Grants We Funded

Abstract
Our overall goal is to understand the molecular bases of bone healing. Bone diseases and injuries, such as tumors and fractures, pose formidable threats to the public health and clinical care for these diseases often results in enormous cost on our health care system. Thus, understanding the molecular mechanisms of bone formation would likely lead to the development of novel therapies for these diseases. With that in mind, we are interested in the molecular biology of bone formation and regeneration. Clinical efforts over the years have been directed towards replacing bone made absent by tumor resection, trauma, infection, or congenital malformation. Trauma or cancer resection, for example, can lead to large (critical-sized) defects of bone from the cranium (skull), mandible (lower jaw) or maxilla (upper jaw), necessitating major reconstructive efforts. Bone replacement has involved materials such as autogenous or cadaveric bone graft, demineralized bone matrix, and other bone substitutes. Large defects from trauma or cancer resection, however, require almost a limitless source of bone, as autogenous graft donor sites (skull, hip, or rib) can be readily exhausted and result in serious morbidity. Large quantities of alloplastic (synthetic) material, in turn, are relatively contraindicated in cancer reconstruction, because a well vascularized recipient bed is required to accept such materials. In post-oncologic cases, which often involve radiation, a poorly vascularized recipient site is not suitable for synthetic replacement. An attractive modality for bone regeneration and healing bony defects involves the use of pluripotent mesenchymal stem cells. Such cells can be engineered to differentiate into bone forming cells; however, long-term viability and replication of engineered cells are essential to stable and successful regeneration of missing tissue. In other words, these cells must be optimized for longevity to replicate, differentiate, and deliver critical growth factors for defect healing. Engineering of these cells with particular gene products that extend the lifespan of this cell population, such as human telomerase (hTER1), may potentiate their capacity to heal critical-sized bony defects. Such research may benefit our knowledge of bone regeneration and approach to trauma and cancer reconstruction in humans.

Biography
Russell R. Reid, M.D., Ph.D. is a board-certified plastic surgeon who specializes in pediatric plastic surgery. Having completed a fellowship at the esteemed Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in 2006, he has particular expertise in the area of craniofacial and maxillofacial surgery. An accomplished author, Dr. Reid has published book chapters and several peer-reviewed journal articles on a variety of topics, from craniofacial surgery techniques to wound healing. Dr. Reid's research interests include tissue transplantation and regeneration, the role of immunity in tissue repair, and genetic expression in craniofacial development. He also studies bone substitutes and the survival of bone-cartilage grafts.