The Plastic Surgery Foundation
Log In Donate Now
 

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.

Tissue Engineered Bone in a Prefabricated Capsular Flap

Principal Investigator
Michael Neumeister MD, FRCSC, FACS

Year
2003

Institution
Southern Illinois University

Funding Mechanism
Basic Research Grant

Focus Area
Tissue Engineering

Abstract
Using recent advances in tissue engineering and the principles behind the prefabrication of flaps, this research will compare various methods of bone formation in a capsular flap. The ultimate goal is to provide a technique to reconstruct bony defects by using a composite tissue flap engineered at a distant location and in a specific shape and then transferred to the site of the defect, thereby minimizing donor site morbidity and avoiding the limitations presented by a finite supply of autogenous bone available for grafting. From previous experiments on prefabrication and prelamination of different cell types, including urothelial cells, tracheal epithelial cells, and chondrocytes, we have found that transposing a vascular pedicle to a subcutaneously placed silicone block will result in a vascular capsule, that can be mobilized and transferred based solely on the pedicle. The capsule provides the necessary blood supply for cell growth. No study to date has investigated osteoinduction in a prefabricated vascularized capsular flap. In a clinical setting, this technique may provide another option in reconstruction of bony defects of the upper and lower extremities and the mandible due to trauma, tumor resection, or congenital abnormalities. The use of the patient's own bone marrow or adipose tissue as sources for cultured mesenchymal stem cells may represent the best option for creating new bone in the prefabrication of flaps without the morbidity associated with the harvesting of autogenous bone graft and may also prove to be more reliable in the osteoinductive process than bone graft substitutes or genetically engineered products.

Biography
Dr. Michael W. Neumeister is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Surgery and the Elvin G. Zook Endowed Chair in the Institute for Plastic Surgery at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. He joined the SIU faculty in 1997. He is director of the hand surgery fellowship program, Chief of microsurgery and research, and director of the Wound Care Center, Ambulatory Care Center and the Regional Burn Unit at Memorial Medical Center. Prior to joining SIU, Neumeister completed a year fellowship in hand and microsurgery at SIU School of Medicine’s Division Plastic Surgery and a 3 month microsurgery fellowship at Harvard University’s Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston. He completed his residency in plastic surgery at Manitoba University in Winnipeg, Manitoba and his general surgery residency at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Dr. Neumeister received his medical degree from the University of Toronto and bachelor’s in Physiology/Pharmacology from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. Neumeister is board certified in plastic surgery by both the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada and the American Board of Plastic Surgeons and holds a Certificate of Added Qualification in Hand Surgery. Dr. Neumeister’s research interests include; tissue engineering, the role of stem cells in reconstruction, ischemia reperfusion, upper extremity reconstruction, peripheral nerve, and burn modulation.