Luisa DiPietro, PhD, DDS

Our laboratory studies the process of wound healing and tissue regeneration following injury. Following a wound, appropriate inflammation and the efficient restoration of the epithelial barrier are essential for the prevention of infection and for the survival of the organism. This process has many parallels to cancer, including tissue growth and robust angiogenesis. Unlike cancer, healing is generally limited in time and amount, and includes substantial tissue remodeling to return to normal architecture. Using multiple model systems, including adult skin, fetal skin, and oral mucosa, our studies define the roles of key cell types in the healing process, and identify the mechanisms that guide capillary growth and regression in healing wounds. We also investigate the key regulatory characteristics that distinguish the rapid and scarless wound healing that occurs in oral mucosa from that of skin. Current studies focus on these topics as well as the genomic regulation of wound repair and the development of computational models of wound healing.