副教授
Michael W. Hughes
The main issue is improving poor clinical outcomes for human full-thickness wounds. Human skin does not regenerate ectodermal organs or rete ridges resulting in scar. This loss of structure and function causes patient morbidity. Our hypothesis is mechanical forces, genetics, and epigenetics synergistically cooperate during full-thickness wound healing to control cell and tissue competency, and this competency is wound region specific during tissue regeneration. We utilize transgenic mouse models, the African Spiny mouse, the Lanyu pig model, and human explant skin to study how the transcriptome, proteome, and epigenome changes during skin regeneration. Our goal is to understand how wound induced endogenous reprogramming modulates regional specific cell competency and characterize tissue regeneration mechanisms in animal models and human tissue using molecular biology, genetics, and in vivo 4D imaging during wound healing. Subsequently, we will utilize this knowledge to promote skin regeneration while simultaneously reducing scar. How mechanobiological, genetic and epigenetic mechanisms synergistically control cell competency during skin development, wound healing, and regeneration necessitates further exploration and characterization. We aim to discover novel molecular mechanisms that govern regenerative response following skin injury. These results can be translated into applications to help patients suffering from severe trauma.