Salvator Mundi International Hospital | UPMC: Lecture on Regenerative Medicine

On July 24, 2018 Salvator Mundi International Hospital | UPMC in Rome hosted a Lectio Magistralis by Professor J. Peter Rubin and Professor Albert D. Donnenberg, entitled Regenerative Medicine Applied to Plastic and Orthopedic Surgery.

Professor Rubin, Chair of the Department of Plastic Surgery at UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center), and Professor of Plastic Surgery and Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh, is widely recognized for his surgical skills and innovative solutions to complex aesthetic and reconstructive problems.  Dr. Rubin directs a basic science research program, involving researchers from all over the world, on the use of stem cells derived from adipose tissue for tissue regenerative treatments and treatments for other diseases. He serves as Co-Director of the Adipose Stem Cell Center at the University of Pittsburgh, and is founder and director of Life after Weight Loss Surgical Body Contouring Program at the University of Pittsburgh. He is the principal investigator in an NIH-funded line of research aimed at developing cell-based methods for clinical soft tissue reconstruction after cancer therapy.

Professor Donnenberg is Associate Professor of Infectious Disease and Microbiology at the Graduate School of Public Health, and Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. In addition to academic activities, he is Director of the Flow Cytometry Facility of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), where he leads the Cancer Stem program.  Professor Donnenberg is also Director of Cellular Therapy Program at the UPMC Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Center.

The event, introduced by Dr. Lucio Cappelli, Scientific Coordinator of Salvator Mundi International Hospital | UPMC and Specialist in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, focused on the several applications of regenerative medicine to plastic, orthopedic, and reconstructive surgery.  Professor Rubin shared the results from numerous clinical cases and the subsequent benefits of such innovative treatments, which employ adipose stem cells for the reconstruction of soft tissues after trauma or cancer therapies.

Over 30 experts participated in the event, which is part of a larger project for the construction of a new department for Regenerative Medicine in the hospital, to employ plastic surgery for the treatment of tissue degeneration related to trauma, oncology diseases (e.g., breast reconstruction after mastectomy), radiotherapy treatments and osteoarthritis, reconstruction of muscle and skeletal tissues after trauma, and tendinopathies, in the orthopedic field, as well as joint research projects.  Professor Diego Ribuffo, Professor of Plastic Surgery at the Università La Sapienza in Rome, also participated in the event, as the Università La Sapienza has already initiated collaborative projects with the University of Pittsburgh and Salvator Mundi International Hospital | UPMC.