{"664333":{"#nid":"664333","#data":{"type":"event","title":"PhD Proposal by Afra Toma","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAfra Toma\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EBME PhD Proposal Presentation\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cstrong\u003EDate\u003C\/strong\u003E: 2023-01-12\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cstrong\u003ETime\u003C\/strong\u003E: 11:00am-12:00pm\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cstrong\u003ELocation \/ Meeting Link\u003C\/strong\u003E: Whitaker McIntire Conf Rm x.5-5043 (In person); \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/emory.zoom.us\/j\/4721756407\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/emory.zoom.us\/j\/4721756407\u003C\/a\u003E (Virtual)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cstrong\u003ECommittee Members:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nSteven Goudy MD, MBA, FACS (Advisor) ; Nick J. Willett, Ph.D. ; Edward A. Botchwey, Ph.D. ; Andr\u0026eacute;s J. Garc\u0026iacute;a, Ph.D. ; Ankur Singh, Ph.D.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cstrong\u003ETitle\u003C\/strong\u003E: Enhancing Oral Tissue Regeneration Using FTY720-loaded Nanofibers as a Biomaterial-Based Immunotherapy\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n\u003Cstrong\u003EAbstract:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nOrofacial clefts are the most common craniofacial congenital defect. These defects occur when the tissue of the lip or palate do not form properly. Up to 60% of cleft palate repair surgeries have wound healing complications leading to oronasal fistula (ONF), a persistent connection between the roof of mouth and the nasal cavity. The ONF affects the child\u0026rsquo;s ability to eat, talk, and thus, the overall quality of life. Current gold standard methods for ONF repair use human allograft tissues; however, these procedures have risks of infection or allograft rejection which then require further surgical revisions. Immunoregenerative therapies present a novel alternative approach as they can harness the body\u0026rsquo;s immune response to create a more favorable wound healing environment, one of which is immunomodulatory drug, FTY720. FTY720 is an FDA-approved drug to treat relapsing multiple sclerosis by reducing egress of lymphocytes and has been shown to induce macrophages and monocytes into pro-regenerative phenotypes. The overarching hypothesis is that delivery of FTY720-loaded nanofiber scaffolds in an ONF mouse model will enhance oral cavity wound healing by promoting pro-regenerative immune cell recruitment leading to improved vascularization, tissue remodeling and maturation. Therefore, the overall objective of this thesis is to repurpose a clinically available drug, FTY720, to harness the innate wound healing system as a novel form of biomaterial-based immunotherapy and enhance oral tissue regeneration during ONF healing. This will be achieved through two specific aims: 1) Engineering a bi-layered adhesive scaffold for FTY720 delivery and assessing tissue regeneration during ONF healing, 2) Investigating the contribution of pro-regenerative macrophages on oral wound healing following FTY720-NF treatment. Upon completion, this thesis will establish critical knowledge in the role of immunomodulation for oral wound healing and develop efficacious treatment options for pediatric patients following cleft palate surgery.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Enhancing Oral Tissue Regeneration Using FTY720-loaded Nanofibers as a Biomaterial-Based Immunotherapy"}],"uid":"27707","created_gmt":"2023-01-03 20:08:45","changed_gmt":"2023-01-03 20:08:45","author":"Tatianna Richardson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2023-01-12T11:00:00-05:00","event_time_end":"2023-01-12T13:00:00-05:00","event_time_end_last":"2023-01-12T13:00:00-05:00","gmt_time_start":"2023-01-12 16:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2023-01-12 18:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2023-01-12 18:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"221981","name":"Graduate Studies"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"102851","name":"Phd proposal"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1788","name":"Other\/Miscellaneous"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78761","name":"Faculty\/Staff"},{"id":"78771","name":"Public"},{"id":"78751","name":"Undergraduate students"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}