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.
Peripheral Nerve Signal Transduction Via Polyimide Electrodes
Theodore Kung MD
2012
The Regents of the University of Michigan
Research Fellowship
Hand or Upper Extremity, Peripheral Nerve
Despite significant advances in the field of neuroprosthetics for restoring upper extremity function after amputation, currently available prostheses have yet to be ideally interfaced to nerves of the residual limb. Unlike forearm amputations, where myoelectric signals from remaining muscles can be isolated to power a prosthetic hand, high amputations of the upper arm remain a difficult challenge. Recent work strives to interface bioelectric and mechanical signals between the residual peripheral nerve and the prosthesis. Our group focuses on the potential of a living regenerative peripheral nerve interface (RPNI) which consists of a unit of free muscle that has been neurotized by a transected peripheral nerve. Our laboratory has previously demonstrated the in vivo stability, conductivity, fidelity, and recording capability of the RPNI. The next critical step is the application of techniques to transmit bioelectric signals from the RPNI in order to achieve successful control of a neuroprosthetic limb. We propose the novel use of bio-integrated thin-film polyimide electrode technology to facilitate signal transduction from the RPNI to the prosthesis. The goals of this research are: 1) to determine the sensing and recording capabilities of polyimide electrodes when applied to normal muscle or normal nerve; 2) to test the signal sensing and recording capabilities of polyimide electrodes in conjunction with an RPNI; and 3) to examine the durability, signal fidelity, and local tissue response of implanted polyimide electrodes after 4 weeks when applied to normal muscle, normal nerve, and RPNI. This work will elucidate the role of polyimide electrodes in peripheral nerve signal transduction and will contribute to the goal of restoring extremity function in patients with limb amputation.
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.