Bone Regeneration Research Receives 5-Year NIH Funding

• Fisher accomplishments

Professor Huakun Xu from the Department of Endodontics, Prosthodontics and Operative Dentistry at the University of Maryland Dental School has received a 5-year NIH grant for a proposal titled "Injectable and Strong Nano-Apatite/Stem Cell Scaffolds for Bone Regeneration." The project is designed to develop bone tissue engineering strategies for the regeneration of dental tissues, with potential applications in dental, craniofacial, and orthopaedic reconstructions. Fischell Department of Bioengineering associate professor John Fisher is a Co-Investigator on the project.

Xu, the Principal Investigator, is a well-established in the fields of dental tissue engineering, biomaterials, composite design, and development of novel scaffolds for bone repair. He will be overseeing collaborations with other labs, design methods and experiments, interpret data, investigate mechanisms, and perform modeling.

Fisher's role will involve culturing mesenchymal stem cells on tissue engineering scaffolds, directing their proliferation and differentiation with the use of growth factors. He will also consult on bone tissue engineering methods for dental, craniofacial and orthopedic applications.

For More Information:

"First injectable nano-apatite scaffold shows promise for bone regeneration" at The Dental Learning Hub »

For Stories on Similar Research in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering:

"Fisher Speaks at Maryland Stem Cell Symposium" »
"Lin Wins Golden Key Scholarship" »

Published April 2, 2009