Matthew Wood, PhD

Assistant Professor of Surgery

Development of therapeutics and diagnostics for peripheral nerve injuries Read More

Development of therapeutics and diagnostics for peripheral nerve injuries

Our research focuses on improving the surgeon’s capabilities to manage injuries and reconstruct injured/lost tissue through basic studies and bioengineering approaches. Our research focuses on two major aspects: (1) to understand the cells and signaling limiting tissue regeneration and (2) to then apply bioengineering approaches to overcome these limits. For the first program, we seek to understand and improve nerve regeneration across biomaterial scaffolds. In this area, we are studying the role of T cells in aiding regeneration across biomaterials, as well as how to modulate T cell-regulated responses to improve regeneration. Additionally, we are also considering how to recruit and enable macrophages to promote angiogenesis and subsequent regeneration across biomaterials. In our second program, we are researching how electrical stimulation can be used as a therapeutic to augment nerve regeneration. We wish to understand how electrical stimulation can be used to improve tissue regeneration, both in the context of nerve injury and repair, as well as how nerve regeneration and electrical stimulation-augmented regeneration can improve functional soft-tissue regeneration.

Updated February 2021