Research

The 2023 initiative by the US Army Medical Research and Development Command (MRDC) and Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (MTEC) has renewed its efforts from previous projects while bringing original ideas and the latest technologies to the research. The goal is to bring measurable acceleration to clinical products through robust partnerships.

Abstracts

The abstracts and projects listed below are sponsored by the US Government under MTEC Research Project Award: MTEC-23-04-AFIRM-004. The views and conclusions contained herein are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies or endorsements, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for Governmental purposes notwithstanding any copyright notation thereon.

Lyophilized Platelet Surrogate for Traumatic Brain Injury-Associated Coagulopathy
Principal Investigator: Susan M. Shea, PhD; Co-PI Matthew D. Neal, MD
Bioengineered Functional Craniomaxillofacial Alveolar Bone and Tooth Constructs
Principal Investigator: Pamela Yelick, PhD, Tufts University
Stem Cell Secretome-Based Recombinant Protein Therapy for Treatment of Acute Kidney Injury
Principal Investigator: John Jackson, PhD; Co-PI Ji Hyun Kim, PhD
Tissue Engineering Functional Human Lips
Principal Investigator: Stephen Feinberg, DDS, MS, PhD; Co-PI Mary-Ann Mycek, PhD, Regents of the University of Michigan
Tension-based strategy for graft-free peripheral nerve reconstruction
Principal Investigator: Sameer Shah, PhD, University of California, San Diego
Targeting the Endotheliopathy of Trauma (EOT) with Lyophilized Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) and Lyophilized MSC Extracellular Vesicles (EVs)
Principal Investigator: Shibani Pati, MD, PhDOrganization: University of California San Francisco The main goal of this project is to develop and test dried stem cell products (lyophilized-MSCs and lyophilized-MSC EVs) for their potential …
Human Amnion Membrane Product (hAMP) for Treatment of Burn Wounds in Remote, Pre-hospital Setting
Principal Investigators: Shay Soker, PhD; Co-PI Sean Murphy, PhDOrganization: Wake Forest University Health Sciences Given the unpredictable future battle and casualty management environment, with definitive burn treatment occurring only post-evacuation, there is a …
Acellular Muscle Fiber Fragment Platform for Rapid Recovery of Pelvic Floor Muscle Function
Principal Investigator: Ji Hyun Kim, PhDOrganization: Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine Pelvic and urogenital injuries account for 86% of urologic injuries in US armed conflicts, impacting the medical and combat readiness of …
Rapid Recovery of Rotator Ruff Muscle Function using Decellularized Muscle Fiber Fragments as an off-the-shelf Injection Therapy
Principal Investigator: James J. Yoo, MD, PhD Organization: Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine Rotator cuff injuries or tears have a significant impact on both civilian and military populations, affecting approximately 17 million …
Reprogramming Subject Skin to Palmo-Plantar Skin at the Distal Limb to Enhance Prosthetic use in Wounded Warriors
Principal Investigator: Luis Garza, MD, PhDPerforming Organization: Johns Hopkins University Background: Stem cell therapy holds great promise in medicine. This grant will employ one’s own stem cells in an attempt to help the …
Proof of Concept Clinical Trial of Burns: Inhibiting Scar Formation and Promoting Skin Regeneration using a Topical Focal Adhesion Kinase Inhibitor (FAKI)
Principal Investigator:  Geoffrey Gurtner, MDPerforming Organization:  University of Arizona Burn injuries are among the most devastating of all injuries and a major global public health burden. Severe (full- and deep partial-thickness) burns are …
Modular Lego-Like Scaffolds for In-theater Craniofacial Regeneration
Principal Investigator: Luiz Bertassoni, PhD, Oregon Health & Science University

Clinical Therapies

The team will focus on developing clinical therapies over the next 5 years in the areas of:

Craniofacial Regeneration

Extremity Regeneration

Genitourinary/ Lower Abdomen

Skin and Wound Healing

On-Demand Blood

Cellular Therapies for Trauma