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Research

Plastic Surgery Research
Laboratory Members

Laboratory Director:

Kacey G. Marra, PhD View profile

Principal Investigators:

W.P. Andrew Lee, MD View profile

J. Peter Rubin, MD View profile

Kacey G. Marra, PhD View profile

Stefan Schneeberger, MD View profile

Joseph E. Losee, MD View profile

Kodi Azari, MD View profile

Gregory Cooper, PhD View profile

Michael Gimbel, MD View profile

Xin Xiao Zheng, MD View profile

Current Members:

Dong Zhang, MD, PhD
Research Assistant Professor
Project: Cell-based therapies to prevent allograft rejection and cure auto-immune diseases
9/07–Present

Yan Tian
Research Associate IV
Project: Manager of Protein Therapeutic Core
9/07–Present

Danielle Minteer
Undergraduate Student
Project: Tissue engineering cartilage
9/07–Present

Wensheng Zhang, MD, Ph.D.
Research Fellow
Project: New strategies to tip immune balance and cure Type 1 diabetes in NOD mice
9/07–Present

Han Li, MD
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Project: Soft Tissue Reconstruction Using Adipose-derived Stem Cells
6/07–Present

Yen-Chih Lin
Research Fellow
Project: Adipose-derived Stem Cell Differentiation in a Bioreactor
10/07–Present

Natasa Miljkovic, MD, PhD
Post-doctoral Fellow
Project: Controlled Drug Delivery from Tissue Engineered Scaffolds
4/07–present

Vijay Gorantla, MD, PhD
Post-Doctoral Scholar
Project: Composite Tissue Transplantation
9/06–present

Kia McLean, MD
Resident, Plastic Surgery
Project: Functional Outcome of the Rat Hemiface Allograft
7/06–present

Mario Solari, MD
Resident, Plastic Surgery
Project: The Immunogenicity of Skin in Transplantation Tolerance
7/06–present

Dan O'Donnell, BS
Research Associate II
Project 1: Adipose Tissue Engineering
11/05–present

Douglas Marsteller, BS
Research Associate II
Project 1: Transplant Immunology
4/06–present

Darren Smith, MD
Research Fellow
Project 1: Adipose-derived Stem Cells for Bone Regeneration
7/05–present

Bret Schipper, MD
Research Fellow
Project 1: Adipose-derived Stem Cells for Soft Tissue Repair
7/05–present

Jignesh Unadkat, MD
Research Fellow
Project 1: Generation of T regulatory cells for their potential therapeutic function in transplantation and autoimmunity
9/05–present

Julio Clavijo, MD, PhD
Research Fellow
Project 1: Nerve Regeneration using Biodegradable Conduits
Project 2: Soft Tissue Reconstruction using Adipose-derived Stem Cells
3/03–present

Angela Song, MD
Research Fellow
Project 1: Proliferation and Differentiation of Lipoma-derived Preadipocytes
Project 2: Ultrastructural and Biophysical Properties of the Superficial Fascial System(SFS)
Project 3: Adipocyte Physiology in Hypotonic Tumescent Liposuction
6/03–present

Lauren Kokai, BS
Bioengineering Graduate Student (Pitt)
Project: Neuronal Differentiation of Adipose-derived Stem Cells
6/03–present

Alicia DeFail, BS
Bioengineering Graduate Student (Pitt)
Project: Adipose-derived Stem Cells and Novel Hydrogels for Cartilage Regeneration
11/03–present

Candace Brayfield, BS
Bioengineering Graduate Student (Pitt), co-advisor: Joerg Gerlach
Project: Directional Neurite Outgrowth within Fibers
1/04–present

Past Lab Members:

Adam Iddriss
Bioengineering Undergraduate Student
Project: Injectable Hydrogels for Tissue Engineering
5/05–5/07

Nithya Rajendran
Bioengineering Undergraduate Student (CMU)
Project: Optimization of Microsphere Delivery Systems for Chemotherapy
5/05–5/07

Justin Sacks, MD
Research Fellow
Project: Dendritic Cells and Vascularized Bone Marrow for Tolerance to Composite Tissue Allografts
7/04–6/07

Mitchell Thompson
Bioengineering Undergraduate Student
Project: Adipose-derived Stem Cells for Bone Regeneration
1/07–5/07

Christina Lee, MS
Bioengineering Graduate Student (Pitt)
Project: The Use of Adipose-derived Stem Cells in EVG Repair
11/03–3/07

Jason Dudas, BS
Pitt Medical Student
Project: Adipose-derived Stem Cells for Bone Regeneration
6/03–6/06

Elaine Horibe, MD
Research Fellow
Project 1: GM+IL-4 DC and induction of allograft survival in vascularized skin model
9/05–1/07

Theresa Hautz, BS
Medical Student
Project: Transplant
7/06–9/06

Merissa Scozio
Undergraduate Student
Project: Transplant Immunology
5/06–8/06

Lizzie Santiago, PhD
Post-doctoral Fellow (PTEI)
Project: Surface Modification of Polymers for Improved Nerve Regeneration
8/03–8/06

Keshav Magge, MD
Research Fellow
Project 1: Isolation and Characterization of ASCs From Various Species
11/05–7/06

Justin Kiswardy, BS
Student Researcher
Project 1: ASCs for Neuronal Repair
11/05–4/06

Virginia Penascino
Bioengineering undergraduate student (Pitt)
Project 1: Determining Gender-based Differences in ASCs
9/04–9/05

Ryosuke Ikeguchi, MD
Research Fellow
Project: Induction of Tolerance in Composite Tissue Transplantation
4/05–3/06

Pieter Heemstra
PTEI Summer Intern
Project: Patient Variables in the Behavior of Adipose-derived Stem Cells
5/05–9/05

Aurele Taieb, MD
Research Fellow
Project: In vitro characterization of rat bone marrow-derived dendritic cell populations
1/04–12/05

Yur-Ren Kuo, MD
Research Fellow
Project 1: Composite Tissue Allograft Transplantation
9/04–8/05

Ali Emre Aksu, MD
Research Fellow
Project: Tissue Engineering Applications
11/04–10/05

Jeremy Breitinger, BS
Research Associate III
Project 1: Isolation and Characterization of Adipose-derived Stem Cells
Project 2: Characterization of Rat Dendritic Cells
11/03–8/05

Nicole Martik, BS
Research Associate II
Project: Adipose Tissue Engineering
7/04–8/05

Hamed Nayeb-Hashemi, BS
Pitt Medical Student
Project: Phenotype and Function of Splenic Dendritic Cells in the Lewis Rat
3/04–8/04

Sagar Shah
Biology Undergraduate Student (Clemson)
Project: Directional Neurite Outgrowth on Polysulfone
6/04–8/04

Garrett Charity
Pre-med Student (Princeton)
Project: Behavior of Adipose-derived Stem Cells on Small Instestinal Submucosa
6/04–8/04

Vu Nguyen, MD
Plastic Surgery Resident
Project 1: Dendritic Cells and Vascularized Bone Marrow for Tolerance to Composite Tissue Allografts
Project 2: alpha-Gal Double-knockout Porcine Skin Grafts in the Primate Model
11/02–6/04

Jennifer Bennett, MS
Research Associate III
Project 1: Isolation and Characterization of Adipose-derived Stem Cells
Project 2: Neuronal Differentiation of Adipose-derived Stem Cells
12/02–6/04

Veena Thomas
Pre-med Undergraduate Student (CMU)
Project: Body Image in Post-Gastric Bypass Patients
1/04–6/04

Morad Askari, BS
Pitt Medical Student
Project: Controlled Delivery of FGF-1 for Wound Healing
3/03–6/04

Haena Kim, BS
Pitt Medical Student
Project: Isolation and Characterization of Immature Dendritic Cells from Rat Bone Marrow
5/03–8/03

Brad Tebbets, BS
Bioengineering Undergraduate Student (RIT)
Project: Isolation of Neural Progenitor Cells from Adipose Tissue
5/03–8/03

Emily Kowalik, BS
PTEI Summer Fellow
Project: Fabrication of Multi-Channeled Tissue-Engineered Nerve Guides
5/03–8/03

Kristen Moffat, BS
PTEI Summer Fellow and Bioengineering Undergraduate Student (CMU)
Project: Tissue-Engineered Endovascular Graft Attachment Mechanism
8/02–8/03

Sara Royce, BS
Bioengineering Undergraduate Student (CMU)
Project: Fibrin Scaffold Fabrication Incorporating Polymer Microspheres
8/02–5/03

Morgana Martin, BS
Bioengineering Undergraduate Student (CMU)
Project: Tissue-Engineered Ligament for Improved MCL Healing
8/02–5/03

Matthew Bender, BS
Bioengineering Undergraduate Student (CMU)
Project: Multi-Channeled Polymer Guides for Nerve Regeneration
8/02–5/03

Colleen Moran, BS
Pitt Medical Student
Project: Studies using L1 Adhesion Protein for Neuronal Stem Cell Growth
3/04–12/04