The Plastic Surgery Foundation
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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.

Role of Innervation in the Metabolic Response of Skin to Injury

Principal Investigator
Soner Tatilded MD

Year
2007

Institution
New York University Medical Center

Funding Mechanism
Basic Research Grant

Focus Area
Wounds/Scar

Abstract
The peripheral nervous system regulates wound healing during all its phases, i.e., inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. It has been reported that there is a significant reduction in the inflammatory response to tissue injury as well as slower wound healing in the absence of innervation. Although some studies suggest that neuropeptides released by functional nerves within and around the wound site play an important role during the wound healing process, there is little understanding of the underlying mechanisms. A better understanding would help devise strategies that enhance wound healing when working with free flaps, or when treating extremity injuries with or without neuropathies. We hypothesize that the lack of innervation and associated neuropeptide stimuli down regulates the metabolic processes, such as energy production, protein and DNA synthesis, that are critical for wound healing. We propose to develop an animal model consisting of a tubed superficial epigastric flap where the epigastric branch of the femoral nerve to the flap can be severed at will. Furthermore, these flaps can be perfused ex vivo to obtain a detailed map of the metabolic rates throughout the tissue. Wounds will be created to the flaps and the metabolic response with or without a functional nerve will be compared.