US$1.25 million allocated for research on the important role of sex hormones in tissue repair

Our ability to heal and regenerate new tissue after injury has a lot to do with biological gender

Now, a researcher from the University of Kansas has won a five-year, $1.

"I'm trying to understand why tissue regeneration is different between men and women and how this leads to the occurrence of diseases, tissues do not regenerate, such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis," said Jenny Robinson, assistant professor of chemical and petroleum engineering KU, who will The second prize for working under the leadership of NIH Bozeng

As a young athlete, Robinson gave up a formal football career because of a knee injury, but this also stimulated her interest in science related to body recovery.

The new work of researchers at the University of Kansas aims to develop biomaterial tools to analyze gender differences in tissue repair and how the body maintains homeostasis or promotes the necessary balance of health and function after changes such as injury

First, Robinson hopes to use engineered biomaterials in her laboratory to better understand the different responses of male and female mesenchymal stem cells to the spatial and mechanical properties of the cellular microenvironment

"Some clinical data indicate that there may be differences in the composition of male and female tissues," she said

In addition, Robinson’s goal is to discover how estrogen affects downstream transcription, or how cells copy DNA fragments into RNA to make essential proteins, and the subsequent behavior of cells

"We modified the previous design and manufactured it at the University of Kansas Nanomanufacturing Facility

Finally, Robinson and her laboratory hope to use their research results to design a biomaterial system that effectively regulates the presentation of estrogen to cells.

"The way we make biomaterials can control the release of estrogen

Although this research initially focused on estrogen and potentially female-targeted biomaterials, researchers at the University of Kansas stated that her research may lead to treatments that are beneficial for men

She said: "If someone takes aromatase inhibitors, for example, men take these inhibitors to prevent the conversion of testosterone into estrogen, it will affect both sexes

Robinson said the grant will also help train the next generation of scientists in the field of engineered biomaterials

"This group now has 14 people, including undergraduates, graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows.
They are working on different projects, all related to this job," she said
.
"For me, the training and learning process of students is my favorite thing
.
I like to give them a big idea and the ability to execute them
.
One of the main reasons I like academic research is to be able to guide these students
.
"

However, Robinson said that the ultimate goal is to conduct research to improve people's health
.

"A lot of people have to deal with musculoskeletal injuries," she said
.
"It affects people's quality of life
.
This is one of the biggest problems that cause disability, unemployment, and lack of work capacity
.
Orthopedic injuries and degeneration can bother many people
.
Everyone knows that someone has hurt some connective tissue
.
"