Cancer. The primary focus in our laboratory is the development of novel large animal models of solid epithelial tumors, including breast, pancreatic, and rectal cancer. Swine are being utilized for this purpose. Validated large animal models of cancer will have numerous advantages over traditional small animal (mouse) models. Currently we are in the process of building swine models of cancer for the following organs:

• Breast
• Lung
• Pancreas
• Rectum

Regenerative Medicine. The emphasis is also on the use large animal models to develop regenerative therapies, including stem-cell based therapies, for treatment of conditions involving tissue loss and/or organ dysfunction. The general belief is that the biology and physiology of humans will be more accurately reflected by large animal models (such as in swine) than by the traditional rodent models. Therefore, the use of large animal models in regeneration research should result in more efficient development of regenerative therapies. Current areas of interest include skin replacement and replenishment of  ischemic skeletal muscle.

Hemostasis. Two unsolved clinical problems in traumatic hemorrhage are (1) noncompressible torso hemorrhage and (2) the hypocoagulopathy associated with in the hypothermia, acidosis, and hemodilution. Approaches to these problems being developed in our laboratory include the use of expansile biocompatible foam, recombinant human clotting proteins, and nanoengineered biomaterials.

Wound Healing. Study of human dermal fibroblast biology focuses on signaling pathways involved in cell death, proliferation, migration, and matrix contraction of this multi-purpose cell of healing.