Placental mTOR Regulation of Pancreatic Endocrine Cells
Therapeutic & IP optimization of provisionally-patented anti-inflammatory wound healing-accelerant
This project is performing translational studies on a wound-healing accelerant that has been provisionally patented. Animal studies showed that open skin wounds treated with this accelerant healed up to six times faster, even in otherwise subnormally healing, pre-diabetic, obese animals. This is a critical step toward being able to therapeutically and commercially optimize this invention for future veterinary and clinical use. Improved wound care is an important need in Minnesota, particularly in diabetic populations.
Foundational Methods for High-throughput Pancreatic Islet Cryopreservation
Engineering microcapsules for stem cell cultivation and transplantation
The goal of this project is to develop microcapsules that could be used as cell carriers during differentiation of stem cells into pancreatic islets. These same capsules may also be useful as vehicles for islet transplantation. Developing this technology will enable better scale-up of islet production from stem cells, may result in cost reduction, and may also alleviate problems associated with immune rejection of transplanted islets.