Simon W. Young, DDS, MD, PhD

UTHealth School of Dentisty – Houston, Texas

Use of a Compromised Maxillofacial Wound Healing
Model for Characterization of Bone Graft Materials

Abstract:

Despite our understanding of bone regeneration in sites with an optimized underlying physiological environment, it is still poorly understood why bone grafting fails in the setting of the compromised wound (i.e. osteoradionecrosis, multiply-operated sites, etc.). Whether the defect lies in an inadequately vascularized environment, an adversely affected (or missing) progenitor cell population, the complicating presence of bacterial contamination, or a sub-optimal cytokine milieu, the relative contributions of these factors remains to be clearly elucidated. A clinically relevant, reproducible model of compromised wound healing would be an invaluable tool to study these potential mechanisms of bone graft failure, and inform future strategies to improve bone grafting in these situations.

The studies outlined in this proposal will utilize a recently developed pre-clinical model of compromised maxillofacial wound healing in the following specific aims:

In Specific Aim 1, this model will serve as a clinically-relevant platform for the elucidation of key differences between compromised and non-compromised maxillofacial wound environments in the context of standard bone grafting techniques.

In Specific Aim 2, the compromised wound healing model will be used to evaluate the performance of patient-specific 3D-printed bioceramic scaffolds with osteogenic coatings.

The data anticipated from this work will enhance our understanding of conventional bone graft material performance in compromised maxillofacial wound beds and drive the rational-design of novel customized bioactive scaffolds for maxillofacial tissue regeneration.

Collaborators:

Simon Young, DDS, MD, PhD (PI), F. Kurtis Kasper, PhD (co-PI), Lukasz Witek, MSci, PhD (co-PI), Paulo Coelho, MD, DDS, PhD, MBA (co-PI), Lindsay Wilson, LVT, RLATG (Research Assistant), Neeraja Dharmaraj, PhD (Research Scientist), Ramesh Tailor, PhD (collaborator), Vasudev Nayak, PhD (graduate student), Andrew Bhagyam, DDS, MD (OMS resident), Nourhan Ibrahim, BDS (Research Assistant), Will Norton, DVM (collaborator).

Presentations

Maxillofacial Tissue Engineering 101: From Pediatrics to Geriatrics, Optimizing Regenerative Surgical Techniques with Markiewicz MR and Melville JC, Annual Meeting of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, San Diego,CA, 09/23/23, 1.0hour.
Biomaterials-Based Platform Technologies in the Craniomaxillofacial Complex: From Cancer Immunotherapy to Tissue Engineering, Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, The University of Alabama Birmingham, Virtual Format, 01/17/23, 1.0 hour.

Biomaterials-Based Platform Technologies in the Craniomaxillofacial Complex: From Cancer Immunotherapy to Tissue Engineering, Department of Oral Medicine, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Virtual Format, 11/09/22, 1.0 hour
Craniomaxillofacial Bone Tissue Engineering from Bench to OR: Developing Multiple Strategies Along the Translational Pathway, Society for Biomaterials, Dental/Craniofacial Biomaterials SIG Webinar Series, Virtual Format, 10/26/22, 1.0 hour.
Biomaterials for Craniomaxillofacial Bone Regeneration: From Preclinical Models to Current Clinical Practice,2022 Regenerative Medicine Essentials Course & World Stem Cell Summit, Virtual Format, 6/6/22, 0.5 hours.
From Bench to Bedside: The Evolution of Tissue Engineered Maxillofacial Reconstruction, Osteo Science Foundation Webinar Series, 04/19/22, 1.0 hour.
From Bench to Bedside: The Evolution of Tissue Engineered Maxillofacial Reconstruction, Osteo Science Foundation – Regenerative Solutions to Common Problems Meeting, Austin, TX, 02/18/22, 1.0 hour.
Innovations in Craniomaxillofacial Tissue Engineering, North American Strasbourg Osteosynthesis Research Group (S.O.R.G.) Meet the Expert Series – University Hospital University of Texas San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, 11/13/20, 2 hours.
Innovations in Craniomaxillofacial Bone Tissue Engineering, Osteo Science Foundation Webinar Series “Generations of Regeneration”, 4/24/20 at www.osteoscience.org, 1.0 hour.

Publications

Vasudev Vivekanand Nayak, Daniel Boczar, Paulo G. Coelho, Andrea Torroni, Christopher M. Runyan, James C. Melville, Simon Young, Bruce Cronstein, Roberto L. Flores, and Lukasz Witek. “Innovative Treatment Modalities for Craniofacial Reconstruction.” In Advancements and Innovations in OMFS, ENT, and Facial Plastic Surgery, pp. 291-308. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2023.
Vasudev Vivekanand Nayak, Blaire V. Slavin, Edmara TP Bergamo, Andrea Torroni, Christopher M. Runyan, Roberto L. Flores, F. Kurtis Kasper, Simon Young, Paulo G. Coelho, and Lukasz Witek. “Three-Dimensional Printing Bioceramic Scaffolds Using Direct-Ink-Writing for Craniomaxillofacial Bone Regeneration.” Tissue Engineering Part C: Methods 29, no. 7 (2023): 332-345
Hussein N, Ramagli L, Vivekanand Nayak V, Tailor R, F. Kurtis Kasper, Dharmaraj N, Coelho P, Mirsky N, Witek L, Norton W, Young S. A Compromised Maxillofacial Wound Healing Model for Characterization of Particulate Bone Grafting: An In Vivo Study in Rabbits. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part B: Applied Biomaterials, 2025; 113:e35556. February 6 2025. https://doi.org/10.1002/jbm.b.35556. Abstract

Co-PIs

F. Kurtis Kasper, PhD (co-PI)
Lukasz Witek, MSci, PhD (co-PI)
Paulo Coelho, MD, DDS, PhD, MBA (co-PI)

Other collaborators

Lindsay Wilson, LVT, RLATG (Research Assistant), Neeraja Dharmaraj, PhD (Research Scientist), Ramesh Tailor, PhD (collaborator), Vasudev Nayak, PhD (graduate student), Andrew Bhagyam, DDS, MD (OMS resident), Nourhan Ibrahim, BDS (Research Assistant), Will Norton, DVM (collaborator)