Cold plasma to help heal wounds made worse by heavy drinking
Official title: Investigation of cold plasma for healing alcohol-induced tissue injury
Funded at Seton Hall University · NIH-11193895 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project sees if a cold plasma treatment can help wounds heal faster and resist infection after heavy or binge alcohol use.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R03 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Seton Hall University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (South Orange, United States) |
| Project start | September 20, 2024 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $76,624 |
| NIH project number | 5R03AA031535-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11193895 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People who have skin wounds and a history of heavy or binge alcohol use would be the most directly relevant group for this line of research.
✕Less likely to help
People without alcohol‑related healing problems or those with complex surgical or deep tissue wounds may not see benefit from this specific approach.
What this research studies
This work uses both a rat wound model and human skin organoids to study whether cold plasma can improve healing after binge alcohol exposure. Researchers will measure how quickly wounds close, how well the tissue resists infection, and how immune and repair pathways (like Nrf2 and Wnt/beta‑catenin) respond. The rat experiments recreate binge-drinking effects on wound repair, while the human organoids let scientists test effects on human skin tissue in the lab. Results could guide future clinical tests of cold plasma for people whose drinking has slowed wound recovery.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could lead to a new therapy that helps people with alcohol‑related impaired wound healing recover faster and avoid infections.
How similar studies have gone: Laboratory and some early clinical work show cold plasma can aid wound repair and reduce infection, but its use specifically for alcohol‑impaired wounds is novel and less tested.
Where this research is happening
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Seton Hall University
South Orange, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Chang, Sulie L. — Seton Hall University
- Study coordinator: Chang, Sulie L.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.