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Richard A.F. Clark, M.D.
Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Dermatology
and Medicine, Director, Center for Tissue Engineering
Funding through the National Institutes of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal
and Skin Diseases and the National Institute of Aging.
Figure 1. Acute wound healing in porcine
skin at 3 days (upper left panel), 5 days (upper right panel),
7 days (lower left panel) and 10 days (lower right panel). An
organized fibrin clot is observed at 3 days, but there is no
evidence of new dermal tissue healing. In contrast, at 5 days
connective tissue cells (fibroblasts) and blood vessels have
filled the defect. Reorgan- zation of the tissue has occurred
over the next week (days 7 and 10). |
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Research in our laboratory focuses on constructing 3-D complex extracellular
matrices (ECM) that simulate normal soft tissue ECM and corrupt ECM as
found in chronic wounds, diabetes and the elderly, and that are engineered
for tissue repair and regeneration or for tissue augmentation. The ECM
constructs are analyzed for their physical, chemical and immunologic properties
by such modalities as goniometry for hydrophilicity, static and dynamic
stress and strain for viscolastic material properties, atomic force microscopy
for Young’s elastic moduli and surface topography; HPLC, mass spectroscopy,
gel permeation chromatography and gel electrophoresis for chemical analysis;
and fluorescence immunoassays for immunologic epitope mapping. In addition,
cell interactions with the 3-D ECM constructs are examined at the transriptional,
protein and functional level as judged by real-time PCR, DNA microarray
analyses, Western blots, proteomics, quantitative fluorescence microscopy,
and cell viability, migration and proliferation assays. Special in vitro
systems have been created to quantify sprout angiogenesis, epithelial
sheet migration and neurite axon extension. Engineered ECM will also be
tested and a variety of animal models and hopefully some construct will
enter into clinical trials. This robust array of 3-D ECM constructs and
assays thereof, we believe, will provide new insight into connective tissue
pathobiology and new therapies for chronic wounds and soft tissue dysfunction.
The interdisciplinary nature of our work, spanning biochemistry, polymer
chemistry, immunochemistry, physics, engineering, molecular and cell biology
require that students have a strong grasp of either the biological or
engineering sciences. By bringing a strong background in one of these
areas, the student becomes a valuable asset to our research enterprise.
Students will be introduced to complex biological problems in areas of
soft tissue pathobiology and wound healing (Figure 1) and will be required
to apply their educational background and simultaneously learn about clinical
applications in medicine. The student will be involved in constructing
3-D ECM, testing its physical and chemical properties and its biocompatibility,
and applying lesions learned to the design of engineered ECM for tissue
repair, regeneration and augmentation.
Contact Information
email: RAFClark@epo.som.sunysb.edu
url: http://www.bme.sunysb.edu/bme/people/faculty/fac_core.html#clark
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