Imagine a post-cancer breast reconstruction technique that uses a woman’s own stem cells, isolated from a sample of her fat, to form a breast with the look and feel of natural tissue. Imagine a treatment for congenital skull and face defects that continues to grow and develop along with a child. Imagine regrowing the soft tissue — including the nerves — of soldiers injured in battle.
We’re combining basic science and clinical research to turn these possibilities into realities.
We are isolating, characterizing, and testing adult stem cells from fat. Fat, or adipose tissue, contains an abundant number of adult stem cells, over 10 times more than in bone marrow. These cells not only regenerate adipose tissue, but they can reconstruct a variety of injuries and defects by being coaxed to develop into nerves, bone, or cartilage.
The Adipose Stem Cell Center provides the University of Pittsburgh with a center of expertise in the isolation, growth and differentiation, biology, and therapeutic applications of stem cells derived from adipose tissues. By partnering physician-researchers with investigators in the fields of tissue engineering, cell therapy, adipose biology, stem cell physiology, and growth and development, we are uniquely positioned to translate our findings into new medical treatments.
The center is co-directed by Kacey G. Marra, PhD, and J. Peter Rubin, MD.
