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.
Age And ROS Alter Cell Signaling And Re-Epithelization Of Skin
Andrea Moor PhD
2012
University of South Florida
Pilot Research Grant
Tissue Engineering, Wounds / Scar
The care of chronic wounds in the elderly in the U.S. costs approximately $25 billion annually. Wound healing is impaired in the elderly, and it is worsened by illnesses and conditions that reduce blood flow and decrease oxygen levels in wounds. These factors contribute to the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in wounds, which further increases the chance that they will become chronic. The body's antioxidant defense system protects against ROS generation and damage, and the antioxidant superoxide dismutase is a key feature of this system. A significant gap in knowledge is the mechanism that makes the antioxidant system less efficient in the elderly. We will use a model of wound generation and healing that uses the commercially available skin matrix called Dermagraft®. Dermagraft® is used clinically to enhance wound healing, and it contains specialized cells from newborns that promote skin cell migration – a key feature of wound healing. In Aim 1 we will determine if ROS levels are higher in skin cells (fibroblasts and keratinocytes) from aged versus young donors, and if high ROS levels inhibit keratinocyte migration across Dermagraft®. In Aim 2 we will determine if levels of superoxide dismutase are lower in skin samples from aged versus young donors, and if low oxygen levels affect the ability of skin cells from the edge of a wound to migrate and initiate healing.
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.