Stopping natural brakes on healing to help skin and gut repair
Inhibition of regeneration restraining pathways to promote healing
This project tries blocking the body's own 'braking' signals to help people with slow-healing skin or gut injuries recover faster.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Johns Hopkins University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11332971 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You'll hear that researchers are studying how skin and gut tissues heal and looking for natural responses that actually slow repair. In lab and animal experiments they will block those 'braking' pathways to see if wounds and injured gut tissue regenerate better, including after infections. The team will map the key molecules and steps that hold healing back so they can find targets for new drugs. If the approach works, it could point to treatments that speed and improve recovery from many kinds of injuries.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal future candidates would be people with slow or incomplete healing of skin or gut tissues, such as chronic skin wounds or inflammatory or infectious gut injuries.
Not a fit: People whose problems stem from structural genetic defects, advanced cancer-related tissue loss, or otherwise normal, rapid healing are unlikely to benefit from these approaches.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could lead to new therapies that help skin and gut injuries heal faster and more completely, reducing complications from slow repair.
How similar studies have performed: Related laboratory studies have shown promise in improving repair in animal models, but applying these strategies safely and effectively in people remains largely unproven.
Where this research is happening
Baltimore, United States
- Johns Hopkins University — Baltimore, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Garza, Luis Andres — Johns Hopkins University
- Study coordinator: Garza, Luis Andres
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 below.