Clinician-Scientists

Arash Momeni, MD, Assistant Professor in the Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery at Stanford University Medical Center, is recognized nationally and internationally for his research in clinical outcomes after microsurgical reconstruction and Evidence-based medicine (EBM). He has a particularly interest in identifying modifiable risk factors that contribute to the development of postoperative venous thromboembolism (VTE).

In addition to having authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications he is the author of numerous chapters in major plastic surgery textbooks. He speaks regularly at national and international meetings and is an ad hoc reviewer for numerous scientific journals, including Surgery, Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery (JPRAS), Journal of Reconstructive Microsurgery, Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, and European Journal of Plastic Surgery. Additionally, he serves on the Editorial Board of leading plastic surgery journals, including Annals of Plastic Surgery and Microsurgery.

Catherine Curtin, MD, Associate Professor in the Stanford Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery is a graduate of Yale Medical School. She did her plastic surgery residency at the University of Michigan and completed her training as the Stanford Hand Fellow from 2006-2007. She also completed the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars program, a fellowship in Health Services research. Dr. Curtin has a joint appointment at Stanford and the Veterans Affairs (VA) Palo Alto Health Care System. She has a current VA funded trial assessing the impact of minocycline on postoperative pain after minor hand surgery. She also has funded research looking at quality indicators in surgery. She is associate editor for the Journal of Hand Surgery.

David Kahn. MD, has research interests that include evaluating how the face ages and rejuvenation techniques, functional rhinoplasty, and cosmetic and reconstructive breast surgery. He is a member of the in-service examination committee for the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation, an associate editor of e-Plasty, and an invited reviewer for several peer review journals. He is also a member of several societies including The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and the American Society of Plastic Surgery. Dr. Kahn was recently elected into the prestigious American Association of Plastic Surgeons.

Derrick Wan, MD, understands that the basis for a birth defect is an important consideration when planning for surgical reconstruction. For example, Pierre Robin sequence and Treacher Collins syndrome are rare birth defects that are associated with mandibular hypoplasia. It has been hypothesized, however, that the mandible may be differentially affected. Some of our recent research focuses on comparing mandibular morphology in children with Pierre Robin sequence with children with Treacher Collins syndrome using three-dimensional analysis of computed tomographic scans. Three-dimensional mandibular morphometric analysis in patients with Pierre Robin sequence and Treacher Collins syndrome thus revealed distinctly different patterns of mandibular hypoplasia relative to normal controls.

Dung Hoang Nguyen, MD, PharmD, has research interests in lymphedema treatment. She has published articles in peer review journals, presented at national and international professional meetings and has authored book chapters in various plastic surgery textbooks. She also enjoys volunteering on overseas medical missions and participating in medical charity activities.

Geoffrey Gurtner, MD, sees human skin as a remarkably plastic organ that sustains insult and injury throughout life. Its ability to expeditiously repair wounds is paramount to survival and is thought to be regulated by wound components such as differentiated cells, stem cells, cytokine networks, extracellular matrix, and mechanical forces. These intrinsic regenerative pathways are integrated across different skin compartments and are being elucidated on the cellular and molecular levels. Recent advances in bioengineering and nanotechnology have allowed researchers to manipulate these microenvironments in increasingly precise spatial and temporal scales, recapitulating key homeostatic cues that may drive regeneration. The ultimate goal is to translate these bench achievements into viable bedside therapies that address the growing global burden of acute and chronic wounds.

Gordon Lee, MD leads his clinical research group, where he is interested in complex microsurgical reconstructions, clinical outcomes as well basic science investigations into biomaterials, muscle stem cells, adipocyte stem cells, and composite tissue allotransplantation (CTA). As the residency program director, Dr. Lee is responsible for educating and training the next generation of plastic surgeons. Studying clinical outcomes and being on the frontier of scientific discovery allows Dr. Lee to find better ways to improve patient care and to provide the highest quality surgical procedures for his patients. Dr. Lee is also considered a leader in surgical education, and has been an invited speaker at several national meetings. He has obtained competitive grant funding for his research in microsurgical education, and has several ongoing projects incorporating innovative digital tools for surgical training. Dr. Lee serves on several peer-reviewed scientific journals, which include being the Associate Editor for the Annals of Plastic Surgery Journal’s Microsurgery Section, as well as serving on the editorial board for the Microsurgery Journal, and Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery GO (Global Open Access). Dr. Lee is Board Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, Inc. and is an active member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the American Association of Plastic Surgeons (AAPS), the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery (ASRM), California Society of Plastic Surgeons (CSPS) and the American Council of Academic Plastic Surgeons (ACAPS).

H. Peter Lorenz, MD, knows scar formation, a physiologic process in adult wound healing, can have devastating effects for patients; a multitude of pathologic outcomes, affecting all organ systems, stems from an amplification of this process. In contrast to adult wound repair, the early-gestation fetal skin wound heals without scar formation, a phenomenon that appears to be intrinsic to fetal skin. An intensive research effort has focused on unraveling the mechanisms that underlie scarless fetal wound healing in an attempt to improve the quality of healing in both children and adults. Unique properties of fetal cells, extracellular matrix, cytokine profile, and gene expression contribute to this scarless repair. Despite the great increase in knowledge gained over the past decades, the precise mechanisms regulating scarless fetal healing remain unknown. Herein, we describe the current proposed mechanisms underlying fetal scarless wound healing in an effort to recapitulate the fetal phenotype in the postnatal environment.

James Chang, MD, includes modulation of Transforming Growth Factor-Beta in scarless flexor tendon wound healing and tissue engineered flexor tendonbone grafts for hand reconstruction as his basic science research interests. He has expertise in molecular biology and tissue engineering techniques and their applications to plastic and hand surgery research. Dr. Chang is the recipient of numerous grants including multi-year Federal Merit Review Awards on “Tissue Engineered Flexor Tendon Grafts for Extremity Reconstruction” and “Optimization of Bioengineered Tendons Using Bioreactors and Stem Cells”. For this body of research, Dr. Chang received the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) Weiland Medal for Outstanding Research Achievement in 2011. Dr. Chang teaches at Stanford on many levels. His popular sophomore seminar, Surgical Anatomy of the Hand: From
Rodin to Reconstruction, was the focal point of an exhibit at the Cantor Art Center in 2014. He has mentored over 50 Stanford medical students and is very involved in the training of plastic surgery residents and hand fellows. As C.M.O. of ReSurge (formerly Interplast), Dr. Chang manages the service and educational programs of this charitable organization that delivers reconstructive surgery to the underserved throughout the world. His current research also focuses on developing outcomes criteria and using new technology to maximize efficiency in delivering reconstructive surgery and plastic surgery education overseas.

Jill Helms, DDS, PhD, states that every adult tissue harbors stem cells, which potentially could be used to regenerate damaged or diseased tissues. "In my laboratory, one of our goals is to understand the regulatory pathways that control stem cell self-renewal, proliferation, and differentiation. We have focused on two signaling pathways whose activities seem to be an essential feature of tissue healing. Wnts and Hedgehog proteins are both lipid-modified growth factors that have well documented and essential roles in embryonic development. We have found that both pathways are active during the repair of bones, muscle, skin, heart, brain, and retina, and that repair of most or all of these tissues is impeded when these two pathways are blocked. We have developed a novel packaging method whereby the biological activity of lipidated Wnt and Hedgehog proteins can be preserved in the in vivo wound environment. Using these and other tools developed by our collaborator Roel Nusse, we have embarked on experiments to first understand the mechanisms of action of these growth factors in the healing wound, and second, to use this information in biomimetic strategies to accelerate tissue repair."

Michael Longaker, MD, MBA performs research that focuses on the following areas: Wound repair, both fetal and adult, adipose-derived stem cell biology, skeletal biology, and craniofacial development and repair. Dr. Longaker is the recipient of numerous grants from the NIH, Department of Defense, and the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). He has published over 1100 articles and is a member of the following surgical societies: American College of Surgeons, Plastic Surgery Research Council, Association for Academic Surgery, American Association of Plastic Surgeons, Society of University Surgeons, and the American Surgical Association. In addition, Dr. Longaker is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, Association of American Physicians, and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Notably, he has served as President of the Society of University Surgeons and President of the Plastic Surgery Research Council. He has received numerous awards for his research including the Flance-Karl Award from the American Surgical Association, and the Sheen Award the from the Bank of American/American College of Surgeons.

Rahim Nazerali, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery at Stanford University Medical Center, is a graduate of Brown Medical School. He did his plastic surgery training at the University of California, Davis and completed a Clinical Instructor/Fellowship at Stanford University. Dr. Nazerali specializes in microsurgery and complex reconstruction. He has conducted research and published multiple papers on topics such as free tissue transfer and chest wall reconstruction. In addition, he serves on the Peer Review Committee of Annals of Plastic Surgery. Dr. Nazerali also volunteers his time and medical expertise overseas for multiple charitable organizations such as ReSurge and Rotaplast.

Rohit Khosla, MD is interested in understanding the basis for a class of birth defects known as craniosynostoses, which cause premature closure of some or all of the head sutures. Children who are affected by this condition display characteristic phenotypes according to the suture or sutures involved. Restricted normal growth of the skull can lead to increased intracranial pressure and changes in brain morphology, which in turn may contribute to neurocognitive deficiency. Management has primarily focused on surgical correction of fused sutures prior to 12 months of age to optimize correction of the deformity and to ameliorate the effects of increased intracranial pressure. However, emphasis has recently shifted to better understanding the pathogenesis of neurocognitive impairment observed in these children, along with genetic mutations that contribute to premature suture fusion. We believe that this understanding will provide opportunities for earlier and more specific neurocognitive interventions and for the development of targeted genetic therapy to
prevent pathologic suture fusion.