MTF Biologics Awards More Than $1 Million in 2021 Research Grants to Support Allograft Research

Non-profit organization now accepting applications for 2022 grants to accelerate innovation in tissue transplantation

MTF Biologics, a global nonprofit organization that saves and heals lives by advancing tissue and organ donation, transplantation, and research, has awarded more than $1 million in funding to nine researchers across the nation through its 2021 Extramural Research Grants Program.

This year’s recipients are leading research in diverse areas including bone regeneration, machine learning, women’s health, orthopaedic infection, and the toll of spinal epidural abscesses.

“MTF Biologics’ Extramural Research Grants Program has fueled promising research for more than three decades,” said Joe Yaccarino, President and CEO of MTF Biologics. “We are pleased that we have been able to continue this program, which has advanced the field of tissue transplantation and helped to improve patient experiences and outcomes, in spite of the challenges of the ongoing pandemic. We congratulate all of this year's recipients and look forward to seeing the results of their important work.”

“MTF Biologics continues to create opportunities to advance science and heal lives through support of pioneering allograft research,” added Marc Long, Ph.D., EVP, Research & Development of MTF Biologics. “We are proud to have provided nearly $60 million in grants to researchers across the nation since 1987. This commitment to research is an important reinvestment in our mission and helps to accelerate innovation that offers clinicians more ways to improve patient experience and outcomes.”

“We continue to be impressed by the quality of the grant proposals we receive,” said Jeffrey Cartmell, Ph.D., Director, Intellectual Property & Grants at MTF Biologics. “This year’s funded projects represent diverse research interests including musculoskeletal science as well as work focusing on a variety of innovative and translatable concepts of allograft transplantation.”

2021 MTF Biologics Research Grant Award recipients include:

MTF BIOLOGICS EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH GRANT – ESTABLISHED INVESTIGATOR:

• Hani Awad, Ph.D., University of Rochester, “Engineering Stem Cell Sheets with Decellularized Wharton Jelly Matrix Membranes and Allografts for Bone Regeneration”
• Warren Grayson, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, “A Bioresponsive Scaffolds for Craniofacial Bone Regeneration”
• Ariella Shikanov, Ph.D., University of Michigan, “Ovarian Allograft for Restoration of Endocrine Function”
• Ying Mei, Ph.D., Clemson University, “Developing Allograft Placental Matrix-based Hydrogels for Cell Mediated Regenerative Therapies”

MTF BIOLOGICS EXTRAMURAL RESEARCH GRANT– JUNIOR INVESTIGATOR:

• Karina Nakayama, Ph.D., Oregon Health & Science University, “Repair of Composite Muscle-bone Injury Using Decellularized Muscle Allografts and Rehabilitative Exercise”
• Rebekah Samsonraj, Ph.D., University of Arkansas, “Big Data & Machine Learning-driven Potency Establishment of Allogenic Tissue Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Musculoskeletal Regenerative Medicine”

ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH & EDUCATION FOUNDATION – MTF BIOLOGICS CAREER DEVELOPMENT GRANT: (Administered by the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation)

• Irvin Oh, M.D., Yale University, “Developing Biomarkers for Diagnosis and Prognosis of Orthopaedic Infection”

ORTHOPAEDIC RESEARCH & EDUCATION FOUNDATION - HERNDON RESIDENCY AWARD: (Administered by the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation)

• Grace Xiong, M.D., Brigham & Women’s Hospital, “Quality of Life and Cost of Spinal Epidural Abscesses”
• Vincentius Suhardi, M.D., Ph.D., Hospital for Special Surgery, “Role of Leptin Receptor Cells in Aseptic Loosening Membrane Formation”

Letters of Intent are now being accepted for the 2022 MTF Biologics Extramural Grant Program. The application deadline is March 15, 2022. Interested applicants can view the Request for Proposals and find out how to submit a grant proposal on the MTF Biologics website at https://www.mtfbiologics.org/grants.

About MTF Biologics

MTF Biologics is a global nonprofit organization that saves and heals lives by honoring donated gifts, serving patients and advancing science. It provides unmatched service, resources, and expertise to donors and their loved ones who give the gift of donation, people who depend on tissue and organ transplants, healthcare providers, and clinicians and scientists.

The International Institute for the Advancement of Medicine (IIAM), a Division of MTF Biologics, honors donors of non-transplantable organs by providing their gifts to the medical research community to combat and cure diseases. Statline, also a Division of MTF Biologics, provides specialized communications and technology expertise to organ, tissue, and eye procurement organizations, as well as the hospitals and patients they serve. MTF Biologics’ sister organization, Deutsches Institute for Zell-und Gewebeersatz – DIZG (The German Institute for Cell and Tissue Transplantation) expands its reach to patients across the globe. For more information, visit www.mtfbiologics.org.

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