Military Applications

Scientists at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) were the first in the world to successfully implant laboratory grown bladders in humans. They are now applying the principles of regenerative medicine to projects aimed at helping injured soldiers.

The $85 million effort involves two academic groups that form the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM). Therapies developed by AFIRM will also benefit people in the civilian population. The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine and the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine co-lead one of the groups.

Teams of scientists from almost 30 institutions are working to develop clinical therapies over the next 5 years that will focus on the following 5 areas:

Burn repair
Wound healing without scarring
Craniofacial reconstruction
Limb reconstruction, regeneration or transplantation
Compartment syndrome, a condition related to inflammation after surgery or injury that can lead to increased pressure, impaired blood flow, nerve damage and muscle death

Learn more about the sponsors of this work. Learn more about the Wake Forest/Pittsburgh consortium. Or learn more about some of our various military-based research projects by selecting a project below:

Research Initiatives

	Learn more about the development of laboratory-engineered skeletal muscle as a potential therapy for replacing diseased or damaged muscle tissue.
	Discover the ways that the scientists at Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine and its partners are working toward a better solution for the replacement of a human ear.
	Our researchers are currently assessing ways to grow fingers and limbs in the laboratory.
	Burns are a major component of war casualties. Learn more about research initiatives by WFIRM scientists that aim to create new skin to be used in burn patients.
	Learn more about the researchers’ efforts to use ink jet technology as a way to “print” this dressing directly on a wound.
	Read more about WFIRM's computer-controlled system to explore the possibility of growing skin in the laboratory to create large amounts of skin for reconstruction.