Edward H. Davidson received his medical education at the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London. He spearheads the New York University Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery Laboratories' division of bone biology research with interests including craniofacial surgery, bone tissue engineering, and the role of lacunocanalicular flow in distraction osteogenesis.

Dr. Pusic is a reconstructive surgeon at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. She performed her general surgery residency at Dalhousie University and Plastic Surgery residency at McGill University. She completed a Master's degree in Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University in 1997 and a research fellowship at Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in 2001. Her research interest lies in assessing patient reported outcomes in plastic surgery patients. With grant support from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), she has developed a new questionnaire, the BREAST-Q, which measures satisfaction and quality of life outcomes among breast surgery patients. This questionnaire examines body image, psychological, social, sexual, and physical function as well as satisfaction with the process of care. She is also involved in research to measure patient expectations in breast reconstruction. This NIH funded study is ultimately aimed at improving patient education and promoting shared medical decision-making. Most recently, with further grant support from the ASPS, her research team is developing a new patient-reported outcome measure for facial aesthetic patients--the FACE-Q.

Dr. Song completed her undergraduate education with Honors Distinction in Biology at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating Magna cum Laude. She was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to continue her thesis work in Developmental Neurobiology in Freiburg, Germany. Upon completion of her fellowship, she returned to the U.S. to earn her medical degree at New York University School of Medicine, graduating with Honors in Cell Biology for her research training at Harvard University, which was funded by the Alpha Omega Alpha Carolyn L. Kuckein Fellowship. Her research work culminated in a first author cover article in the Journal of Neuroscience. She is now completing a one year Masters degree as part of the Multidisciplinary Clinical Researchers in Training Program at the University of Michigan under the direction of Kevin C. Chung, MD, MS. Under his supervision, she will begin her 2010 PSEF Research Fellowship conducting a cost-utility analysis of treatments

Richard A. Zoumalan attended medical school at Northwestern University and is currently a chief resident of Otolaryngology at New York University School of Medicine, where he has published numerous first-author papers in peer-reviewed journals. In the basic science realm, he is on the forefront of research into topical gene therapy. He has expanded this project to involve two other residents within his department: Judy W. Lee and Benjamin Roman. Next year, he will do a one year fellowship in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery with Drs. Wayne Larrabee and Craig Murakami at the University of Washington, Seattle.

First Place Basic Science Senior Category - Joel Pessa is an associate professor at UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas in the department of plastic surgery. The senior author of the research and article is Dr. Rod J Rohrich MD FACS. Dr. Rohrich is professor and chairman of the department of plastic surgery and is in charge of the research of facial aging. Dr. Rohrich is past president the Society, and holds the distinguished charity ball chair at UT Southwestern.

Dr. Steinberg was born and raised in Marlboro, New Jersey but moved with his family to Coral Springs, Florida at the age of 10. Upon finishing high school, Dr. Steinberg traveled back up the east coast to attend college at Duke University. He graduated summa cum laude in 1999 with a degree in biomedical engineering. During his time at Duke, he worked on the design, construction, and analysis of transducer devices for a novel type of three dimensional ultrasound imaging. He also had the opportunity to work on a clinical project involving hematopoetic stem cell therapy for patients with advancedstage cancers. Following graduation at Duke, Dr. Steinberg enrolled in the Medical Scientist Training Program at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. After an initial two years of medical school, Dr. Steinberg began his graduate thesis research in the Department of Neuroscience. His doctoral dissertation, entitled “Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Long-Term Synaptic Depression in the Cerebellum” under advisor Richard L. Huganir, Ph.D., included a comprehensive analysis of the key events underlying a form of learning and memory in the cerebellum. Representing a turn from his previous areas of focus in engineering, this work in basic neuroscience enabled Dr. Steinberg to develop expertise in protein biochemistry, molecular biology, cell culture and histology, and genetic engineering including the generation of unique animal models. His work led to first author publications in journals such as Science, Neuron, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Steinberg returned to clinical studies in 2005 and was later awarded both the M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Johns Hopkins in 2007.

Gary A. Tuma, MD is currently an assistant clinical professor of surgery at Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He had previously done research during his general surgical training in stem cell biology, tissue engineering and fat grafting at the University of Pennsylvania with Dr. Louis P. Bucky. He had been a previous recipient of a PSEF grant for research involving fat grafting and preadipocytes while working with Dr. Bucky. After completing his plastic surgical training at Emory University, he joined the practice of Drs. Fox, Moore and Copit, where he has been in practice for the past five years. His research interests still involve tissue engineering and stem cell biology but since in practice, he has been involved in more clinical studies involving breast reconstruction and orthopedic wound reconstruction.This interest has lead to a keen interest in infection and hardware. Specifically the ability to remove biofilm with the salvage of infected hardware using Versajet technology. Through this research he is hoping to show the ability of the Versajet device to aid in the removal of biofilm. This in turn should promote the ability to salvage infected hardware while not injuring the hardware surface or the incorporation of the hardware in the human body.

Timothy W. King, MD, PhD is an Assistant Professor and the Director of Research for the Division of Plastic Surgery at The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. After earning a BS and MS in Bioengineering at Texas A&M University, he received his MD/PhD degree at The University of Texas-Houston. His PhD research was completed in the Department of Plastic Surgery at MD Anderson Cancer Center where he studied angiogenesis in a tissue engineering model resulting in two U.S. patents. His plastic surgery residency was at the NYU Medical Center Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery followed by a fellowship in Pediatric Plastic Surgery at Northwestern University Children's Memorial Hospital. Dr. King's research involves the development of engineered constructs for use in wound healing and reconstructive plastic surgery. He is also conducts translational research to improve microvascular free flap monitoring.

Sahil Kuldip Kapur, MD majored in electrical and computer engineering with a focus in digital signal processing and microfabrication at Cornell University. During his undergraduate studies, Dr. Kapur participated in multiple research projects involving fabricate microchannels and microelectrode devices. During his residency training program in plastic surgery at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, he studied the principles of reconstructing human tissue.

Dr. Jarrahy was born and raised in New York City and completed his undergraduate studies at Stanford University, where he majored in Biology and Italian Studies. He attended medical school at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and began his general surgery residency at NYU Medical Center. While conducting research in Los Angeles during his residency, he met his wife, and subsequently completed his general surgery training at UCSD medical center, and then his plastic surgery residency and craniofacial surgery fellowship at UCLA. He joined the full time faculty at UCLA after his fellowship and is very active in clinical and research efforts. Clinically, his interests are in congenital and acquired craniofacial disorders in children and adults as well as cosmetic and general reconstructive surgery. His research focus is in tissue engineering, specifically in the development of clinically a applicable engineered bone graft substitute. When not in the hospital of the lab, Dr. Jarrahy enjoys spending time with his wife and three young children.

Dr. Kevin C. Chung is a hand and upper extremity surgeon who is Professor of Surgery and an Assistant Dean for Faculty Affairs at the University of Michigan Medical School. He is a Director for the American Board of Plastic Surgery and serves as a board member for ASPS/PSEF. He is the Deputy Editor for the Journal of Hand Surgery and is the Section Editor on Outcomes Research for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Obinna Ezeamuzie, MD was raised in Kuwait. He subsequently relocated to the United States after high school and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.S. in biology from the University of Georgia. He then completed his medical training at The Medical College of Georgia. Following medical school, Dr. Ezeamuzie started a general surgery residency at Brookdale University Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. At the completion of his second clinical year, he joined Dr. Ceradini's lab at New York University School of Medicine, where he is starting his second year studying autologous fat grafting techniques with goals of improving overall survival and graft take.

Anup completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Florida, where he majored in economics, biochemistry and molecular genetics. After graduating from the Yale University MD/MBA program, he currently is in the plastics and reconstructive program at the Yale School of Medicine. During this time, he cofounded Cents of Relief, a 501(3) nonprofit, that endeavors to empower victims of trafficking through healthcare and education. It has recently launched a program to address the burden of burns through pro bono surgery and a burn safety comic book. Clinically, he is interested in craniofacial and reconstructive disease involving both the pediatric and adult population. In addition, his research will take from the intersection of business and medicine attempting to identify cost effective strategies for the surgical management of plastic surgery issues. He will work under the direction of Dr. John Persing to assess surgical interventions in children with craniosynostosis utilizing ERPs and incorporate these findings to optimize the treatment of this craniofacial disorder.

Alexes Hazen graduated from Brown Medical School in 1996 and went on to Residency in the combined General Surgery/Plastic Surgery program at NYU. After completing Residency at NYU she did a one year Microsurgical Fellowship at NYU. In 2001 she began work as an Assistant Professor in Plastic Surgery at NYU and Bellevue Hospital. She is the Director of the NYU Aesthetic Center. In 2004 she became Chief of the Manhattan Veterans Administration in Plastic Surgery performing reconstruction on veterans. She has done research focused on lipoaspirate and developed an animal model to study lipoaspirate as well as an animal model to study radiation damage. Her previous PSEF and National Foundation Grant focused on her work in examining the mechanism by which lipoaspirate alters the environment in which it presents. She has done research on developing 3D animation and surgical simulation to help educate both patients and residents regarding surgical procedures. This grant will focus on the evaluation of surgical simulation and 3D animation to educate surgical residents in specific procedures.

Evan Scott Weitman, MD completed his undergraduate degree in sociology at Brandeis University and later completed his premedical coursework at Columbia University. He worked as a clinical research trials coordinator with a private NYC-based gastroenterology practice. He earned his medical degree at Albert Einstein College of Medicine where he received the Dean's Recognition Award. Dr. Weitman completed two years of general surgery residency at New York University Hospital followed by a prestigious research fellowship at Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center under the direction of Babak J. Mehrara, MD, FACS. Under his supervision, Dr. Weitman will begin his 2012 PSF Research Fellowship conducting experiments to study the role of adipogenesis in the development and regulation of lymphedema.

Caroline Szpalski earned her medical degree Magna Cum Laude at the Free University of Brussels (Universite Libre de Bruxelles, ULB) and is currently a 1st year Orthopedic Surgery Resident (Combined 1st year program with Plastic Surgery) at the ULB Hospitals in Brussels. Under her MD/PhD program, Caroline has the opportunity to spend two years in the Institute of Reconstructive and Plastic Surgery (NYU) as a Post Doctoral Research Fellow. Of note, she recently won a Belgian American Exchange Foundation Fellowship Grant (B.A.E.F Post Doctoral Fellowship Grant). Her research interests include bone tissue engineering, impaired wound healing and skin stem cells.

Ivona Percec, MD, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Plastic Surgery at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. She completed her undergraduate work in molecular biology and medieval history at Princeton University and her medical degree and doctorate in genetics from the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her residency training at the Division of Plastic Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. After she completed her training, Dr. Percec joined the Faculty of the Division of Plastic Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania, where she divides her time between her clinical practice focused on aesthetic and rejuvenative surgery and her basic science laboratory that studies epigenetic pathways responsible for human adipose tissue and stem cell aging. Dr. Percec is board certified in plastic surgery by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. She regularly presents her work at national and international meetings and has authored numerous publications in both the plastic surgery and basic science literature. Dr. Percec has received many awards for her work and is dedicated to the advancement of the translational science of aging through the study of primary human adipose tissue.

Third Place Investigator Category - Melissa Shauver, MPH received her undergraduate eduction from the University of Michigan. She received a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, concentrating in Health Behavior and Health Education, in 2007. Since that time Melissa has worked under Kevin Chung, MD, MS as a Research Coordinator in the University of Michigan Section of Plastic Surgery participating in research related to lower limb reconstruction, distal radius fracture treatment and decision-analysis.

Theodore Alexander Kung, MD received his undergraduate degree in biochemistry from Case Western Reserve University and subsequently matriculated at the institution's medical school in 2008. He was then accepted into the Integrated Plastic Surgery Residency Program at the University of Michigan. His residency training thus far has been complemented by clinical research in plastic surgery. Dr. Kung will continue to cultivate his skills as a surgeon-scientist by joining the neuromuscular lab under the mentorship of Paul Cederna, MD, and Melanie Urbanchek, PhD. Dr. Kung's projects will be dedicated to the development of a living biosynthetic peripheral nerve interface for the purpose of optimized control of a neuroprosthetic limb.

Dr. Dong Zhang was a transplant surgeon, and received his research post-doctoral training in transplant immunology at Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He first defined that CD4 T cell could convert to Double Negative T cells (DN T cells) and regulate immune responses. Using ex vivo CD4 converted DN T cells could prevent graft rejection and cure autoimmune diabetes. He received Young Investigator Award from American Society of Transplantation and American Society of Transplant Surgeons based on his work. Now, his research focus is tolerance induction in Composite Tissue Allotransplantation.

Dr. Greene's research background is in the field of angiogenesis. He trained in the Harvard Combined Plastic Surgery Program and then completed a fellowship in Craniofacial/Pediatric Plastic Surgery at Children's Hospital Boston. His basic science and clinical research is focused on vascular anomalies, lymphedema, and cranioplasty.

Clinical Research Junior Category - Christi Cavaliere completed her plastic surgery training at the University of Michigan in 2006. She was then awarded a research fellowship through the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at the University of Michigan. The focus of her research has been management of rheumatoid wrist disease. Following her research fellowship she moved to California where she is in practice at the VA Northern California Health System at Martinez.

Sara B. Immerman, MD is currently a fourth year resident of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery at New York University Langone Medical Center. She is a graduate of University of Pennsylvania and New York University School of Medicine. She has published numerous papers in peer-reviewed journals and is a reviewer for Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. In the basic science realm, Sara is on the forefront of research into topical gene therapy. In her free time, she enjoys skiing and painting.

Dr. Prabhu SenthilKumar received his medical degree from the Stanley Medical College, Chennai, India. He developed interest in plastic surgery during his internship rotation in the plastic and reconstructive division. The plastic and reconstructive program at his medical school hospital is extraordinary in its volume and its diverse cases, yet it gave him limited research exposure. His interest in finding a quality research experience led him to seek a research opportunity in the United States. After completion of his medical school training, he began working as junior resident in surgery in various hospitals in India. He was accepted as a Research fellow in the Plastic surgery Research Laboratory and the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital in 2009. His primary area of interest is technology oriented research focused on reconstructive microsurgery. Senthilkumar began working under the direction of Dr. Jonathan M. Winograd and Mark A. Randolph in Division of Plastic Surgery and Drs. Irene E. Kochevar and Robert W. Redmond in the Wellman Center on peripheral nerve and tendon repair using a Photochemical Tissue Binding (PTB) technique. His work will center on improving nerve repair by studying the influence of various trophic factors on nerve regeneration combined with photochemical tissue bonding. This technique basically uses thin transparent materials like amnion or nanofiber silk coated with Rose Bengal dye and then fixed to the repair site using light energy to crosslink the material to the nerve and produce tight seal as well as great strength. He is also involved in conducting a clinical trial in evaluating photochemical tissue bonding technique for digital nerve repair moving this novel treatment from bench to bedside.

George N. Kamel, MD is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Center for Regenerative Medicine, at the Massachusetts General Hospital. His primary research interest focuses on the genetic regulation of craniofacial development, working in the laboratory of Eric C. Liao, MD, PhD.

Dr. Bradley is currently the Bernard Sarnat Professor of Plastic Surgery and Chief of Pediatric Plastic Surgery at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is also the Director of the Kawamoto Craniofacial Fellowship and Chief of Plastic Surgery at Olive View Medical Center. He is Board Certified by both the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the American Board of Surgery. Dr. Bradley received his Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Notre Dame for Anthropology and Art. In Philadelphia, he matriculated at Thomas Jefferson Medical College where he received his Medical Degree. He then trained in General Surgery at Pennsylvania Hospital. In Manhattan, he completed his plastic surgery training at the Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, New York University. In Los Angeles, Dr. Bradley did additional training in Craniofacial Surgery at UCLA under Dr. Henry Kawamoto. In Pittsburgh, he directed the Craniofacial Surgery Program and was the Chief of Pediatric Plastic Surgery at the University for several years before returning to Los Angeles. Clinically, Dr. Bradley specializes in Craniofacial Surgery and volunteers internationally to help children with Craniofacial deformities. He is active in the bone tissue engineering laboratory at UCLA. He has published over 100 scientific papers, written over 20 chapters and edited 3 books. He also has a strong interest in not-for-profit foundation work aimed at children with facial deformities.

Howard N. Langstein, MD FACS is Professor and Chief of the Division of Plastic Surgery at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, where he specializes in all aspects of breast reconstruction. He trained at New York University in General and Plastic Surgery, at the National Institutes of Health in Surgical Oncology, and at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in microvascular oncologic reconstruction. He has a research interest in modulating the scar mechanism, particularly the process of capsular contracture around breast implants.

Andrea Nichole Moor, PhD is a Research Assistant in the Department of Surgery at the University of South Florida and the James A. Haley Veteran's Hospital in Tampa, FL. She received her doctoral degree from the University of Manitoba, Canada and received further training as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Alberta, Canada and in the Department of Cell Biology and Genetics at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth, TX. Dr. Moor maintains a wound healing research laboratory for a research clinician and provides leadership, technical and educational support for technicians, PhD students, medical residents and summer students after their first year of medical school. Dr. Moor is currently a member of The Wound Healing Society (USA) and serves on their awards committee. She has received numerous presentation awards at regional and national meetings and has authored numerous articles. Her research focus is in wound healing and aging.

Stephen Kemp, PhD completed his Honours Bachelor of Science at the University of Toronto, where he conducted his undergraduate thesis under the supervision of Dr. Gerald Cupchik. During this time, Dr. Kemp's research focused on the psychology of creativity, and the development of a "matching and modulation" psychological model of aesthetic response. Dr. Kemp's undergraduate thesis led to the publication of two peer-reviewed publications, and one book chapter. Following graduation, Dr. Kemp completed his Master's degree at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, under the supervision of Linda Parker, PhD. His research focused on the effect of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on lithium induced sickness behaviours in both rats and house musk shrews. Stephen completed his PhD at the University of Calgary, under the mentorship of Rajiv Midha, MD, focusing on the anatomical, sensorimotor, and functional evaluation of peripheral nerve regeneration through bio-engineered conduits in rodents. During this tenure, Dr. Kemp became a member of numerous scientific societies, including the Society for Neuroscience, the Canadian Society for Neuroscience, and the American Society for Peripheral Nerve. Dr. Kemp also published nine peer-reviewed publications. One of his papers was highlighted in Experimental Neurology as an outstanding paper. Following his tenure in Calgary, Dr. Kemp accepted a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Toronto and The Hospital for Sick Children with Gregory Borschel, MD and Tessa Gordon, PhD. Dr. Kemp continues to investigate treatment of nerve injuries, and has expanded his research to focus on treatment of neonatal nerve injuries. Dr. Kemp has won numerous awards during his scientific career, including prestigious postdoctoral awards. Overall, Dr. Kemp has 14 published peer reviewed publications, two book chapters, two News and Views commentaries, 18 abstracts, and 21 international conference presentations.

Oluseyi Aliu, MD is a plastic surgery trainee at the University of Michigan. He received his undergraduate education at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida graduating cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in biochemistry and molecular biology and his graduate training at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. During a year in medical school in Houston, he worked on mineral metabolism and calcium deficiency rickets in Nigerian children at the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service Children's Nutrition Research Center at Texas Children's Hospital. Dr. Aliu is currently a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar at the University of Michigan where he is obtaining a Master's of Science degree in health and healthcare research. Dr. Aliu research interests include studying the adoption of surgical techniques and treatments in plastic surgery practice and how this is influenced by scientific evidence and healthcare market factors such as payer policies and studying the effects of the Accountable Care Organization (ACO) provisions of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 on surgeons and surgical practice.

Joseph E. Losee, MD, FACS, FAAP is an Associate Professor of Surgery (Plastics) and Pediatrics and Program Director, Plastic Surgery Residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He serves as the Chief of Plastic Surgery at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Dr. Losee's clinical and translational research interests include craniosynostosis and skull reconstruction in the pediatric population.

Dr. James Chang is currently Professor and Chief of the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Stanford University. Dr. Chang graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences with joint degrees in Biology and Economics. He spent a year as a lecturer in English at the Beijing University of Science and Technology in Beijing, People's Republic of China. Following this, he graduated from Yale Medical School with Alpha Omega Alpha and Cum Laude honors. From 1991 to 1993, he was a Sarnoff Laboratory Research Fellow at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center. He then completed a residency in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Stanford University Medical Center. Dr. Chang was a Clinical Instructor in Orthopedic Surgery and the Hand & Microsurgery Fellow at U.C.L.A. Medical Center from 1999-2000. He is currently Professor of Plastic Surgery and Orthopedic Surgery at Stanford University Medical Center. He is also an Attending Surgeon at Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital and the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, where he serves as Director of the Plastic and Hand Surgery Laboratory. His basic science research interests include modulation of Transforming Growth Factor-Beta in scarless flexor tendon wound healing and tissue engineered flexor tendon grafts for hand reconstruction. He has expertise in molecular biology and tissue engineering techniques and their applications to plastic and hand surgery research. Dr. Chang is the recipient of numerous grants including two recent multi-year Federal Merit Review Awards on "Tissue Engineered Flexor Tendon Grafts for Extremity Reconstruction" and "Optimization of Bioengineered Tendons Using Bioreactors and Stem Cells". Dr. Chang is the past Editor-in-Chief of the Yearbook of Hand Surgery and an Associate Editor for the journals, Journal of Hand Surgery, Annals of Plastic Surgery, Hand, and Microsurgery. He was the Royal College of Surgeons Foundation traveling fellow and was awarded the 2006 Sterling Bunnell Traveling Fellowship by the American Society for Surgery of the Hand. He is Research Director for the American Society for Surgery of the Hand and manages the grant portfolio and programs of this national organization. He is a member of the Plastic Surgery Residency Review Committee of the ACGME. Dr. Chang's main surgical interests are in reconstructive surgery of the hand and extremities including microsurgical reconstruction. He also has interest in pediatric hand and microsurgery, post-oncologic head and neck reconstruction, and lower extremity reconstruction.

Dr. Zhang was born and raised in China, where he completed most of his studies. He received his medical degree from the Anhui Medical University in 1993 and began his internal medicine residency at the Yijishan Hospital, Wannan Medical College and was promoted to attending physician and joined the faculty at the Wannan Medical College in 1998. Later, Dr. Zhang went to the Capital Medical University to pursue a Ph.D. in medicine, which he completed in 2005. Then he worked as an attending physician in Beijing Friendship Hospital. During the period 2006-2007, he was awarded the Grant of Capital Medical Research Development Foundation of China and the Grant of Beijing Science Fund for the Talent. He started his postdoctoral research appointment in 2007 at the Transplant Research Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, and then joined the Composite Tissue Allograft laboratory in the Thomas E. Starzl Transplantation Institute, Division of Plastic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. In 2008, Dr. Zhang received JDRF Postdoctoral Fellowship Grant and the Award of Distinguished Fellow for outstanding research in the field of transplantation by American Society of Transplantation. Currently, his research focus is on developing the novel immunomodulatory cytokine fusion proteins and determining a new strategy that regulates the cellular immune response and induces allograft tolerance in composite tissue allotransplantation.

Kai Megerle was in born in 1976 in Bayreuth, Germany and received his medical degree from the Technical University of Munich, Germany after completing his doctoral thesis at the Institute for Experimental Oncology and Therapy Research evaluating improved gene transfer delivery systems. During his final year at medical school he was awarded a traveling scholarship to visit the departments of Plastic Surgery at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY and MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX. He completed his residency in Plastic Surgery at the University of Heidelberg, Germany at the BG Trauma Center Ludwigshafen. He is specifically interested in hand surgery both on a molecular level and in clinical research and is the 2009 traveling scholar of the German Society of Plastic Surgeons (DGPRAC). He is currently preparing a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and the Stanford University Medical Center.

Josef Hadeed attended the University of Michigan for his undergraduate studies and then Temple University for medical school. He then completed his General Surgery residency at Cooper University/ UMDNJ-RWJMS in Camden, NJ. Following this he did a fellowship in Hand and Microsurgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital/ University of Miami. He is currently at Duke University for his Plastic Surgery residency.

Howard Levinson, MD obtained his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas and subsequently completed a General Surgery residency in New York followed by a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery residency at Duke University Medical Center (DUMC), where he is currently an Assistant Professor in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Pathology. He is the Principal Investigator of the Wound Healing and Fibrosis Laboratory at DUMC. Howard recently completed his first year of faculty appointment and since beginning at DUMC in July 2008 has been awarded an NIH K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Development grant, a National Institute of Health K08-Recovery Act Supplement, an American Foundation for Surgery of the Hand grant, a Southeastern Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons grant, a Plastic Surgery Education Foundation Fresh Start Surgical fellowship, and a Plastic Surgery Education Foundation Endowment Grant. He has also mentored fellows who have received a Plastic Surgery Education Foundation Pilot Grant, a Chinese State Scholarship Fellowship Grant and a medical student who was awarded a Howard Hughes Medical Student Research Fellowship. Howard's primary research interests are investigating the mechanisms of fibrocontractile disease formation, with a goal of developing a novel biologic to prevent disease progression.

Bryan S. Armijo, M.D. is currently a 5th year resident with the Dept. of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University under the direction of Drs. Guyuron and Gosain. He received his Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition from Arizona State University and his Medical Degree at the University of Arizona. He is a member of the American Medical Association and American Society of Plastic Surgeons. In addition to being selected as a recipient of one of the highly competitive PSEF Pilot Research Grants, he has also recently been named Resident of the Year for the Dept. of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Dr. Mehrara is a graduate of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed his Plastic Surgery Residency at New York University Medical Center followed by microsurgical fellowship at UCLA Medical Center. Dr. Mehrara's laboratory research is focused on the etiology of lymphedema and deleterious effects of radiation therapy. These fields are intimately related since radiation therapy is a significant risk factor for lymphedema. His recent research has demonstrated that the pathological findings associated with radiation therapy are related in large part to the depletion and dysfunction of resident tissue stem cells and that targeted protection of these cells can decrease tissue injury.

Second Place Investigator Category - Dr. Clifford Pereira, is a PGY4 General Surgery Resident at Harbor-UCLA, Los Angeles, California. His area of research is Tissue Engineering and Regeneration. He has served on the Research Committee of the American Burn Association and is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Biomaterials Applications.

Edward H. Davidson received his medical education at the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London. He spearheads the New York University Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery Laboratories' division of bone biology research with interests including craniofacial surgery, bone tissue engineering, and the role of lacunocanalicular flow in distraction osteogenesis.

Dr. Erika Sears is currently a resident in the University of Michigan Integrated Plastic Surgery Residency Program. She will be the 6th plastic surgeon from the University of Michigan Section of Plastic Surgery to receiving training in health services and outcomes research as a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar. Dr. Sears received her Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Michigan Medical School and received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University. Dr. Sears' research interests include economic analysis and evaluating the impact of cost and resource allocation on decision-making in reconstructive surgery. She is also interested in evaluating methods to improve patient education, expectations, and satisfaction in surgical patients. Dr. Sears has performed an economic analysis comparing surgical and non-surgical treatment options for scaphoid fractures. Additionally she conducted a 17-year audit of outcomes research in plastic surgery to define future research directions for the specialty. With grant support from the AAHS and PSEF, Dr. Sears will conduct a cost-utility analysis of digit replantation surgery by measuring cost and patient preferences for this resource intensive procedure.

First Place Investigator Category - Robert J. Allen, Jr. is a first year Plastic Surgery Resident at New York University Langone Medical Center. He graduated from the Medical University of South Carolina in 2007, spending the following 2 years as a Research Fellow in the Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery Laboratory at NYU. His research interests include diabetic wound healing, tissue engineering and autologous tissue transplantation. Previously, Robert was awarded the Wound Biotechnology Foundation Travel Award for Trainees by the Wound Healing Society as well as two research grants through the Plastic Surgery Education Foundation.

Eric C. Liao, M.D., Ph.D. is an Assistant in Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Boston Shriners Hospital for Children. His clinical interests are in microsurgery reconstruction and pediatric plastic surgery. Dr. Liao is the principal investigator of the craniofacial laboratory with research focused on cleft lip and palate malformation utilizing innovative genetic approaches. His work is funded by several prestigious awards, including the American Surgical Association Research Fellowship, the Basil O'Connor Start Scholar Award from the March of Dimes, and current and past awards from the Plastic Surgery Education Foundation.

Dr. Chim received his medical degree from the National University of Singapore, and subsequently obtained membership in the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Scotland. He is currently a resident in the integrated Plastic Surgery program at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. Throughout his training he has received numerous awards and recognition. His research interests lie in the application of stem cells and tissue engineering towards regenerative surgery, with more than 20 peer reviewed publications to date. Dr Chim is interested in the application of guidance techniques to induce cell homing for tissue regeneration, as well as investigating alternative cell sources with minimal donor site morbidity for use in musculoskeletal tissue engineering.

Dr. Chung received his health services research training as a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar from the University of Michigan. He obtained his general surgery training from the University of Texas in San Antonio, his plastic surgery training from the University of Michigan and his hand surgery training from the Curtis National Hand Center in Baltimore. Dr. Chung's research interests involve the structuring of evidence-based practice and research in hand surgery. His projects have focused on epidemiology studies and clinical trials to derive the best evidence to guide treatment for upper extremity conditions. He developed the Michigan Hand Outcomes Questionnaire, which is widely used in this country and around the world for measuring outcomes after hand surgery. Dr. Chung is a hand and upper extremity surgeon who performs a wide variety of reconstructive procedures in the fields of rheumatoid arthritis, congenital hand problems, spinal cord injuries, nerve injuries, and complex fractures. Dr. Chung serves as an Assistant Dean for Faculty Affairs (instructional track) for the Medical School, and an Associate Director for Global Reach in which he facilitates the global health program for the medical school. Dr Chung has been a Council member for the American Society for Surgery of the Hand and is currently a Director for the American Board of Plastic Surgery. He is the Vice-President for Research for the American Society for Plastic Surgeons and Plastic Surgery Education Foundation. He has published over 230 manuscripts, 90 book chapters, and 9 textbooks. He is a National Institutes of Health funded researcher who is the principal investigator for an R01 grant for a multicenter clinical study on the rheumatoid hand. He has also received a K24 Midcareer Investigator Grant in Patient-Oriented Research, a R34 Clinical Trial Planning grant and a R21 Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Award from the National Institutes of Health. He is the first recipient of the Weiland Medal from the American Society for Surgery of the Hand to honor a hand surgeon whose research work advances the specialty. Dr Chung is the Deputy Editor for the Journal of Hand Surgery and is the outcomes Section Editor for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Bio not available.

Mei Yang, MD, PhD is currently a research associate in the Division of Plastic Surgery at SIU School of Medicine in Springfield, IL. She received her medical degree from the Dalian Medical University of China and completed a three-year clinical training as master in plastic surgery in Harbin Medical University in China. She was trained in general surgery, breast surgery, microsurgery, oral and maxillofacial surgery, emergency surgery and plastic surgery. Dr. Yang received her board certification in China in 2007. She received her PhD in plastic surgery from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. After graduation, she came to the United States to get post-doctoral training at the Division of Plastic Surgery at University of Mississippi Medical Center. Dr. Yang has authored dozens of articles and some book chapters. Her research interests include stem cells, skin regeneration, flap/muscle ischemia injury, gene therapy, tissue expansion, and fat transplantation.

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Damon Cooney, MD, PhD is a general plastic surgeon who specializes in microvascular reconstruction. He completed additional fellowship training at the University of Pittsburgh to become an expert in microsurgical techniques for reconstructing the extremities, trunk, breast, and head and neck following traumatic and/or oncological defects. A particular focus of his clinical practice is improving the functional and aesthetic results of head and neck reconstruction. After obtaining a bachelor's degree from Kenyon College in Gambier, OH, Dr. Cooney earned his doctoral degree from The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, and his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma Medical School, Oklahoma City, OK. He completed a combined residency in plastic and reconstructive surgery at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield, IL. He completed an additional one-year microsurgery fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pittsburgh, PA. Dr. Cooney's PhD. work was conducted in signal transduction in the labs of Mark K. Coggeshall, PhD., both at The Ohio State University and at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation in Oklahoma City, OK. Dr. Cooney's research centers on composite tissue allotransplantation (CTA) both clinically and in the laboratory. He is a member of the CTA team at Johns Hopkins and has participated in two previous hand transplant procedures. His laboratory work includes engineering human tissues for reconstructive purposes, nerve regeneration, and inducing tolerance in order to reduce or eliminate the need for systemic immunosuppression in transplantation patients. Dr. Cooney has published numerous peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and is a reviewer for plastic surgery journals. He received numerous grants to conduct basic and clinical research on topics including the study of localized tolerance in a small animal model and microsurgical education. He is a member of the American Society of Reconstructive Microsurgery, the Plastic Surgery Research Council, and is a Founding Member of the American Society for Reconstructive Transplantation.

Dr. Gerald Brandacher is scientific director of the Johns Hopkins Composite Tissue Allotransplantation (CTA) program. He is also a visiting associate professor of surgery in the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Prior to joining Johns Hopkins in 2010, Dr. Brandacher was a key member of the hand transplant programs in Innsbruck, Austria and at the University of Pittsburgh. As scientific director of the program at UPMC he was instrumental in designing a novel cell-based immunomodulatory treatment protocol for CTA and was also part of the team performing the first bilateral hand transplant and first forearm transplant in the US. His main scientific interests are donor-specific immune tolerance and immunomonitoring strategies. Dr. Brandacher received his medical degree from Leopold Franzens University, Innsbruck, School of Medicine, and completed further surgical training at the Center of Operative Medicine, Department of Visceral, Transplant and Thoracic Surgery, at Innsbruck Medical University. He is the recipient of many national and international awards related to his work in reconstructive transplantation and the author of numerous papers, book chapters and abstracts. He is Past-President of the Austrian Society of Surgical Research, Board Member of the Composite Tissue Allotransplantation Working Group of the European Society of Organ Transplantation (ESOT), an invited member to the American Society of Transplantation (AST) and is a Founding and Scientific Advisory Board Member of the American Society of Reconstructive Transplantation (ASRT).

My current research interests represent a coalescence of my background as a pathology technician swabbing wounds from patients in hospital wards, my graduate and postgraduate training in molecular and cell biology and my postdoctoral research into the roles of growth factors in mediating proliferation and differentiation. As a molecular biologist, I have been able to freely migrate between a variety of disciplines including cancer biology, placental growth and wound healing. This has allowed me to appreciate both the commonalities and those processes unique to each discipline. In particular, wound healing and fibrosis has become my primary focus as this incorporates the regulation of many of the growth factors that affect tumour growth, through processes that are often recapitulations of development, to affect an outcome that has clinical relevance. I consider the potential to understand a biological process, and in doing so positively influence the treatment of a clinical problem with few current effective therapies, both a challenge and a privilege.

Ashley Amalfi, MD is a PGY III Resident in an Integrated Plastic Surgery Residency Program at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield, IL. She received her medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in Rochester, NY. She previously completed a Bachelor of Arts in fine arts and in art history at The George Washington University in Washington, DC. Dr. Amalfi has authored multiple book chapters, journal articles, and abstracts during her academic career.

Amy Moore, MD is currently a plastic surgery resident at Washington University in St. Louis. She obtained her medical degree at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. Dr. Moore recently completed two dedicated research years in Dr. Susan Mackinnon's Peripheral Nerve Research Laboratory where she focused on characterizing transgenic rats that express GFP in their peripheral nerves. She recently won the Snyder Award for best resident paper at the 2009 Plastic Surgery Research Council . She also studied the enhancement of peripheral nerve regeneration through conduits with the addition of growth factors. Upon the completion of her training, Dr. Moore hopes to enter a career in academic medicine.

Natasa Miljkovic is a post-doctoral research fellow at the Adipose Stem Cell Center, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at University of Pittsburgh (UPMC). Her main scientific fields of interest are different modalities of soft tissue reconstruction utilizing different bio-scaffolds, adipose-derived stem cells and fat grafting. Prior to joining UPMC in 2007, Dr. Miljkovic was an assistant professor of surgery at the Department of Surgery at the University of Novi Sad, Serbia. Dr. Miljkovic received her medical degree from University of Novi Sad, Serbia, School of Medicine, where she also completed her residency in orthopedic surgery. During her medical training she obtained a master degree in biomedical engineering and a Ph.D. degree in surgery (bone grafting and banking). She is the author and co-author of more than 50 papers and abstracts.

Anand R. Kumar, MD was recruited to Pittsburgh from Bethesda, MD, where he served as Director and Staff Pediatric Plastic Surgeon of the Military Craniofacial Unit at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He previously acted as Division Chief in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda. Dr. Kumar completed a fellowship in craniofacial surgery/pediatric plastic surgery at the University of California at Los Angeles. While in Los Angeles, Dr. Kumar also completed a residency in plastic and reconstructive surgery. He received additional training in general surgery at the Mayo Clinical Graduate School of Medicine; Rochester, MN. Dr. Kumar obtained his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, NY. His clinical practice focuses on craniofacial surgery including the correction of pediatric and adolescent facial skeletal deformities and airway obstruction using traditional orthognathic surgery and distraction osteogenesis. His basic science research is focused on combat casualty care related to heterotrophic bone formation and harnessing its potential for structural bone regeneration.

Dr. Gerald Brandacher is scientific director of the Composite Tissue Allotransplantation (CTA) program in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at UPMC. He is also an assistant professor of surgery in the Department of Plastic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Prior to joining UPMC in 2008, Dr. Brandacher was a key member of the hand transplant program at Innsbruck Medical University in Austria. His main scientific interests are donorspecific immune tolerance and immunomonitoring strategies. Dr. Brandacher received his medical degree from Leopold Franzens University, Innsbruck,School of Medicine, and completed further medical training at the Center of Operative Medicine, Department of Visceral, Transplant and Thoracic Surgery, at Innsbruck Medical University. He is the recipient of many awards related to his work in hand transplantation and the author or co-author of more than 200 papers and abstracts. He is past president of the Austrian Society of Surgical Research and is a Founding and Scientific Advisory Board Member of the American Society of Reconstructive Transplantation (ASRT).

Dr. Toni Zhong is a graduate of the Plastic Surgery Residency Training Program at the University of Western Ontario and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 2007. Dr. Zhong has won numerous national and international research and young investigator awards and is the recipient of numerous peer-reviewed research grants. Following the completion of her residency, Dr. Zhong was awarded the prestigious Zeiss Canada Microsurgery Scholarship to pursue a year-long Microvascular and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Dr. Toni Zhong B.Sc. M.D. FRCS(C) is a member in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University Health Network. In addition to her clinical interest in all forms of complex reconstruction post-oncologic ablation and treatment of difficult cutaneous malignancies, she is taking a leadership role in building the Breast Restoration Program at UHN as a center of excellence for breast reconstruction in North America. To complement her clinical practice in the field of reconstructive surgery, Dr. Zhong is currently pursuing her Masters of Science in Clinical Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. Her research areas of interest include the evaluation of innovative breast reconstruction surgical techniques, including the use of Alloderm in a multi-site randomized trial and development of validated patient-reported outcome instruments designed to evaluate health-related quality of life following specific breast surgical procedures.

Dr. Katz is an Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at the University of Virginia, with joint appointments in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Department of Medicine. After graduating from Duke University in 1989 with a Bachelor's degree in Neuroscience, Dr. Katz obtained his M.D. from the University of Michigan Medical School, where he was president of the Alpha Omega Alpha National Honor Medical Society as well as a Hewlett-Packard Top Medical Graduate. His next 8 years were spent at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for General and Plastic Surgery training. While a surgical resident in Pittsburgh, Dr. Katz helped pioneer the conception, detection, description, and early characterization of multipotent stem cells derived from adipose tissue (and is one of only two court-determined inventors on the issued composition-of-matter patent describing such cells). Upon joining the staff at UVA in 2001, Dr. Katz initiated the Laboratory of Applied Developmental Plasticity with a focus on the biology and therapeutic potential of adipose-derived cells and factors. He was awarded The Academic Scholar of the American Association of Plastic Surgeons from 2002-2004, he is a member of The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), The American Association of Plastic Surgeons (AAPS), and The Plastic Surgery Research Council, and serves on the Editorial Board of Annals of Plastic Surgery. Dr. Katz is an original founder of StemSource, Inc, a company based on his pioneering work with adipose stem cells and which is now Cytori Therapeutics (CYTX). In addition to his clinical responsibilities, Dr. Katz is also a co-founder, past president and board member of The International Federation for Adipose Therapeutics and Science (iFATS), as well as a founder and board member of two additional biotechnology companies. His current research funding is from the NIH and the Department of Defense.

Dr. Wei received his Bachelor's Degree in Biological Sciences at Cornell University in 2003. During his undergraduate training, Dr. Wei was selected for research funding as a Cornell Presidential Research Scholar to study oncogenes at a division of the Centre National de Recherche Scientifique in France. Upon graduation, he subsequently returned to his home state for medical school at the University of Michigan. After his first year, Dr. Wei was chosen to be a National Science Foundation Research Fellow in the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes Program, studying infectious disease at the National Taiwan University in Taipei. In the summer of 2007, he began his general surgery residency at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. Dr. Wei was awarded the 2010 Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation Pilot Research Grant to study peripheral nerve under the direction of Dr. Paul Cederna, Professor of Surgery in the Division of Plastic Surgery at the University of Michigan. In the era of improved body armor in the US military, a rising number of soldiers are returning from conflicts having survived injuries that were once considered lethal, only to be left with debilitating limb losses. Dr. Cederna's group aims to develop an upper extremity prosthetic that returns motor and sensory function to these amputees by interfacing with residual peripheral nerves. Dr. Wei's work will focus on the quantification and reduction of neuroma formation for application to these prosthetics.

Basic Science Junior Category - Dr. Chim received his medical degree from the National University of Singapore, and subsequently obtained membership in the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Scotland. He is currently a resident in the integrated Plastic Surgery program at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. Throughout his training he has received numerous awards and recognition. His research interests lie in the application of stem cells and tissue engineering towards regenerative surgery, with more than 20 peer reviewed publications to date. Dr Chim is interested in the application of guidance techniques to induce cell homing for tissue regeneration, as well as investigating alternative cell sources with minimal donor site morbidity for use in musculoskeletal tissue engineering.

Richard Baynosa, MD is an Assistant Professor of Plastic Surgery and the Associate Program Director for the plastic surgery integrated training program at the University of Nevada School of Medicine in Las Vegas. Dr. Baynosa received his undergraduate degree at UCLA followed by his medical degree from the UCSD School of Medicine. He completed an integrated plastic surgery residency at the University of Nevada School of Medicine including two years of basic science research primarily focused on hyperbaric oxygen mechanisms and ischemia-reperfusion injury. Dr. Baynosa has completed fellowship training in both hand and microsurgery as well as breast and aesthetic surgery. He then travelled to Belgium and Gent University Hospital to complete a fellowship in perforator flap and super-microsurgery under Philip Blondeel, MD. Dr. Baynosa is currently the Medical Director for the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada's Advanced Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine Center, where he serves on numerous local and national committees. He has authored several book chapters and articles and has presented his work at numerous local and national scientific meetings.

Dr. June Wu is an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Medical Center. Her clinical interests are craniofacial surgery and vascular anomalies. Her research focuses on the pathophysiology of hemangiomas. In particular, she is interested in exploring the role of Notch signaling in the pathogenesis and evolution of hemangiomas. Her laboratory first showed that Notch genes are expressed in hemangiomas, and current work investigates the effects of Notch receptor and Notch ligand interactions. After finishing her undergraduate studies at Princeton University, she enrolled at Columbia's College of Physicians & Surgeons. She was inspired to go into plastic surgery by her first mentor, Dr. David Chiu. She trained at the Integrated Plastic Surgery program at Montefiore Medical Center under Dr. Berish Strauch. Her craniofacial and vascular anomalies fellowships were done at Children's Hospital Boston under Dr. John Mulliken.

Native of Azerbaijan, Dr. Baghmanli started his medical education in Baku, Azerbaijan. A year later he was transferred to Istanbul Faculty of Medicine in Turkey and received his medical degree upon completion of medical school there. Subsequently he was admitted to the integrated plastic surgery residency program at Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine in Istanbul, Turkey. His research interest in peripheral nerve, skeletal muscle, especially in design of robotic arm with sensory and motor capabilities area brought him to the University of Michigan Plastic Surgery research laboratories. He is currently in the second year of postdoctoral research fellowship and fortunate enough to have mentors like William Kuzon, MD, PhD, Paul Cederna, MD and Melanie Urbanchek, PhD. His ultimate goal is to have academic career in medicine in the future.

Thomas Satterwhite, MD attended Stanford University where he received his Bachelor's degree with honors in human biology (2000). Dr. Satterwhite continued his educational track at Stanford, receiving his MD in 2007. He is now in his sixth and final year of training as a resident in Stanford's plastic and reconstructive surgery program. His research endeavors have involved investigations in wound healing, abdominal wall reconstruction, and currently using a web-based curriculum to optimize training in residency.

Dr. Wachtman received his undergraduate education at the Pennsylvania State University and his medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. After completion of his medical school training, he began his integrated residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. During his general surgery training, he was awarded membership in the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society, and received the Charles L. Moore Award for resident teaching at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Department of Surgery. Dr. Wachtman will begin his 2009 PSEF Research Fellowship under the direction of W. P. Andrew Lee, MD, Professor of Surgery and Chief, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Research will take place in the Composite Tissue Allograft laboratory in the Thomas E. Starzl Transplant Institute at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. His work will center around modulation of immunotherapy in a miniature swine heterotopic hindlimb composite tissue transplantation model. Specifically, the use of novel CTLA-4/Ig fusion proteins and tacrolimus monotherapy will be explored to prolong allograft survival.

Dr. Avraham graduated Cum Laude with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in History from Tufts University. He then completed his medical training at Tufts University School of Medicine with AOA honors. Following medical school, Dr. Avraham started a General Surgery residency at NYU medical center in New York. At the completion of his second clinical year he joined Dr. Mehrara's lab at Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York. Dr. Avraham is currently starting his 3rd year in Dr. Mehrara's lab studying lymphatic endothelial biology with a goal of developing novel methods to treat or prevent lymphedema. He is currently the Chief Administrative Research Fellow for the Department of Surgery at MSKCC.

Russell R. Reid, M.D., Ph.D. is a board-certified plastic surgeon who specializes in pediatric plastic surgery. Having completed a fellowship at the esteemed Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in 2006, he has particular expertise in the area of craniofacial and maxillofacial surgery. An accomplished author, Dr. Reid has published book chapters and several peer-reviewed journal articles on a variety of topics, from craniofacial surgery techniques to wound healing. Dr. Reid's research interests include tissue transplantation and regeneration, the role of immunity in tissue repair, and genetic expression in craniofacial development. He also studies bone substitutes and the survival of bone-cartilage grafts.

Catherine Curtin, MD is an Assistant Professor of the Division of Plastic Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, CA and staff physician at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. She received her medical degree from Yale University, completed her plastic surgery residency at the University of Michigan and completed a clinical research fellowship through Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars program. She continued her training as a hand fellow at Stanford University. Dr. Curtin is board certified in plastic surgery by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. She has also received a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Hand Surgery. Dr. Curtin received a four-year career development award from the Veterans Affairs Research and Development. She has published multiple articles and is on the editorial board of the Journal of Hand Surgery. Dr. Curtin's academic pursuits have focused on clinical research using administrative data to improve quality and access to surgical care.

Dr. Greene's research background is in the field of angiogenesis. He trained in the Harvard Combined Plastic Surgery Program and then completed a fellowship in Craniofacial/Pediatric Plastic Surgery at Children's Hospital Boston. His basic science and clinical research is focused on vascular anomalies, lymphedema, and cranioplasty.

Bing Siang Gan, MD, PhD, FRCSC, FACS graduated from the Medical Faculty at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, in 1988. He went on to earn a PhD in medical sciences (subspecialty pharmacology and experimental therapeutics) from the University of Calgary. After a rotating internship at the Regina General Hospital in Regina, Saskatchewan, he completed a plastic surgery residency at the University of Western Ontario Teaching Hospitals. This clinical training was followed by post-residency fellowships in microsurgical reconstruction (Toronto General Hospital, University of Toronto) and hand and microsurgery (Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University), as well as a research post-doctoral fellowship (Department of Cell Biology, Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto). Dr. Gan has been with the Hand and Upper Limb Centre (HULC) at St. Joseph's Health Care London since 1998. He has an academic practice focused on hand and wrist surgery, microsurgical reconstruction and complex wound reconstruction. In conjunction with David O'Gorman, MSc PhD, he directs the HULC Cell and Molecular Biology Laboratory located in the Lawson Health Research Institute. Dr. Gan has a particular clinical and research interest in Dupuytren's contracture and treats a large number of Dupuytren's patients with different modalities including the so-called needle aponeurotomy. He is also interested in other fibrosing conditions, like hypertrophic scarring.

First Place Art & Science Category - Dr. Aflaki is currently a resident in General Surgery at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston. After graduating from Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) he completed his Basic Surgical Training Rotation in England and subsequently did a research fellowship at the Division of Plastic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School. His research interests are composite tissue/facial transplantation and wound healing. He won the Joseph E. Murray M.D. award in the New England Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons (NESPRS 2008) for the best scientific paper.

Dr. Mundinger was born in Washington, D.C, and grew up in Jackson, Mississippi. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan, majoring in Biology, Environmental Policy, and Resource Ecology. He attended medical school at Johns Hopkins University, during which time he completed a year of research in the Surgery Branch and Division of Pathology at the National Institutes of Health under a Clinical Research Training Program fellowship. He received an American Association for Cancer Research Busch Scholar-in-Training Award for his work on reverse phase protein microarray in 2007. Subsequently, he began residency in the joint Johns Hopkins Hospital/University of Maryland integrated plastic surgery residency program. Having completed a year of research investigating the immunobiology of non-human primate facial and fibular composite tissue allotransplants under the mentorship of Dr. Eduardo D. Rodriguez, he will explore tolerogene

Nicholas Brandon Langhals, PhD serves as an Assistant Research Scientist in the Neuromuscular Lab within the Plastic Surgery Section of the Department of Surgery at the University of Michigan. Dr. Langhals received both his Master's of Science in Engineering as well as Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) in biomedical engineering from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI). His Bachelor's of Science in Engineering was obtained in bioengineering from Arizona State University. Dr. Langhals has worked as a Senior Research Engineer within the Center for Neural Communication Technology, served as a consultant for Neuronexus Technologies (Ann Arbor, MI) and Biotectix (Ann Arbor, MI), and recently founded Rhythm Solutions, Inc. Dr. Langhals' previous research efforts were focused on cortical brain-machine interfaces, cortical mapping, direct brain drug delivery, electrode development and characterization, as well as neural signal analysis. He is now applying those skills towards the development of electrode technology and signal processing techniques for neuroprosthetic, cardiac, and other electrophysiological interfaces. One of his two main efforts is focused around the development of regenerative peripheral nerve interfaces that have the potential to be used for control of replacement robotic appendages in amputees as well as for extracting control signals for wheelchairs or computer cursors. His secondary efforts are focused around the development of real-time processing strategies for mapping atrial fibrillation from intracardiac electrodes.

First Place Clinical Research Senior Category - Dr Kevin C. Chung is a hand and upper extremity surgeon who is Professor of Surgery and an Assistant Dean for Faculty Affairs at the University of Michigan Medical School. He is a Director for the American Board of Plastic Surgery and serves as a board member for ASPS/PSEF. He is the Deputy Editor for the Journal of Hand Surgery and is the Section Editor on Outcomes Research for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

Philip Johnson received his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis. His research expertise is in cell transplant therapies, drug delivery techniques, tissue engineering, and evaluation of implantable biomaterials (in vivo/ in vitro). Current research interests include utilizing neural tissue engineering techniques to enhance peripheral nerve regeneration. Specifically, he is interested in the mechanism of FK-506 mediated enhancement of nerve regeneration through direct action on regenerating neurons and through stimulation of the innate wound healing response. His lab is also interested in the augmentation of decellularized tissues through chemical conjugation to enhance their roles as mediums for cell transplantation and scaffolds for tissue synthesis. His research has been recognized for excellence by the Society for Biomaterials. He is currently the director of the Peripheral Nerve Research Laboratory at Washington University School of Medicine.

Marc Soares, MD was born and raised in Santa Barbara, CA. He received his undergraduate degrees from MIT in chemical engineering and biology, followed by a medical degree from Cornell University. Dr. Soares is currently in the middle of his plastic surgery training at the Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery at the New York University Medical Center, where he is electively pursuing a two-year, post-doctoral research fellowship. His past and present research interests include bioassay design, stem-cell biology, and applying tissue-engineering approaches to clinical problems. Under the mentorship of Drs. Daniel Ceradini, MD and Pierre Saadeh, MD, he is exploring novel ways to use mesenchymal stem cells to support vascular function in the setting of hypoxia and allotransplantation.

Dr. Santosh S. Kale is currently a plastic surgery resident at Washington University School of Medicine. His current research interests include nerve transplantation and management options for high peripheral nerve injuries. Dr. Kale earned his bachelor's degree in Chemistry and Economics at Cornell University, and graduated Magna Cum Laude with distinction in all subjects. He earned his M.D. and MBA from the University of Illinois, and graduated Alpha Omega Alpha.

Laboratory bench to bedside scientific research has remained an integral part of my plastic surgery career. I've been blessed to work with outstanding research mentors including Dr. Michael Longaker and Dr. Judah Folkman who encouraged me to study challenging questions in areas of wound repair, inflammation, angiogenesis, and cancer. After completing NYU Plastic Surgery Residency and MSKCC Microsurgery Fellowship, I returned to my home state to establish a microsurgical reconstruction practice with Dr. Robert Allen, and research lab focused on tissue engineering. Shortly thereafter, Hurricane Katrina battered our beloved city of New Orleans. However, it has not deterred my passion for research and academic excellence. In collaboration with Tulane and LSU investigators, our lab focuses on the clinical safety issues related to adipose stem cell based therapies. Without the generous financial support by PSEF and ASPS, this project could not be completed.

Kristin Turza Campbell is in her fourth year of general surgery residency, and has been a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Plastic Surgery at MD Anderson Cancer for one year. Working with many cancer and trauma patients with soft tissue defects during the first two clinical years of residency piqued an interest in tissue engineering to reconstruct the defects. Previous peer-reviewed work focused on melanoma diagnosis, in the form of a mapping technique for cases with unclear margins published in Annals of Surgical Oncology, and local therapy for dermal melanoma metastases. During the course of previous training and writing, reconstruction of patients with challenging soft tissue defects became of specific interest, as she gained a full appreciation of the significant morbidity associated with these defects. Kristin then pursued a postdoctoral research with Dr. Charles Butler during residency in order to hone relevant lab skills in the field of reconstructive surgery. Upon arrival to MD Anderson Cancer Center, Kristin embarked on several in vitro and in vivo studies on reconstruction of musculofascial defects of the anterior abdomen (ventral hernias). The lab in which she works at MD Anderson is entitled, "Tissue Regeneration and Molecular Cell Engineering Lab" (TRAMCEL). Bioprosthetics, notably porcine acelluar dermal matrix (Strattice and Collamend) and human acellular dermal matrix (AlloDerm), was Kristin's specialty focus in the lab. One of her main research interests has been comparing non-cross-linked porcine acellular dermal matrix and human acelluar dermal matrix in vivo with respect to cellular and vascular infiltration and mechanical strength testing of the musculofascia-bioprosthetic interface. The work was presented at the 55th Annual Plastic Surgery Research Council meeting in May 2010, and is in press currently. For this work, Kristin received the MD Anderson Bristol-Myers-Squibb award for Translational Basic Science Research. Another focus of her research was evaluating fibrovascular remodeling and mechanical strength of cross-linked versus non-cross-linked porcine dermal matrices. This work has been peer-reviewed and is currently in press in the Journal of American College of Surgeons (JACS). The next phase of her research involves use of bioprosthetics augmented with adipose stem cell therapy to strengthen repairs of musculofascial defects. Ultimately, Kristin is going to pursue a career in academic surgery with a research focus in tissue engineering. She is dedicated to teaching, and during clinical residency, Kristin received a distinguished teaching award, entitled the University of Virginia Curtis G. Tribble Award for Resident Teaching, and was also nominated for Mullholland Resident Teaching Award. She considers being in a dynamic teaching environment with tissue engineering lab her ultimate academic goal.

Dr. Deepak Narayan is the Chief of Plastic Surgery at the West Haven Veterans Administration Medical Center, CT , and Associate Professor of Surgery at the Yale University School of Medicine. After a Research fellowship in Surgery and Genetics at Yale University , he completed his clinical training in Plastic Surgery at the Yale-New Haven Hospital program. He is Board Certified in General Surgery and Plastic Surgery. His clinical and research interest s encompass melanomas, vascular tumors and oncologic reconstruction. He is a member of the ASPS, PSRC, ASMS, the Society of University Surgeons and the American Association of Plastic surgeons. Dr.Narayan's proposal centers around the pathogenesis of hemangiomas and novel methods of treatment of these unusual tumors. His hypothesis is that these tumors, contrary to received wisdom, are derived from pericytes that originate in the neural crest .By selectively isolating these cells by laser capture microdissection pericyte and neural crest markers will be studied. Manipulating the genes that control the conversion of these pericytes to fat (such as dlk ) by drugs such as the thiazolidinediones, his research hopes to enable the exploration of new therapeutic avenues for the treatment of these common pediatric tumors.

After graduating from medical school in Munich, Germany, Dr. Soltanian completed his Plastic Surgery residency at Albany Medical Center, Albany, NY. He received fellowship training in Surgery of the Hand and Microsurgery at NYU Medical Center. He joined the Department of Plastic Surgery at Case Western Reserve University in 2006. Dr. Soltanian's clinical and research interests include microsurgery, repair of complex abdominal wall defects, computer 3D modeling and surgical simulation.

Dunya Atisha, MD is a Chief Resident in the Division of Plastic, Reconstructive, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC. She received her medical degree from Michigan State University, College of Human Medicine and previously completed a degree in biologic psychology at the University of Michigan. Dr. Atisha completed her general surgery residency at the University of Iowa and is a board certified general surgeon. She began her training in plastic and reconstructive surgery at Duke University Medical Center in July, 2010 and she is expected to graduate in June, 2013. In the middle of her general surgery training, Dr. Atisha spent two years as a co-investigator with Edwin Wilkins, MD and Amy Alderman, MD at the University of Michigan, focusing her work on surgical and patient reported outcomes in breast reconstruction. She has presented several abstracts regionally and nationally and authored numerous publications. Dr. Atisha has expanded her focus to evidence-based decision-making in breast cancer surgery and she hopes to provide an evaluation of the way patient decisions effect health related quality of life (HRQOL) and satisfaction with care throughout the survivorship period.

Xin Xiao Zheng, MD is an Associate Professor in Surgery, has recently joined the UPMC Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He is a Director of Protein Therapeutic Core of Starzl Transplantation Institute of UPMC. Dr. Zheng has made original and significant contributions to the field of the basic mechanisms and therapeutic strategies that generate and maintain peripheral tolerance that involve the roles of co-stimulatory molecules, cytokine milieu, newly identified Tim molecules, activation induced apoptosis, T regulatory cells in autoimmune diseases and allograft rejection and tolerance. By utilizing autoimmune and alloimmune animal models on one hand, and "home-made" fusion proteins as unique experimental and therapeutic reagents, Dr. Zheng has studied the mechanisms of peripheral tolerance and developed novel therapeutic strategies to tip the immune balance towards a cure for autoimmune diseases and allografts tolerance safely. Currently, Dr. Zheng focuses his research on composite tissue transplantation tolerance.

Adeyiza Momoh, MD received his medical education from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. He then completed a combined general surgery and plastic surgery residency training at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. He went on to a microsurgery fellowship at the Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. He is now on the faculty of the Section of Plastic Surgery at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor where he focuses on clinical interests in microsurgical breast reconstruction and research interests in breast reconstruction outcomes. He has a particular interest in better understanding the interplay between radiation therapy and autologous breast reconstruction outcomes.

Howard Levinson, MD obtained his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas and subsequently completed a General Surgery residency in New York followed by a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery residency at Duke University Medical Center (DUMC), where he is currently an Assistant Professor in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Pathology. He is the Principal Investigator of the Wound Healing and Fibrosis Laboratory at DUMC. Howard recently completed his first year of faculty appointment and since beginning at DUMC in July 2008 has been awarded an NIH K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Development grant, an American Foundation for Surgery of the Hand grant, a Southeastern Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons grant, a Plastic Surgery Education Foundation Fresh Start Surgical fellowship, and most recently a Plastic Surgery Education Foundation Endowment Grant. He has also mentored a fellow who received a Plastic Surgery Education Foundation Pilot Grant and his medical student was recently awarded a Howard Hughes Medical Student Research Fellowship. Howard's primary research interests are investigating the mechanisms of fibrocontractile disease formation, with a goal of developing a novel small molecule inhibitor to prevent disease progression.

Joey Grochmal, MD attended the University of Alberta, completing an Honors BSc in Neuroscience, and graduating from the U of A medical school in 2006. He then moved to Calgary to begin his residency in neurosurgery at the University of Calgary. Recently, he took time off from clinical residency training to pursue a PhD in basic neuroscience. Dr. Grochmal is interested in the regeneration of the peripheral and central nervous system. In particular, his focus is on the use of stem cells for the augmentation of peripheral nerve repair in various injury scenarios. Future directions include involvement in translational research opportunities, in his capacity as a neurosurgery resident, and one day as a clinician scientist.

Scott Hollenbeck, MD is an Assistant Professor of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Duke University Hospital. Dr. Hollenbeck's clinical focus is cancer related reconstruction of the breast, head and neck as well as lower extremity traumatic wounds. His practice emphasizes free tissue transfer techniques for management of complex wounds. A graduate of the University of Florida with Honors and The Ohio State University College of Medicine with Magna Cum Laude distinction; Dr. Hollenbeck attended general surgery training from 2000 to 2007 at The New York Presbyterian Hospital - Weill Cornell Medical College. While training in general surgery, he studied vascular biology for two years and the TGF-beta signaling cascade under an NIH T32 training grant. Additionally, he received the Association for Academic Surgeons and Association for Academic Surgeon Foundation Research Fellowship Award in 2002. Dr. Hollenbeck also received the Weill Cornell Medical College Resident Teaching Award from the graduating class of 2007 and the Michelassi Compassionate Care Award. In 2007, he returned to North Carolina to complete his plastic surgery residency at Duke University Hospital. During his training in plastic surgery he authored numerous papers and was selected by the Duke medical students for the Appleseed Teaching Award. Additionally, Dr. Hollenbeck was awarded a PSF pilot grant to study the effects of hypoxia on adipose cells. As a continuation of this basic science research, he is now studying the effects of obesity on breast cancer formation. He hopes to identify adipokine related biomarkers associated with obesity and breast atypia. Once established biomarkers are identified, Dr. Hollenbeck hopes to help at risk women achieve focused weight loss for prevention of breast cancer formation.

Janae Maher, MD grew up in Chanute, KS, graduating valedictorian in 2000. She attended Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, KS, for undergraduate school, graduating Summa Cum Laude with a major in biology. In 2008, she obtained her medical degree with AOA honors from the University of Kansas School of Medicine. Currently, Dr. Maher is a PGY-5 Plastic Surgery Resident at Texas A&M / Scott & White in Temple, TX. Her dedicated interest to clinical research has led to multiple grants, presentations and publications on various topics during her residency.

Dr. Mathes is an Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Division of Plastic Surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle, and the Chief of Plastic Surgery Service at the Veteran's Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System. He is also an Affiliate Investigator at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in the Department of Transplantation Biology, where he conducts research on composite tissue transplantation. Dr. Mathes is certified by both the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Plastic Surgery, and is a member of several national professional societies. He received his medical education from Tulane University Medical School in New Orleans, LA and completed his general surgery residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill-Cornell Medical Center, followed by specialized training in plastic surgery at University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center. He has been published in a variety of peer-reviewed journals including Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Transplantation, and Microsurgery. His clinical interests include plastic and reconstructive surgery, reconstructive microsurgery, and cosmetic surgery. His primary research interests include the field of composite tissue transplantation and methods of inducing tolerance to foreign tissues. He has received several grants from such sponsors as the American Association of Plastic Surgery, American Society of Transplant Surgeons, Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation, and the American Society of Hand Surgery Research, and is currently pursuing Institutional Review Board approval for clinical research in face and hand transplantation.

Dr. Wale Sulaiman completed a combined MD/MSc degree at Medical University, Varna, Bulgaria in Europe. His interests in Nerve and Spinal cord injury and regeneration research led him to the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada where he also completed a PhD in Neurosciences under the supervision of Dr Tessa Gordon. He completed his Neurosurgery residency at University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He is board-certified in Neurosurgery by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and completed two world-renowned clinical fellowships in both complex nerve reconstruction surgery (under the tutelage of world authority in clinical management of nerve pathologies, Dr David Kline at Louisiana State University) and complex spine surgery (Larson Fellowship, Dr Dennis Maiman, Medical College of Wisconsin). In addition to his outstanding clinical expertise, Dr. Sulaiman has extensive research experience in both nerve and spinal cord injury and regeneration, and has authored several peer reviewed publications and book chapters in these areas. He was invited to take over the clinical practice of Dr David Kline in 2008 and has developed a very busy nerve and spine clinical practice at Ochner clinic foundation. He is the medical director of Ochsner Spine Center and the director of Ochsner's laboratory of neural injury and regeneration.

Dr. Rishi Jindal is a recent graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, currently pursuing a two-year research fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Division of Plastic Surgery. Under the guidance of Dr. W. P. Andrew Lee, he is working on various projects in the well-established Composite Tissue Allotransplantation lab. His research focuses on novel strategies to minimize or eliminate long-term immunosuppression for composite tissue allotransplantation, specifically studied in rat, mice, and swine limb transplant models. This grant is Dr. Jindal's first PSEF-funded award, and he hopes to contribute strong work to the field of Plastic Surgery.

Dr. Nicoson is a graduate of the University of Louisville School of Medicine, and currently a resident in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Washington University in St. Louis. His current research interests include peripheral nerve regeneration after traumatic injury, nerve-allotransplantation, and the interface of neurotrophic factors in the nerve regeneration process. Dr. Nicoson recently received grant funding from a 2009 PSEF Pilot Research Grant for his project titled Decellularized Nerve Allografts and Motor Nerve Regeneration.

Dr. Wagner earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where she majored in film. She went on to complete her premedical education at Columbia University, and received her MD from SUNY Downstate College of Medicine. She spent the past year in the laboratory at the Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery at New York University School of Medicine, where her research focused on obesity-impaired wound healing. She is currently a 4th year general surgery resident at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, PA, with plans to pursue a fellowship in plastic surgery.

Dr. Runyan was raised in Indianapolis, IN and completed his undergraduate studies in Microbiology at Brigham Young University. He then joined the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Cincinnati where he studied Molecular and Developmental Biology with Dr. Christopher Wylie. His doctoral dissertation was entitled ‘The importance of cell death in germ cell migration', and helped explain the occurrence of extragonadal germ cell tumors. Upon return to medical school he was drawn to Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in part because of the many opportunities for translational research. While completing medical school, he conducted a preliminary study under the direction of Dr. Jesse Taylor, engineering vascularized bone in a large animal model. He remained in Cincinnati for residency training in Plastic Surgery, where he continues to pursue research interests in bone tissue engineering and craniofacial development. Upon completion, he hopes to pursue an academic career in craniofacial plastic surgery.

John van Aalst, MD completed his undergraduate studies and obtained a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from Dartmouth College. He received his medical degree from Vanderbilt University and completed his general surgery training at Case Western Reserve University. While in Cleveland, he spent three years performing research at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. He completed both his plastic surgery and craniofacial training at Indiana University. He is currently an Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Director of Pediatric and Craniofacial Plastic Surgery, and Director of the UNC Craniofacial Fellowship, and Associate Chief of Surgical Services at the UNC Children's Hospital. Dr. van Aalst is a Past President of the North Carolina Society of Plastic Surgeons and a Past President of the Palestinian Cleft Society. He is currently Chairperson of the International Outreach Committee of the American Cleft Palate Association.

Brian Mailey, MD is a plastic surgery resident at the University of California, San Diego. He received his medical degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago and completed his general surgery training at the University of California, Irvine. During general surgery residency, Dr. Mailey completed a research fellowship under Joseph Kim, MD at the City of Hope Cancer Center. Because of his research, Dr. Mailey received the Merit Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology and was awarded top resident paper by the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract. To date, Dr. Mailey has authored or co-authored 25 manuscripts and book chapters. Dr. Mailey is a board-certified general surgeon with long-term goals of additional microsurgical training and a career in academia. He developed a research interest in regenerative medicine while working with plastic surgery mentors, Drs. Anne Wallace, Marek Dobke and Steven Cohen. Together their research focuses on correlating stromal vascular fraction with fat graft survival in breast cancer patients.

Nada Berry, MD is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Plastic Surgery at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield, IL. She received her medical degree from Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, IN and previously completed a degree in biology from Chadron State College in Chadron, NE. Dr. Berry completed her plastic surgery residency at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield, IL. She continued her training at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN in a one-year hand fellowship. Dr. Berry is a member of the American Burn Association, Sangamon County Medical Society and the Illinois State Medical Society. Dr. Berry has given multiple national and regional presentations. She has also authored multiple book chapters and articles.

Simon Farnebo, MD, PhD is a fully-trained Swedish hand surgeon with special interest in microsurgery. He currently upholds a Consultant (Attending) position at the Department of Plastic Surgery, Hand Surgery and Burns, Linköping University Hospital, Sweden. He wrote his doctoral thesis (PhD, 2010) on developing a new technique for microvascular monitoring in hand surgery, using microdialysis. (On microvascular blood flow assessments with the new microdialysis urea clearance technique). As of August 2012, Dr. Farnebo is a postdoctoral scholar at the Division for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Stanford University sponsored by the Fulbright Commission as well as the Swedish Research Council. His project is directed towards studies on flexor tendon tissue engineering with special regard to the tendon bone insertion in the hand, with James Chang, MD as Principal Investigator.

Dr. Broer obtained his medical degree from the Technical University in Munich, Germany and subsequently began his plastic surgery residency at the Department of Surgery, Section of Plastic Surgery at Yale University. Throughout his training Dr. Broer continued to be involved in ongoing basic science and clinical research projects under the supervision of Deepak Narayan, Associate Professor, and John A. Persing, Professor & Chief, Section of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Yale University. During this period Dr. Broer has received several awards and recognitions. Focus of his research has been the investigation of molecular pathways in the pathogenesis of melanoma including Inteleukin-1 receptor antagonist gene polymorphisms (funded by the OHSE grant and awarded the 2010 Yale Plastic Surgery Research Award) as well as biomechanical studies of tendon repairs in cadaveric hand models. With the support of the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation (PSEF), Dr. Broer will perform research to clarify the role of Leptin in the pathogenesis of calciphylaxis by correlating the presence of Leptin in parathyroid glands and serum of patients suffering from this poorly understood disease.

Yvonne N. Pierpont, MD graduated from University of Maryland School of Medicine and is a part of the University of South Florida Division of Plastic Surgery. She undertook one year of research focusing on wound healing in acute, chronic and burn wounds at the Bay Pines VA Medical Center. She has a longitudinal commitment to basic science research in the area of wound healing and scar development.

Dr. Zampell graduated Cum Laude with a B.S. in Biology from Emory University and completed medical training at Ohio State University with AOA honors. Following medical school, Dr. Zampell began her residency in General Surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York. At the completion of her third year, she joined Dr. Mehrara's lab at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Dr. Zampell is now beginning her second year of research in lymphatic biology. The goal of her studies is to identify mechanisms regulating the pathologic development of lymphedema as well as to determine novel methods to treat this disease process. She will return to NYU to complete her general surgery training following the completion of her research.

Dr. Jeffrey Friedrich completed his Plastic Surgery training at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. He then moved to Rochester, Minnesota to undertake Hand and Microsurgery training at the Mayo Clinic. Following completion of fellowship, he returned to the Division of Plastic Surgery at the University of Washington in 2007 to take a faculty position as an Assistant Professor. Since that time, he has practiced at Harborview Medical Center and Seattle Children's Hospital. The large majority of his practice consists of pediatric and adult hand and wrist reconstruction, but he also performs lower extremity and urologic reconstruction. Dr. Friedrich's chief research interest is in patient-reported outcomes in upper extremity pathology. He wishes to develop outcome metrics that pose minimal respondent burden and standardize outcomes research. Over time, he hopes to develop these metrics with psychometric principles that then allow use of computer adaptive testing and use of short forms. Using a Pilot Grant received from the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation, Dr. Friedrich and his co-investigator Dagmar Amtmann, PhD will first undertake the qualitative portion of this effort in which they will first develop the potential physical function items for upper extremity patients. Later, they wish to perform large-scale testing of these items to evaluate the physical function items. Another strong research interest for Dr. Friedrich is distal radius fractures. Using a grant from the American Association of Hand Surgeons, he is currently analyzing patient reported outcomes and return to work time for patients with distal radius fractures. He hopes to eventually elucidate patient and injury factors that correlate with time lost from work following this injury. Using outcomes research, Dr. Friedrich hopes to eventually help mitigate the personal and societal losses from upper extremity injury.

Dr. Taylor was raised in Springfield, IL and completed his undergraduate studies in Chemistry at Washington and Lee University. He attended medical school at Vanderbilt University and subsequently completed the combined plastic surgery residency at Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland. To further his development as a craniofacial surgeon, he completed a craniofacial fellowship at the Hospital "Gea" Gonzalez under the direction of Dr. Fernando Molina and Dr. Fernando Ortiz-Monasterio. He joined the full-time faculty at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center where he has concentrated on his clinical interests in cleft and craniofacial surgery and research interests in minimally-invasive craniofacial surgery and bone tissue engineering. He is particularly interested in the role of periosteum as a cell source and angiogenic modulator of bone tissue engineering and it is for this work that he has been awarded the 2010 AAPS/PSEF Academic Scholar Award.

Graduated, with a Bachelor of Science, from Stetson University in Deland, FL in 2003. Completed medical school education at the University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa, FL. Training began in 2007 in the Integrated Plastic Surgery Program of Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield, IL. Member of Arnold P. Gold Humanism in Medicine Honor Society in Medicine. Research interests currently include the molecular biology of tendon healing and adhesion scar modulation, and lower extremity reconstruction outcomes.

Dr. Mihye Choi is Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at New York University School of Medicine. She graduated from University of Rochester School of Medicine and received general surgery training at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital followed by plastic surgery residency at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. In addition she completed a research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital and a hand surgery fellowship at NYU Medical Center. She joined the Faculty at the Institute of Reconstructive and Plastic Surgery at New York University School of Medicine in 1998. She is the recipient and coauthor of the first prize in 1997 Plastic Surgery Senior Residents Conference and the first prize in 2007 PSEF Clinical Research Essay Contest. Her research interests include using three dimensional imaging to objectively assess breast volumes and shapes for reconstructive and aesthetic breast surgeries, to understand the postoperative changes and clinical outcomes and to ultimately use these data in the preoperative planning stage.