Chennai: The US-based University of Connecticut (UConn), Harvard University, Columbia University, University of California Irvine and Thanjavur-based Sastra University have jointly launched a new research challenge— regeneration of a human knee within 7 years, and an entire limb within 15 years.
The research is done under the Hartford Engineering A Limb (Heal) project, run by University of Connecticut’s Health Institute of Regenerative Engineering. The collaborative research will be done under the leadership of Dr Cato Laurencin, a doctor with a Ph.D. in biochemical engineering/biotechnology and the institute’s founder-director.
Prof. S. Swaminathan, the lead investigator at the Sastra University for Heal and also the director of Centre for Nanotechnology & Advanced Biomaterials at the university, said that it was an exciting convergence of research ideas in an area of next generation transformational healthcare and also reinforces the acceptance of CeNTAB’s previous work on skin regeneration for which a patent has been filed.
“It is our team’s dream coming true to work under the direct supervision of Dr Laurencin who is a globally renowned surgeon-scientist in orthopaedic surgery, engineering and the new field of regenerative engineering.”
The Heal Project launched on Veterans’ Day is supported by Laurencin’s recent $4 million Pioneer Award from the National Institutes of Health for his research in regenerative engineering, as well as his grant award from the National Science Foundation for Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation.
The Raymond and Beverly Sackler Centre for Biomedical, Biological, Physical and Engineering Sciences at UConn Health has also supported the project. Meanwhile, the Indo-US Science & Technology Forum has also approved an independent network proposal on Orthopaedic Regeneration submitted jointly by Sastra University and Thanjavur Medical College in India and University of Connecticut & Stevens Institute of Technology, USA.
This proposal will involve movement of research faculty & students between the network institutions for two years.
Download the all new Deccan Chronicle app for Android and iOS to stay up-to-date with latest headlines and news stories in politics, entertainment, sports, technology, business and much more from India and around the world.
