but less have focused on its effects in improving the quality of radiated skin. A recent study suggests that fat grafting can help alleviate radiation skin damage by decreasing epidermal thickness, increasing vascularization, and decreasing fibrosis (Sultan, et al., 2011). The exact mechanism in which fat grafting helps curb this damage is not well understood and carries many hypotheses. Many researchers believe it is the presence of Adipose Derived Stem Cells (ADSCs) within fat which may be responsible for such changes. One recent study suggests the possibility that these pluripotent stem cells may be able to differentiate into epithelial stem cells and therefore give rise to epithelial cells which also may improve the quality of the overlying skin (Derby, et al., 2014). The ability to differentiate into epithelial stem cells would be beneficial in assisting in the regeneration of the epithelium in radiation injury where it is damaged. The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that human ADSCs can differentiate into epithelial stem cells and improve healing and quality of skin in radiation injury using an established murine model for cutaneous radiation (Thanik, et al., 2011). Human fat will be processed as three groups: whole fat, cell-rich stromal vascular fraction, and cultured adipose derived stem cells and the same volume be injected into radiated mice using Coleman technique. The skin will be monitored for gross changes and tissue will be collected for analysis at different time points. Conversion of ADSCs to epithelial stem cells will be tested with flow cytometry and histology.

Biography
Tim Daugherty began his education at the University of Illinois where he began research as a laboratory assistant studying Drosophila melanogaster. He then joined a genetics lab where he designed and executed a project funded by a National Science Foundation REU grant studying the effects of nutrition on the behavior of wasps. For this project he won many awards including the entomology undergraduate achievement award, high distinction award in molecular cellular biology, and the cell developmental biology departmental award for distinguished research. He continued this research while working on his Master’s degree by focusing on the changes in brain gene expression brought about by these behavioral changes; this was published in molecular ecology. In medical school he realized his interest in the correlation between anatomy, form, and function that only a career in plastic surgery could provide. He therefore again began formulating questions for research and investigating infections caused by acellular dermal matrices used in breast reconstruction. He has presented this as a poster and it has been presented at national conferences. As a new resident, he immediately got involved in research as he designed the proposed research project. Through this research he is hoping to contribute to the plastic surgery community by proposing a mechanism for the skin improvements and thus make further proposals as to the uses of adipose-derived stem cells.