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.
The Effect of Adipose Derived Stem Cells and VEGF Supplementation of Hyaluronic Acid Soft Tissue Augmentation
Joubin Gabbay MD
2005
University of California, Los Angeles
Basic Research Grant
Tissue Engineering
Over the last several decades, numerous augmentation agents have been employed in attempts to offset the soft tissue loss that occurs in the aging face. Methods used include fat autografting procedures and the injection of collagen and hyaluronic acid derivatives. However, all share the disadvantages of variable incorporation and graft resorption over time. Human adipose derived stem cells (ADSC) are an ideal source of autogenous tissue that may overcome many of the limitations of both auto grafted whole adipose tissue and extracellular matrix derivatives. ADSCs comprise the most viable population of cells residing within adipose tissue, and may be injected as a cellular suspension devoid of intervening tissue, allowing for rapid access to diffusing nutrients and oxygen, thus enhancing viability. Increasing evidence is revealing the great dependence of grafted tissue upon neovascularization to overcome diffusion limitations. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been shown to significantly enhance the process of angiogenesis, though its application to tissue engineering strategies remains limited. The purpose of this study is to determine to role of ADSCs as agents for soft tissue augmentation. A comprehensive tissue engineering based approach combining adipose derived stem cells with commercially available hyaluronic acid (Restylane) and VEGF will be utilized to determine the most effective pairing of these agents. Our specific objectives are: 1) To assess the cellular viability of grafted fat versus ADSC constructs, and 2) to compare the volumetric persistence of injected agents based on histological area analysis. The development of a more durable agent for soft tissue augmentation would contribute greatly to the field of aesthetic plastic surgery.