The Plastic Surgery Foundation
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Grants We 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.

The Role of the Mamalian Target of Rapamycin in Keloid and Hypertrophic Scars

Principal Investigator
Anna Kuang MD

Year
2006

Institution
Oregon Health and Science University

Funding Mechanism
National Endowment

Focus Area
Wounds/Scar

Abstract
Physicians and scientists have been looking for a single molecule or pathway that can be targeted to diminish scars. The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) has surfaced as a key molecule to potentially affect this change. Over the last few years, mTOR has proven to be an important regulator of cell growth. The drug, rapamycin, specifically and safely inhibits mTOR's function. It has been used as a therapeutic agent against cancer and restenosis of cardiac stents, where uncontrolled regrowth of tissue is the hallmark of the disease process. Uncontrolled and excessive collagen deposition and growth are the defining characteristics of keloids and hypertrophic scars, which appear and act like benign tumors. mTOR has been shown to control collagen production in human skin cells. However, the role of mTOR in wound healing and abnormal scarring has not been explored. Our proposal hypothesizes that the key regulatory protein, mTOR, exists in higher quantities in hypertrophic and keloid scars and is responsible for their development. We plan to obtain keloid, hypertrophic scar and normal skin from patient donors. Levels of mTOR and collagen will be evaluated from these samples. We will then evaluate the effect of rapamycin on collagen production and regulation of growth factors that cause abnormal scars to form. Identifying the roles that mTOR and collagen levels play in abnormal scarring is critical for establishing methods to prevent keloids and hypertrophic scars. We can then develop pilot studies using topical rapamycin to treat these scars, as well as to treat surgical wounds prophylactically. Everyone is affected by varying degrees of scarring. The general public invests enormous amounts of resources and money on treatments to minimize scars. These include ointments, gels, creams, oils, specialized dressings, silicone sheeting, steroids, and laser therapy. Given the lack of overall success of surgical revision, and topical and intralesional therapies, the field of wound healing is a huge market for any pharmaceutical product that diminishes scarring. The goal of all surgeons, especially plastic surgeons, is to heal wounds with minimal scarring. Scarless healing is the "Holy Grail" that all plastic surgeons seek. Keloids and hypertrophic scars keep us from attaining this goal. It is imperative that we develop new therapies whose effectiveness is based on actual scientific data.