Innovations
Exciting new things. Not a catch-all for all research.
June 23, 2020
Harnessing the body’s ability to heal
Researchers at Mayo Clinic are studying ways to engineer human-like tissue to bolster the body’s ability to heal itself. Scientists in the Regenerative Medicine Biomaterials and Biomolecules Lab have engineered biomaterials that could regenerate tissue capable of restoring injured nerves and bones. They’ve discovered that biomaterials derived from polymers are biodegradable. When used along with […]
Tags: biomedical engineering, bone regeneration, Center for Regenerative Medicine, discovery research, Lichun Lu, nerve regeneration, peripheral nerve damage, tissue engineering, Xifeng Liu
June 16, 2020
Focus on women’s health: Regenerative approaches to stress and fecal incontinence
Mayo Clinic is taking a regenerative approach to women’s healthcare to provide new therapeutic options for common conditions that standard treatments don’t fully address. One key area of focus is pelvic floor injury that leads to stress incontinence, a widespread and often embarrassing problem affecting some 18 million women, according to the National Association for […]
Tags: Center for Regenerative Medicine, Emanuel Trabuco, fecal incontinence, incontinence, women's health
June 11, 2020
Seeking a regenerative therapy for chronic dry mouth
Mayo Clinic researchers are seeking a regenerative therapy for a vexing problem, particularly among cancer patients. How can medical providers treat a condition in which the mouth is so parched that it has an incessant feeling of a cotton lining? Xerostomia, also known as chronic dry mouth, is an agonizing side effect of injury to […]
Tags: biobank, cancer, Center for Regenerative Medicine, chronic dry mouth, head and neck cancer, Jeffrey Janus, lab medicine, Nagarajan Kannan, salivary glands
June 4, 2020
Researchers target liver tumors with precision and “tiny radiation bombs”
By Advancing the Science contributor 
By Lynda De Widt In the 1960’s, scientists discovered a form of cancer therapy called radioembolization, which utilizes microscopic radioactive spheres delivered through a blood vessel to reach a tumor and kill tumor cells. “Think of it as a tiny radiation bomb that’s delivered directly where it’s most needed,” says Beau Toskich, M.D., an interventional […]
Tags: Beau Toskich, cancer, CT, Kabir Mody, liver cancer, radiation therapy, radioembolization, transplant, tumor, Tushar Patel
June 3, 2020
Regenerative approaches could foster healing from COVID-19
Regenerative Medicine aims not only to repair or restore the function of cells, tissues or organs, but also the whole person. The latter is particularly important amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Regenerative approaches draw on the body’s natural abilities to heal, focus on establishing the healing environments and building new, healthy ways of functioning. These aspects […]
Tags: Center for Regenerative Medicine, COVID-19, Craig Sawchuk, health sciences research, Ian Hargraves, patient experience, psychiatry, psychology, Victor Montori
May 21, 2020
A discovery step toward cell replacement therapy for diabetes
In what could be a step toward cell replacement therapy for diabetes, Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered how to manufacture cells capable of generating a hormone that regulates low blood sugar. Quinn Peterson, Ph.D. and his team have developed a new method of mass producing a cell product containing the hormone glucagon that is capable […]
Tags: Center for Regenerative Medicine, diabetes, hypoglycemia, pluripotent stem cells, Quinn Peterson, stem cells
April 30, 2020
Mayo researchers’ endometrial cancer discovery could lead to window of opportunity for prevention
By Susan Murphy
What if a doctor could alert a woman a year or more in advance that she is likely to develop endometrial cancer? Researchers at Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine have found evidence linking functional modification of certain genes to the emergence of the disease, providing a novel opportunity for intervention and prevention. The new […]
Tags: Andrea Mariani, biomarkers, cancer, Center for Individualized Medicine, endometrial cancer, epigenetics, gynecology, Marina Walther-Antonio, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, microbiome, oncology, robotic technology
March 6, 2020
Off the shelf vessels: A regenerative approach for coronary artery bypass
Growing blood vessels in a lab for human use may sound like a futuristic dream. However, Mayo Clinic researchers are seeking to do just that to advance a regenerative approach to coronary bypass graft surgery. Through a Regenerative Medicine Minnesota grant, a Mayo research team is developing tissue that could grow into a blood vessel […]
Tags: biomedical engineering, blood vessels, Center for Regenerative Medicine, coronary artery disease, heart disease, Leigh Griffiths, Regenerative Medicine Minnesota, tissue engineering
March 4, 2020
Providers investigate less invasive procedures for lung cancer and COPD
By Advancing the Science contributor
By Sara Nick At Mayo Clinic, research and care often weave together. Many times this results in Mayo patients being the first to benefit from novel options for diagnosis or treatment. For instance, pulmonologists are testing the potential for new, minimally invasive procedures to diagnose and treat conditions including lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary […]
Tags: chronic bronchitis, collaboration, COPD, emphysema, Janani Reisenauer, lung cancer, minimally invasive procedure, pulmonary and critical care medicine, pulmonology, robotic technology, Sebastian Fernandez-Bussy, team science
February 20, 2020
Restoring function with larynx transplantation
Mayo Clinic has launched a first of its kind regenerative transplant program aimed at restoring function for people who need their larynx, or voice box, removed. In the United States about 60,000 people are living without a larynx, due to disease or trauma. The larynx is a segment of the respiratory tract located in the […]
Tags: Center for Regenerative Medicine, D. Eric Steidley, David Lott, larynx transplant, regenerative medicine, transplant