Grants Funded
Grant applicants for the 2024 cycle requested a total of nearly $3 million dollars. The PSF Study Section Subcommittees of Basic & Translational Research and Clinical Research evaluated more than 100 grant applications on the following topics:
The PSF awarded research grants totaling over $650,000 dollars to support more than 20 plastic surgery research proposals.
ASPS/PSF leadership is committed to continuing to provide high levels of investigator-initiated research support to ensure that plastic surgeons have the needed research resources to be pioneers and innovators in advancing the practice of medicine.
Research Abstracts
Search The PSF database to have easy access to full-text grant abstracts from past PSF-funded research projects 2003 to present. All abstracts are the work of the Principal Investigators and were retrieved from their PSF grant applications. Several different filters may be applied to locate abstracts specific to a particular focus area or PSF funding mechanism.
Terminal Schwann cell contributions to muscle reinnervation after nerve injury
Alison Snyder-Warwick MD
2016
Washington University in St.Louis
ASPN/PSF Research Grant
Peripheral Nerve
Peripheral nerve injuries are devastating and can result in functional loss, deformity, and paralysis. Clinical outcome is related to the period of target muscle denervation, with poor functional results after prolonged denervation. After a period of 12-18 months of denervation, integration between nerve and muscle is no longer possible. Strategies to protect the muscle target during the denervation period would improve outcomes after motor nerve injury and may allow integration between nerve and muscle beyond the 18 month window following nerve injury.
Terminal Schwann cells (tSCs) are the glial cells located at the neuromuscular junction, or at the muscle target. These cells have been relatively understudied compared to other Schwann cells. In this proposal we will utilize genetic and morphologic techniques in multiple in vivo models to identify molecular signaling of tSCs following motor nerve injury, and we will further determine the contributions of these cells to NMJ reinnervation. The data generated from this proposal will fuel an innovative area of tSC investigation that may provide novel information for translational application to peripheral motor nerve injuries.
Dr. Alison Snyder-Warwick is an Associate Professor of Surgery in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Director of the Facial Nerve Institute at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Snyder-Warwick completed medical school, a research fellowship in Developmental Biology, and surgical residency training all at Wash U. She then travelled to Toronto, Canada for specialized training in pediatric plastic surgery and pediatric microsurgery at the Hospital for Sick Children.
Dr. Snyder-Warwick’s main clinical focus includes pediatric plastic surgery and reconstruction for facial nerve disorders, treatment of facial clefts, reconstruction of brachial plexus birth injuries, gender-affirming surgery, and pediatric and adult microsurgical procedures. Her clinical interests have led to pioneering basic science research investigations involving the terminal Schwann cell, a unique glial cell present at the nerve-muscle interface.
Dr. Snyder-Warwick is passionate about helping children and adults with facial paralysis, nerve-related injuries, and facial anomalies and is committed to studying novel techniques of optimizing care for people affected by peripheral nerve pathology and facial differences.