UMaine Institute of Medicine

This project is centered on the discovery of mechanisms that underlie skeletal muscle plasticity and health, using the zebrafish model. The research of skeletal muscle is important because its quality predicts immune system health, better recovery from illness and injury, and healthy aging. Information will be collected as preliminary data for an NIH R01 proposal.

The long-term goal of this project is to develop medical implants that reduce the likelihood of post-surgical infection. Similar technology has been shown to reduce the rate of infection after surgery. In these researchers’ previous work, they did not incorporate vacuum-assisted wound therapy. The team now plans to design and manufacture a prototype implant using this new technology in order to eventually submit an R01 proposal to NIH.

Wound healing and tissue repair are complex biological processes that modern medicine has not yet been able to improve or speed up. However, the Klimis-Zacas lab recently documented in vitro that a chemical compound extracted from Maine wild blueberries increased the speed of wound closure by 38% above the control. In light of these findings, the team is now working to validate those results and design a patch or spray prototype to be tested on humans. If successful, this treatment could be life-changing especially for people with injury-causing chronic conditions such as diabetes.