Tissue regeneration research at the Health Center has received a substantial boost in manpower with the arrival of a team of researchers from the University of Virginia.

The researchers, who include five faculty members, 10 graduate students, and one postdoctoral graduate fellow, are colleagues of Dr. Cato Laurencin, vice president for health affairs and dean of the school of medicine, who joined the Health Center from the University of Virginia.

“The overall goal of our laboratories is to develop biodegradable materials into three-dimensional constructs, or scaffolds, to promote the regeneration of skin, cartilage, and bone,” says Dr. Syam Nukavarapu, assistant professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and the Department of Chemical, Materials, and Biomolecular Engineering.

By developing biodegradable materials, the researchers hope to encourage growth of tissue in the spaces left as the materials degrade.