At its most basic level, tissue engineering combines cells with scaffolding materials to grow new tissue constructs.
But, understanding and managing the complex relationship between the cells and scaffolds presents the great challenge for tissue engineers.
McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine
450 Technology Drive
Suite 300
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Read information on campus shuttles.
Phone: 412-624-5500
Fax: 412-624-5363
Email: McGowan@pitt.edu
For biomaterial scaffolds, McGowan Institute researchers are:
Read more about biomaterial research at the McGowan Institute.
We've made huge advances in biologic scaffolds for soft tissue repair. Over 8 million patients have received treatment with bioscaffolds.
A team led by Stephen Badylak, MD, is looking for ways to adapt the bioscaffold concept to whole organ engineering.
Learn more about Dr. Badylak's whole organ engineering research.
Biomimetic methods are a common theme in the lab of Steven Little, PhD. The act of mimicking a biologic interaction or property using a synthetic material is a valid way to enhance function.
Dr. Little's team is exploring:
As their knowledge of biologic interactions increases, they will be better able to mimic them to create new treatments.
See all regenerative medicine research projects in Dr. Little's Lab.
A group of researchers are creating new alloys and manufacturing processes that suit clinical demands.
The team includes researchers from the:
The group seeks to design devices that can adapt to changes in a person’s body and dissolve once they've healed.
These devices can help:
So far, the group has made include:
Learn more about making medical devices with dissolving metal.
Resorbable metals such as magnesium (Mg) and its alloys have many benefits over other materials used in orthopaedic treatments.
Mg alloy implants:
Researchers in the lab of Charles Sfeir, DDS, are exploring Mg alloys as bone fixation devices for orthopaedic and craniofacial procedures. They're designing and testing Mg-based fixation devices to better understand their degradation and the biological after-effects.
Prashant Kumta, PhD, and his research team work toward finding a new class of multifunctional biocompatible materials and devices able to: