About
The tissue and organ regeneration laboratory research teams are using tissue-engineering techniques to develop new biotechnologies and molecular tools, including building tissues and whole organs for transplant. Translational research is also underway to move these therapies into first in human use.
The goal of the OR
3 is to develop and commercialize novel diagnostics and therapeutics for chronic diseases and aging. Through collaborative efforts with institutions both within the Texas Medical Center and abroad, Dr. Taylor and her team hope to bring together ideas from across the globe to create ground-breaking treatments that will benefit humans and animals around the world.
Core Capabilities
- Building customizable stem cell test beds that incorporate a patient’s stem cells.
- Creating new cell and tissue patch based therapies for damaged hearts.
- Small animal surgical and cardiovascular physiology studies
- Tissue Engineering studies in vitro and in vivo
- Biomedical Engineering /Stem cell biology labs
- Teaching students and lay community about regenerative medicine
Building Transplantable Organs
Each year, thousands of people die waiting for a donor organ. Dr. Taylor is working on a solution to that shortage. Before coming to THI, she developed a method for “whole-organ perfusion decellularization.” This process uses a solution to remove all the cells from an untransplantable organ, leaving behind the organ’s structural framework, or matrix. A patient’s stem cells (or matching donor cells) can then be used to re-populate the matrix to produce a new organ that is less likely to be rejected by the recipient’s immune system. Using this method, Dr. Taylor’s team has already “built” a new animal heart, and they are working towards being the first to grow a fully functional human heart.
