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.
Host-Biofilm Interaction in Breast Implant Associated ALCL
Mithun Sinha PhD
2021
Indiana University
Directed Research Grant
Breast (Cosmetic / Reconstructive), Other
Impact Statement: Breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) is a rare type of T-cell non-Hogdkin's lymphoma that can develop around breast implants. Till date, 733 cases of BIA-ALCL have been reported and 36 deaths implicated to this condition. There are 10 million women with breast implant worldwide who are at risk of developing this condition. Guided by our preliminary data, we hypothesize that biofilms present on the breast implant acts on breast fatty acids and leads to the formation of oxylipins. These biofilm derived oxylipins subsequently lead to the activation and multiplication of T cells present in breast adipose. Findings of this proposal will help to understand role of bacterial biofilms as a confounding factor in BIA-ALCL.
Project Summary: Breast implant associated- anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL) is identified as a T cell, non–Hodgkin lymphoma. BIA-ALCL can manifest as a solid mass infiltrating the peri-prosthetic fibrotic capsule and soft tissues. It can also appear as a late peri-implant seroma within which tumor cells proliferate.This can occur to patients who underwent reconstructive surgery post mastectomy in breast cancer and augmentative surgery for cosmetic purposes. Till date, 656 cases of BIA-ALCL have been reported worldwide and 17 deaths implicated to this condition. Nevertheless, though the number is less, it is of grave concern as there are 10 million women with breast implant worldwide and harbor the risk of developing this condition. The role of bacteria and body microflora in oncogenic response and therapeutic regimen is gaining attention. Bacterial infection have been implicated to cause cancer (gastric cancer by Helicobacter pylori). Bacteria can be in planktonic form (commonly associated with infections) or can form dormant colonies encapsulated in extrapolymeric substance called as biofilm. In this mode, they are metabolically inert and become recalcitrant to antibiotics and host immune cells. The host-pathogen interaction of bacterial biofilms are different from those of planktonic bacteria. Oxylipins are lipophilic molecules derived from the oxidation of fatty acids. They are primarily involved in signal transduction. Oxilipins have been reported to contribute to differentiation of cancer cell lines. The breast is rich in adipose tissue. This proposal is based on the hypothesis that bacterial enzymes can oxidize the host lipids like Oleic acid to form oxylipins HOME and DiHOME. These oxylipins then lead to activation and clonal proliferation of T cells which can lead to BIA-ALCL. To test the hypothesis, we have proposed two specific aims Aim 1: Test the presence of biofilm generated metabolites post-breast implant insertion Aim 2: Determine the role of implant associated biofilm in activation and clonal proliferation of host T cells.
