Transplantation and Organ Engineering Research
About the Research Thrust
The Department of Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital is home to a multidisciplinary transplantation and organ engineering research center that works at the interface of basic and clinical science to uncover more about transplantation immunobiology.
Programs
Center for Engineering in Medicine and Surgery
The Center for Engineering in Medicine & Surgery (CEMS) at Mass General are the ambassadors of bioengineering, bringing technology to the forefront of biomedical research and the practice of medicine.
Laboratories and Researchers
Alessandrini Laboratory
The Alessandrini Laboratory, led by Alessandro Alessandrini, PhD, studies regulatory T cells and plasmacytoid dendritic cells, and the roles they play in the induction of transplantation tolerance.
Marianna Bei, PhD
Marianna Bei, PhD, is an investigator at the Mass General Center for Engineering in Medicine & Surgery. Dr. Bei's research is devoted to understanding the molecular mechanisms controlling organ formation in vertebrates and in particular the formation and homeostasis of the skin and its appendages.
Cardiothoracic Transplantation Laboratory
The Cardiothoracic Transplantation Laboratory, led by Joren Madsen, MD, DPhil, and James Allan, MD, MBA, uses molecular and cellular techniques to study transplantation tolerance, acute/chronic rejection, innate immunity, xenotransplantation and whole organ bioengineering for heart/lung transplantation.
Cellular and Molecular Immunology Laboratory
The Cellular and Molecular Immunology Laboratory, led by Gilles Benichou, PhD, DSc, studies the immune mechanisms underlying the allorecognition and alloresponse by T and B cells in transplant rejection and tolerance.
Cosimi/Kawai Laboratory
The Cosimi/Kawai Laboratory, led by Benedict Cosimi, MD, and Tatsuo Kawai, MD, PhD, focuses on allograft tolerance induction in nonhuman primates and humans, with the goal of developing safe and reliable tolerance-inducing regimens for clinical transplantation.
Markmann Laboratory
The Markmann Laboratory, led by James Markmann, MD, PhD, examines the hypothesis that a small subset of B cells plays a beneficial or regulatory role in transplant tolerance in the elderly.
Molecular Biology Laboratory
The Molecular Biology Laboratory, led by Christian LeGuern, PhD, focuses on deciphering the role of major histocompatibility class II molecules in the modulation of T cell responses to self and foreign antigens.
Ott Laboratory
The Ott Laboratory, led by Harald Ott, MD, is working to develop new tissue engineering strategies for regenerating whole organs and organ grafts as an alternative to donor transplantation.
Pierson Laboratory
The Pierson Laboratory, led by Richard Pierson III, MD, centers around understanding and preventing the mechanisms of rejected organs through immunomodulation and xenotransplantation.
Plastic Surgery Research Laboratory
The Plastic Surgery Research Laboratory conducts investigations into tissue engineering of cartilage, mechanisms of neural injury and regeneration, ischemia/reperfusion injury and transplantation of vascularized limb tissues.
Riella Laboratory
The laboratory of Leonardo Riella, MD, PhD, investigates the fundamental mechanisms that regulate the immune system in order to better manage and treat transplantation patients.
Shannon Tessier, PhD
Shannon Tessier, PhD, is an investigator at the Center for Engineering in Medicine & Surgery. Dr. Tessier’s research focuses on the translation of lessons from nature to the bedside.
O. Berk Usta, PhD
O. Berk Usta, PhD, is an investigator at the Center for Engineering in Medicine & Surgery. Dr. Usta’s research focuses on tissue and micro-tissue engineering, biopreservation, and computational and theoretical modeling.
Basak Uygun, PhD
Basak Uygun, PhD, is an assistant investigator at the Center for Engineering in Medicine & Surgery. Dr. Uygun's research focuses on the application of engineering tools to help patients suffering from liver disease.
Korkut Uygun, PhD
Korkut Uygun, PhD, is an investigator at the Center for Engineering in Medicine & Surgery. Dr. Uygun has built a major program for reengineering organs, specifically livers, which aims to ensure that all organs are utilized for the public good.
Transplantation Biology Research Center (TBRC) Laboratories
The Transplantation Biology Research Center (TBRC) Laboratories, led by David Sachs, MD, comprises two laboratories investigating tolerance induction in transplantation.
Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation Laboratory
The Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation Laboratory, led by Curtis Cetrulo, Jr., MD, FACS, investigates the immunobiology of vascularized composite allografts with a primary focus on developing tolerance induction strategies.
Voice Center Research Laboratories
The Voice Center Research Laboratories are designed to develop novel technologies, biomaterials, devices and surgical tools for advancing the diagnosis, management and treatment of laryngeal diseases and pathologies that affect voice.
Yeh Laboratory
The Yeh Laboratory, led by Heidi Yeh, MD, researches ways to improve access to transplantation and reduce wait list times.
#1 Research Hospital in America
Mass General is recognized as a top hospital on the U.S. News Best Hospitals Honor Roll for 2023-2024.
Annual Research Funding
150+ staff members carry out basic science, outcomes and clinical research.
Research at the Mass General Department of Surgery
Research is a critical element of patient-care. When research advances are made, the lives of patients everywhere are directly impacted for the better.