The Plastic Surgery Foundation
Log In Donate Now
 

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.

Transgenic Adipose Stem Cell-Mediated VEGF Delivery

Principal Investigator
R. Michael Johnson MD

Year
2014

Institution
Wright State University

Funding Mechanism
Pilot Research Grant

Focus Area
Tissue Engineering

Abstract
Local and targeted delivery of drugs and growth factors has recently been gaining clinical significance. The ability to affect specific target tissues while minimizing systemic delivery has significant implications for improving the therapeutic index and limiting overall side-effect profiles of medications. Targeted transgenic modification of autologous tissues could afford localized ongoing delivery of therapeutic agents/growth factors. The inclusion of environment-sensitive promoter sequences could provide a built-in regulator allowing the cell to sample the local environment and respond accordingly by expressing the gene product when indicated (i.e., expressing the treatment molecules in response to local triggers – in this case hypoxia) and laying dormant when local conditions are satisfactory (i.e., a lack of local stimulus – treatment goal of normal tissue perfusion). This could serve to prevent overexpression of the transgene product and potential sequelae of overactive healing responses such as local tumors.

The adipose-derived stem cell (ASC) represents an ideal cellular vehicle. It is abundant, easily harvested with low donor-site morbidity, can tolerate manipulation, and survives autotransplantation even in relatively ischemic recipient sites. Moreover, ex vivo ASC genetic modification limits potential systemic effects of transduction and can facilitate a localized depot of therapeutic cells that can be removed in case of adverse host reactions.

We propose a potential regenerative solution to ischemia-related chronic refractory wounds (as seen with diabetes and radiotherapy) through the application of ASCs transduced with a recombinant non-pathologic adeno-associated viral vector for highly localized and targeted paracrine expression of VEGF. Based on our pilot studies, we have selected an ASC transduction model using recombinant adeno-associated virus serotype-5 encoded with the VEGF isoform-165 gene, and propose that this model has the potential to optimize safety and be potentially much more efficacious than other vector options currently described.