Applying Regenerative Medicine to Battlefield Injuries

Scientists at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) were the first in the world to successfully implant laboratory grown bladders in humans. They are now applying the principles of regenerative medicine to projects aimed at helping injured soldiers.

The $90 million effort involves two academic groups that form the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM). Therapies developed by AFIRM will also benefit people in the civilian population.

A team of scientists from Wake Forest and the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine has committed to develop clinical therapies over the next five years that will focus on the following five areas:
● Burn repair
● Wound healing without scarring
● Craniofacial reconstruction
● Limb reconstruction, regeneration or transplantation
● Compartment syndrome, a condition related to inflammation after surgery or injury that can lead to increased pressure, impaired blood flow, nerve damage and muscle death.

The group is also pursuing a wide range of projects in addition to those funded by AFIRM. Read more about their work on these pages:

Replacing a human ear
Growing fingers and limbs in the lab
New skin for burn patients
Engineering muscle in the lab