{"509641":{"#nid":"509641","#data":{"type":"news","title":"These Projects are CHARMED","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EChildren and athletes have a new friend in the CHARMED Foundation, which launched last month.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe non-profit CHARMED (short for \u201cChildren and Athletes Regenerative Medicine\u201d) Foundation, based in New York, is the first organization of its kind in that it supports regenerative medicine research specific to pediatric illnesses and sports medicine.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EA collaboration of leading scientists, bioengineers, and clinicians, the foundation focuses on three research areas: cell manufacturing, personalized medical devices, and therapeutic delivery.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cThe unique functional needs and physiology of children and athletes make them ideally suited for emerging regenerative therapies designed to cooperate with the patient\u2019s own healing capabilities and provide long term biological solutions,\u201d says Bob Guldberg, executive director of the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience, who leads the foundation\u2019s Scientific Board of Advisors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EGuldberg also is one of three principal investigators from the Petit Institute leading research projects that are receiving funding from the new foundation. He is teaming with Gary Lourie, a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon with Children\u2019s Healthcare of Atlanta, on a project titled, \u201cHuman Amnion Treatment to Augment Repair of Ligament Injuries.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EDamage to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL) are the most common knee injuries, typically associated with sports. About 100,000 reconstruction surgeries are performed annually.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe gold standard for ligament reconstruction is the autologous tendon transfer, a method that requires a long rehabilitation time, decreases range of motion, and is associated with weak bone-tendon integration. So the goal of their project is to test the ability of clinically available human amnion, which is used to treat non-healing wounds and corneal injuries, to accelerate the functional repair of damaged ligaments following reconstruction surgery.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EMeanwhile, Krishnendu Roy, Petit Institute researcher and Robert A. Milton Chair in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, is leading a CHARMED supported project called, \u201cSynthetic Particle-based Nanobodies to Reverse Chronic Inflammation.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u0022Inflammatory and autoimmune disorders impact the lives of children and adults and have devastating consequences,\u201d says Roy, who also is director of the Center for Immunoengineering at Georgia Tech. \u201cThrough this project with the CHARMED foundation our goal is develop new therapeutic nano-tools that can directly modulate the immune system, reverse or block chronic inflammation, and can be used to harness the body\u0027s own healing mechanisms to treat\u0026nbsp;incurable inflammatory disorders.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe third project, led by Petit Institute researcher Andr\u00e9s J. Garc\u00eda, Rae S. and Frank H. Neely Endowed Chair and Regent\u2019s Professor in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, is titled, \u201cImmunomodulatory Biomaterials to Cure Juvenile Diabetes.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EType I diabetes affects 3 million children and adults in the U.S., with approximately 80 new cases diagnosed every day and a healthcare price tag exceeding $15 billion. One promising treatment strategy is the transplantation of pancreatic beta cells isolated from cadaveric donors.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EHowever, this strategy is limited by an insufficient supply of donor islets and also by immune rejection. So the goal of Garc\u00eda\u2019s research is to develop advanced biomaterials that prolong beta cell survival and function without the need of immunosuppressive drugs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EThe CHARMED Foundation donated $150,000 to begin these three projects, which will provide preliminary results that can be leveraged to secure federal funding dollars in the future. The expectation is to transform the pediatric healthcare system and improve the availability of safe and effective regenerative medicine therapies within 10 years. So this is just the beginning.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cI\u2019m honored to be part of the CHARMED Foundation and its vision,\u201d says Guldberg. \u201cAnd I look forward to all that we will accomplish.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/charmedfoundation.org\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECHARMED Foundation\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/charmedfoundation.org\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECONTACT:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"New foundation supporting regenerative medicine research for children and athletes"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ENew foundation supporting regenerative medicine research for children and athletes\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"New foundation supporting regenerative medicine research for children and athletes"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2016-03-04 18:24:28","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:20:57","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-03-04T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2016-03-04T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"509631":{"id":"509631","type":"image","title":"CHARMED Pic","body":null,"created":"1458923537","gmt_created":"2016-03-25 16:32:17","changed":"1475895270","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:30","alt":"CHARMED Pic","file":{"fid":"204938","name":"charmed_pic_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/charmed_pic_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/charmed_pic_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":4136186,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/charmed_pic_0_0.jpg?itok=3PlKZrpX"}}},"media_ids":["509631"],"groups":[{"id":"1254","name":"Wallace H. Coulter Dept. of Biomedical Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"171794","name":"CHARMED Foundation"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}