Summer Research in the DiPietro Laboratory, Unversity of Illinois, Chicago

Wound Healing and Tissue Regeneration

My laboratory studies how wounds heal, with the ultimate goal of developing therapies that will allow humans to regenerate perfect tissue after an injury. In most patients, wounds heal readily, most often resulting in a minimal scar. Incredibly, though, more that 2 million persons in the US develop severe problems with wound healing every year. The two most important problems experienced by patients are 1) non healing wounds and 2) wounds that heal with excessive scars. Severe scarring is a particular difficulty, not only due to the psychological implications, but also because a loss of function can occur. Our lab is interested in finding molecular triggers that could convert scar forming wounds to non-scarring wounds. In skin, one feature that seems to be important to healing outcomes is the level of inflammation, as a high degree of inflammation generally predicts a poor wound healing outcome. Students in my lab use a variety of sophisticated in vitro and in vivo models to study the healing process, and to compare wounds that heal well with those that heal poorly. The summer student will be involved in a defined project to examine how specific reductions in inflammation affect the healing process.

Program dates are flexible; anytime between May 15 – August 15. Only one student will be accepted. The application deadline is May.