Winograd Peripheral Nerve Surgery Translational Research Laboratory

Overview

The Winograd Laboratory explores novel translational techniques to improve outcomes in peripheral nerve surgery.

Research Projects

• The use of photochemical tissue bonding (PTB) to create strong, sutureless repairs of nerve for technically easy repairs with more rapid return of function, greater axonal diameters and degree of myelination. The technique is effective for direct repairs, nerve autografts and nerve allografts as an effective adjunct at the neurorrhaphy site. Studies have included evaluation in small animals and large animals including nonhuman primates.
• The application of phase-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) to the imaging of nerves in situ to provide an optical biopsy for the assessment of nerve architecture, integrity of axons and the state of myelination.
• Clinical studies looking at the post mastectomy nerve related pain.
• Clinical evaluation of PS-OCT to injured peripheral nerves.

Research Team

Jonathan Winograd, MD – Principal Investigator
Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School
Visiting Attending Surgeon, MGH

Dr. Winograd has led the peripheral nerve surgery translational research lab for the last 25 years at MGH. This has included investigations into the transplantation of stem cell-derived neural precursor cells into denervated muscle to prevent denervation atrophy, the use of photochemical tissue bonding for improving outcomes in nerve graft reconstruction of large gap nerve injuries, the creation of a brain-body interface model to study the use of electrical stimulation in spinal cord injury, and the use of phase sensitive-optical coherence tomography for in situ evaluation of nerve injury and regeneration.

Publications

View publications

Open Positions

The Laboratory takes one or at most two research fellows per year to perform both clinical and translational research projects.