PSEF Funded Program Recipients

The Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of 2009 PSEF funded research programs.

• PSEF Research Fellow
• PSEF/AAO-HNSF Research Grant Award Recipient
• PSEF/KCI Wound Care Fellowship Award Recipient
• National Endowment for Plastic Surgery Award Recipients
• PSEF Pilot Research Grant Award Recipients
• Scientific Essay Contest Award Winners

2009 PSEF Research Fellows

Reza Jarrahy, MD - PSEF Research Fellow

• Osteogenic Potential Of Oxysterols in Osseous Tissue Engineering
• UCLA
• Sponsor: Timothy A. Miller, MD

Dr. Jarrahy was born and raised in New York City and completed his undergraduate studies at Stanford University, where he majored in Biology and Italian Studies. He attended medical school at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and began his general surgery residency at NYU Medical Center. While conducting research in Los Angeles during his residency, he met his wife, and subsequently completed his general surgery training at UCSD medical center, and then his plastic surgery residency and craniofacial surgery fellowship at UCLA. He joined the full time faculty at UCLA after his fellowship and is very active in clinical and research efforts. Clinically, his interests are in congenital and acquired craniofacial disorders in children and adults as well as cosmetic and general reconstructive surgery. His research focus is in tissue engineering, specifically in the development of clinically a applicable engineered bone graft substitute. When not in the hospital of the lab, Dr. Jarrahy enjoys spending time with his wife and three young children.

Galen Wachtman, MD - PSEF Research Fellow

• Modulating Immunotherapy in Composite Tissue Allotransplantation
• University of Pittsburgh
• Sponsor: W.P. Andrew Lee, MD 

Dr. Wachtman received his undergraduate education at the Pennsylvania State University and his medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.  After completion of his medical school training, he began his integrated residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.  During his general surgery training, he was awarded membership in the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society, and received the Charles L. Moore Award for resident teaching at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Department of Surgery.  Dr. Wachtman will begin his 2009 PSEF Research Fellowship under the direction of W. P. Andrew Lee, MD, Professor of Surgery and Chief, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.  Research will take place in the Composite Tissue Allograft laboratory in the Thomas E. Starzl Transplant Institute at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.  His work will center on modulation of immunotherapy in a miniature swine heterotopic hindlimb composite tissue transplantation model.  Specifically, the use of novel CTLA-4/Ig fusion proteins and tacrolimus monotherapy will be explored to prolong allograft survival

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2009 PSEF/AAO-HNSF Research Grant Award Recipient

Richard Zoumalan, MD

• Prevention of Radiation-Induced Skin Fibrosis by Topic Gene Therapy
• New York University
• Sponsor: Pierre Saadeh, MD and Stephen Warren, MD   

Richard A. Zoumalan attended medical school at Northwestern University and is currently a chief resident of Otolaryngology at New York University School of Medicine, where he has published numerous first-author papers in peer-reviewed journals. In the basic science realm, he is on the forefront of research into topical gene therapy. He has expanded this project to involve two other residents within his department: Judy W. Lee and Benjamin Roman. Next year, he will do a one year fellowship in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery with Drs. Wayne Larrabee and Craig Murakami at the University of Washington – Seattle.

 

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2009 PSEF/KCI Wound Care Fellowship Award Recipient

Tomer Avraham, MD

• Adipose Derived Stem Cells Augment Lymphatic Regeneration
• Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
• Sponsor: Babak Mehrara, MD

Dr.  Avraham graduated Cum Laude with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in History from Tufts University.  He then completed his medical training at Tufts University School of Medicine with AOA honors.  Following medical school, Dr. Avraham started a General Surgery residency at NYU medical center in New York.  At the completion of his second clinical year he joined Dr. Mehrara's lab at Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York.  Dr. Avraham is currently starting his 3^rd year in Dr. Mehrara's lab studying lymphatic endothelial biology with a goal of developing novel methods to treat or prevent lymphedema.  He is currently the Chief Administrative Research Fellow for the Department of Surgery at MSKCC. 

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2009 National Endowment for Plastic Surgery Award Recipients

The National Endowment for Plastic Surgery was established in 1994 as a specialty wide cooperative undertaking to assure the future of Plastic Surgery. The purpose of the Endowment is to support research and development of projects which address clinically relevant and immediate issues facing the practice of Plastic Surgery.

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2009 PSEF Pilot Research Grant Award Recipients

The PSEF Pilot Research Grant is designed to promote plastic surgery advancement and innovation in any area of research related to the Plastic Surgery sciences. The grants provided are seed grants, intended to allow researchers to begin working on preliminary studies related to plastic surgery medicine that set the stage for applications to external funding agencies. By doubling the award amount from previous years, the PSEF has made a strong commitment to support new investigators and future innovations that will drive Plastic Surgery Practice into the future.

The 2009 Pilot Research Grants, whose investigators each received a monetary award of up to $10,000, focus on several innovative research paths, and will be conducted in the following laboratories.

Bryan Armijo, MD

• Case Western Reserve University
• Project:Differences Between Proliferative and Involutional Hemangiomas

Gerald Brandacher, MD

• University of Pittsburgh
• Project:Effect of Schwann Cell Therapy on Neuroregeneration after Limb Allotransplantation

Mihye Choi, MD

• New York University
• Project: Quantification of Fat Graft Survival Using 3D Digital Analysis

Edward Davidson, MD

• New York University
• Project:Novel Mechanisms for Accelerating Distraction Osteogenesis

Brian Derby, MD

• Southern Illinois University
• Project:EGR-1: Expression in a Rabbit Flexor Tendon Scar Model

Arin Greene, MD

• Children's Hospital Boston
• Project:Cranial Particulate Graft vs. Bone-Dust for Inlay Cranioplasty

Josef Hadeed, MD

• Duke University
• Project:Evaluation of Contractile Proteins in Dupuytren's Tissue

Rishi Jindal, MD

• University of Pittsburgh
• Project:IL-2 Immunomodulation and Topical Immunosuppression in CTA

Santosh Kale, MD

• Washington University in St. Louis
• Project:Nerve Allotransplantation: Immunologic Investigation and Modulation

Timothy King, MD

• University of Wisconsin - Madison
• Project: Rapid Detection of Vessel Occlusion in Free Tissue Transfer

Howard Langstein, MD

• University of Rochester
• Project:The Effects of Inflamatory Mediators on Capsular Contracture in a Mouse Model

Joseph Losee, MD

• University of Pittsburgh
• Project:Inkjet Biopatterning to Spatially Control Osteo- and Angiogenesis

Kai Megerle, MD

• Southern Illinois University
• Project: Notch Signalling in Tendon Surgery and Engineering

Amy Moore, MD

• Washington University in St. Louis
• Project: A Transgenic Rat Expressing GFP in Peripheral Nerves

Michael Nicoson, MD

• Washington University in St. Louis
• Project:Decellularized Nerve Allografts and Motor Nerve Regeneration

David O'Gorman, MD

• Lawson Health Research Institute
• Project: An Inducible POSTN-Expressing Model of Abnormal Scarring

Yvonne Pierpont, MD

• University of South Florida
• Project:Comparitive Evaluation of Agents on Fibrosis and Scar Fibroblasts

Hooman Soltanian, MD

• Case Western Reserve University
• Project:Reversible Chemical Myotomy for Lateral Abdominal Wall Release

Jason Spector, MD

• Weill Cornell Medical College
• Project:Hydrogen Sulfide as Pre- and Post-Ischemic Cytoprotectant In-Vivo

Janelle Wagner, MD

• New York University
• Project:Obesity Impairs Endothelial Progenitor Cell Function

Dong Zhang, MD

• University of Pittsburgh
• Project: Utilizing Double Negative T Regulatory Cells to Induce Tolerance

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2009 Scientific Essay Contest Award Winners

The Scientific Essay Contest recognizes the authors of essays or articles that address timely and important plastic surgery topics. To encourage general understanding of issues impacting the practice of plastic surgery, essays and articles submitted to the Scientific Essay Contest are written to communicate to a broad audience. The Contest is comprised of four categories which include: basic science research, clinical research, cosmetic and reconstructive surgery, and the theory, history, ethics or socio-economic issues in the art and science of plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Christi Cavaliere, MD

• "A Cost-Utility Analysis of Total Wrist Arthroplasty and Total Wrist Fusion"
• Clinical Research - Junior Category

Kevin Chung, MD

• "Silicone Joint Arthroplasty for Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Clinical Trial"
• Clinical Research - Senior Category

Robert Allen, MD

• "Combination Therapy Improves Diabetic Wound Healing"
• First Place - Investigator Category

Clifford Pereira, MD

• "Human and Mouse Osteoblasts Exhibit Distinct Patterns of Osteogenesis in 3D"
• Second Place - Investigator Category

Melissa Shauver, MPH

• "Measuring Healthcare Quality and the Implications for Pay-For-Performance"
• Third Place - Investigator Category

Pejman Aflaki, MD

• "Evaluation of Appearance Transfer & Persistence in Central Face Transplant"
• Art and Science Category

Harvey Chim, MD

• "Shaping the Hand: Guidance Strategies for Tissue Engineering"
• Basic Science - Junior Category

Joel Pessa, MD

• "The Compartmentalization of Human Adipose Tissue"
• Basic Science - Senior Category

Special thanks to Bernard G. Sarnat, MD, sponsor of the Basic Science Category, and the D. Ralph Millard Plastic Surgical Society, sponsor of the Investigator Category.

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