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.
LGR6+ Epithelial Stem Cell Augmentation of Fracture Healing
Amanda Dawson MD
2016
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
AAHS/PSF Research Grant
Hand or Upper Extremity, Tissue Engineering
The project entitled ‘Lgr6+ Stem Cell Augmention of Fracture Healing' is aimed at using stem cells found within the skin of mammals to assist with the treatment of bone fractures that are at risk for healing incorrectly and to help correct the healing process in fractures that heal abnormally. We plan to use the information gathered from this preliminary basic science study to determine if stem cells from the skin can be used in an animal fracture model. In this preliminary phase of our project, we will harvest skin from rats and isolate particular stem cells, known at Lgr6+ Epithelial Stem Cells, which are located near hair follicles. Stem cells have the capacity to become many different types of tissue within the body if given the right environment in which to mature. We plan on providing a chemical environment that will allow these Lgr6+ stem cells to mature into pre-cursors of bone forming cells. Once we have verified that these Lgr6+ stem cells will become bone progenitors, we will culture them within a collagen construct. At the termination of this phase of the study, we will investigate the Lgr6+ stem cell/collagen construct using varying histochemical stains/assays to assess for cellular growth and survival as bone progenitors. Additionally, we will evaluate the gene expression of Lgr6+ stem cells to assure they are production appropriate markers that are unique to bone forming cells. If the results of this initial phase of our study show that stem cells isolated from the skin have the ability to become bone forming precursor cells that are able to proliferate within a collagen construct, then we will be able to move to the secondary phase of our study. In this second phase, we will create fractures within a rat model to simulate normal fractures and fractures that will heal improperly (non-union fractures). We plan to then take our rat Lrg6+ stem cell/collagen construct and engraft this directly into the fracture site and to evaluate bone healing at varying time points.
Dr. Amanda J. Ross is a third year Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Resident at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield, Illinois. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with a second major in Studio Art from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska in 2009. She continued on at Creighton University School of Medicine, graduating with the distinction of Doctor of Medicine in 2013. She plans on pursuing a career as a general plastic and reconstructive surgeon at the conclusion of her training.