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.
Acellular Nerve Conductive Polymer for Peripheral Nerve Interface
Ziya Baghmanli MD
2010
The Regents of the University of Michigan
Pilot Research Grant
Hand or Upper Extremity, Peripheral Nerve
Our long term efforts are concentrated on facilitating growth and signal transduction through a neuroprosthetic "living interface" which will provide fine motor control and sensory feedback to patients with artificial limbs. The interface is located where the peripheral nerve stump exchanges ionic signals with wiring for electronic prosthetic controllers. In our preliminary studies we found that highly electroconductive polymer- PEDOT (poly 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) supports electrical signal transmission through a 2 cm nerve gap in situ. We believe PEDOT can play a major signal processing role if it is in contact with a surviving nerve stump. In this study we examine the influence of PEDOT on peripheral nerve regeneration and the end organ reinnervation process. We form a 1.5 cm gap in the rat peroneal nerve and reconstruct this nerve gap with decellular nerve which is polymerized with PEDOT. Compound muscle action potentials are recorded at monthly intervals during the postoperative period until POD #90. During recovery, the nerve fibers are expected to regenerate through the decellular nerve material. At POD #90, muscle contractile tests are utilized to determine the degree of functional recovery following the nerve grafting procedures. Qualitative and quantitative characteristics of regenerating nerve fibers in the presence of PEDOT are revealed by both light and scanning electronic microscopic analysis of
the constructs taken from the reconstruction site.
With this study we will demonstrate the effect of PEDOT on regenerating nerve conductivity, morphology,
and end organ function. Results of this work will contribute to furthering our understanding about peripheral
nerve health in the presence of conductive polymers used in conjuction with biomaterials. Our next step is to test PEDOT as a component of the "living interface" with an animal amputation model. With favorable results, it is possible that the study of a "living interface" may reach clinical trial.
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.