Regenerative Medicine Today welcomes Jeremy Kimmel, PhD. Dr. Kimmel is the Director of New Technology at ALung Technologies. Dr. Kimmel discusses the work being done at ALung.

For more information about ALung Technologies, click here.

Host John Murphy.

For more information about the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, visit:

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Regenerative Medicine Today welcomes Jörg Gerlach, MD, PhD.  Dr. Gerlach is a Professor with the Department of Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Gerlach discusses his “skin cell gun” and its applicability as well as other alternatives for burn therapy.

For more information about Dr. Gerlach, click here.

Host John Murphy.

For more information about the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, visit:
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Regenerative Medicine Today welcomes Frank Witte, MD, PhD, Diego Mantovani, PhD, Prashant Kumta, PhD, and Charles Sfeir, MD, PhD. Dr. Witte is the Director of Biomaterial Research at the Laboratory for Biomechnics and Biomaterials, Hannover Medical School in Germany; Dr. Mantovani is the Director at the Laboratoire de biomatériaux et bioingénierie at the L’Université Laval in Canada; Dr. Kumta is the Edward R. Weidlein Chair in the Swanson School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh; and Dr. Sfeir is an Associate Professor in the Department of Oral Medicine and Pathology at the University of Pittsburgh. The group discusses their research in biodegradable metals and potential clinical applications.

For more information about Dr. Witte, click here.

For more information about Dr. Mantovani, click here.

For more information about Dr. Kumta, click here.

For more information about Dr. Sfeir, click here.

For more information about the NSF Engineering Research Centers, click here.

For more information about the Symposium on Biodegradable Metals, click here.

Host John Murphy.

For more information about the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, visit:
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Regenerative Medicine Today welcomes Dr. Harvey Borovetz, Mr. Stephen Winowich, and Mr. Brian Williams. Dr. Borovetz and Mr. Winowich discuss the early days of Ventricular Assist Devices, and Mr. Williams recounts his experience as one of the pioneering patients. Dr. Borovetz is a professor and chair in the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh, a professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, and the Robert L. Hardesty Professor in the Department of Surgery as well as the Deputy Director of Artificial Organs and Medical Devices. Mr. Winowich is the Senior Biomedical Engineer and Director of Operations at Vital Engineering.

For more information about the Artificial Heart Program, please click here.

For more information about Dr. Borovetz, please click here.

For more information about Mr. Winowich, please click here.

Host John Murphy.

For more information about the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, visit:
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Regenerative Medicine Today welcomes Mr. Peter DeComo.  Mr. DeComo is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ALung Technologies, Inc., a company which develops respiratory assist technologies that are expected to provide a better alternative to traditional, invasive respiratory support.  Mr. DeComo discusses the goal of ALung to advance lung replacement therapy as well as the challenges it faces as it nears its goals.

For more information about the ALung Technologies, Inc., please click here.

Host John Murphy.

For more information about the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, visit:
McGowan Institute Research Site
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McGowan Institute on Facebook
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Regenerative Medicine Today welcomes back Peter Wearden, MD, PhD.  Dr. Wearden is an Assistant Professor-Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Director Pediatric Mechanical Cardiopulmonary Support at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, and a faculty member at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine.  Joining Dr. Wearden is Dr. Joel Gradowski and Cindy Gradowski, who discuss their son’s recent cardiac treatment and recovery through the use of a Ventricular Assist Device.

For more information on Dr. Wearden, please click here.

Host John Murphy.

For more information about the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, visit:
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Steve Winowich is the Director of Clinical Bioengineering with the Artificial Heart Program at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and he is also the Chief Operating Officer of Vital Engineering, Inc.

Mr. Winowich describes a unique partnership between the clinical staff and a team of bioengineers and nurses who are a key component of a very successful program that provides mechanical circulatory support to patients that are waiting for a heart transplant.  Supplemental circulatory support has been traditionally used as a bridge to a transplant, but there are also cases where the circulatory support has also been used as a bridge to recovery.

The discussion includes a synopsis of the current state-of-the-art and a review of how artificial heart technology has improved over the years.  The program at UPMC has matured and through Vital Engineering, Inc. bioengineering support for mechanical circulatory support is now provided around the world.

Click here for more information on the Artificial Heart Program

Host John Murphy.

For more information about the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, visit:
McGowan Institute Research Site
McGowan Institute Patient Site
McGowan Institute on Facebook
McGowan Institute on Twitter

Regenerative Medicine Today welcomes Peter Wearden, MD, PhD.  Dr. Wearden is an Assistant Professor-Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Director Pediatric Mechanical Cardiopulmonary Support at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, and a faculty member at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

Dr. Wearden discusses his pioneering clinical initiatives in pediatric cardiac care as well as his collaborative research in the development and assessment of pediatric mechanical circulatory support systems. He also shares his vision for the future with new procedures that could dramatically affect the treatments for children with cardiac afflictions.

For more information about Dr. Wearden, click here.

Host John Murphy.

For more information about the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, visit:
McGowan Institute Research Site
McGowan Institute Patient Site
McGowan Institute on Facebook
McGowan Institute on Twitter

Many of our listeners are familiar with intravascular stents, a commonly used tool to help treat coronary artery disease. The stents used today are metallic, and some of the stents are coated to reduce the post-implant complications of this “foreign” device being inserted in the body.

In today’s podcast, Dr. Robert Eberhart discusses the research that he and his colleagues are pursuing to bring to clinical practice a radically different design of an intravascular stent.  Dr. Eberhart is a Professor, Department of Engineering in Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern.

The device that has been developed in the Eberhart Labs is a bioresorbable poly-(L-lactic Acid) stent that is porous enough so that drugs can be implanted in the stent and slowly released over an extended period of time.

Interestingly, this polymer stent can be implanted with drugs like curcumin, an extract of turmeric.  Some believe that curcumin has many therapeutic effects.  As an example, India consumes 90% of the world’s consumption of the spice curcumin, and in the opinion of some investigators, may be the reason for a reduced incidence of Alzheimer’s in India

For more information about Dr. Eberhart’s work please click here.

Hosts Leah Kauffman and John Murphy. Interview by Leah Kauffman.

For more information about the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, visit:

McGowan Institute Research Site
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