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Research Wound Healing

It was said...

"The direct and indirect influences of PTEI on my research activities and interactions are multi-faceted, and have been very profitable to our research program both scientifically and financially."

Patricia A. Hebda, PhD
Associate Professor, Pediatric Otolaryngology and Director, Otolaryngology Wound Healing Research Program, University of Pittsburgh


Wound healing is a significant problem for regenerative medicine researchers because the body’s typical response to a wound is to create scar tissue, which doesn’t look or function as normal, healthy tissue is supposed to.

Wound Healing projects include the design of:

Foam that can be “sprayed” into a wound to rapidly control bleeding
Advanced “bandages” to accelerate wound closure and healing
Stem cell-based therapies for closure of partial- and full-thickness burns
Techniques to promote scarless wound healing
     
Yet another problem is that of open wounds, such as those affecting people with diabetes, that do not close to allow tissue regeneration to begin. PTEI-funded researchers are exploring the complexities of wound healing for blunt trauma, burn, and open wounds. While much of this work is focused on the urgent and immediate needs for military purposes, the long-term benefits of this work will be widespread.