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.

Analysis of Craniosynostotic Rabbit Sutures with LCM

Principal Investigator
S. Alex Rottgers MD

Year
2011

Institution
University of Pittsburgh

Funding Mechanism


Focus Area


Abstract
Craniosynostosis is premature fusion of the cranial sutures. The cause is unknown, and while it is associated with numerous syndromes, most cases are sporadic. We possess an ideal model to investigate its causes and treatments, a colony of rabbits with familial, non-syndromic coronal craniosynostosis. Tissue interactions within sutures maintain their patency. Elucidating the gene expression of suture tissues will help us to understand these interactions and why sutures fuse. This will aid in designing tissue engineering strategies to treat craniosynostosis. Tools to study this were previously lacking. Cell culture, immunohistochemistry, and in situ hybridization have been used but have limitations. Laser capture microdissection (LCM) isolates small, homogenous cell populations from tissues. Gene expression in these samples is quantified using real time PCR (rtPCR). This allows exact localization of gene expression and accurate quantification for comparison between normal and synostotic tissues. As craniosyostosis is a condition of abnormal bone formation, we expect craniosynostotic rabbit tissues to exhibit a more mature osteoblast phenotype. To test this, we will obtain coronal sutures from wild-type and synostotic rabbits. Samples of dura, periosteum, osteogenic fronts, and suture contents will be isolated by LCM. We will perform qPCR using probes for genetic markers of osteoblast differentiation. We will determine relative expression levels of each gene with qPCR and compare the tissue samples of wild-type and synostotic rabbits to assess their degree of osteoblast maturation. Many signaling factors have been implicated for their role in synostosis. To investigate the role these play in our rabbits we will do qPCR on wild-type and coronal suture LCM samples with primers for these genes, and demonstrate if their expression is different in the synostotic rabbits. Any differences observed will offer insight into the processes causing premature fusion.