Grants We Funded
Grant applicants for the 2023 cycle requested a total of nearly $4 million dollars. The PSF Study Section Subcommittees of Basic & Translational Research and Clinical Research evaluated nearly 140 grant applications on the following topics:
The PSF awarded research grants totaling over $1 million dollars to support nearly 30 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.
Evaluation of contractile proteins in Dupuytren's tissue
Josef Hadeed MD, FACS
2009
Duke University Medical Center
Pilot Research Grant
Wounds / Scar, Hand or Upper Extremity
Dupuytren's disease is an idiopathic, prevalent fibrocontractile disease that can be severely debilitating to hand function. Diseased fascia contains nodules and cords, and although it is unknown why these structures develop, it has been proposed that nodules are the primary epicenter of disease progression. All nodules contain fibroblasts rich in actin and myosin contractile proteins. Thus, it is proposed that myofibroblasts and fibroblasts within nodules cause Dupuytren's disease and palmar fascia contractures. Several upstream intracellular contractile signaling mediators lead to activation of actin and myosin. However, it is not known which signaling pathways predominate in Dupuytren's fibroblasts and myofibroblasts.
The first aim of this project is to identify which contractile proteins are expressed in fibroblasts and myofibroblasts in Dupuytren's nodules. There are several different known proteins that cause cell contractility. It is unknown which proteins are expressed in Dupuytren's nodule fibroblasts and myofibroblasts. The plan is to characterize which of the known contractile proteins are expressed by fibroblasts and myofibroblasts wihin the nodules. The rationale is to identify the common motor proteins that cause contractility. The second aim is to evaluate the functional contribution of contractile proteins in the pathogenesis of Dupuytren's contracture. There are multiple points of regulation in the pathway of contractile proteins involving fibroblasts and myofibroblasts. Measurement of contractile force after inhibition of separate points of the pathway will characterize which are most important in the progression of contracture and their location within Dupuytren's tissue.
Identification of the contractile pathways that are active in Dupuytren's disease and functional assessment of their contribution towards contraction will allow for future development of novel small molecule inhibitors to prevent disease progression.
Josef Hadeed attended the University of Michigan for his undergraduate studies and then Temple University for medical school. He then completed his General Surgery residency at Cooper University/ UMDNJ-RWJMS in Camden, NJ. Following this he did a fellowship in Hand and Microsurgery at Jackson Memorial Hospital/ University of Miami. He is currently at Duke University for his Plastic Surgery residency.