Regenerative Medicine

Research Description

Dr. Cheng's basic science research is in the areas of tissue engineering and bladder physiology. He is currently partnering with Arun Sharma to develop a tissue engineered replacement for bladder tissue that restores regular urinary function while avoiding the issues associated with bowel augmentation. Two major focuses of this research are scaffolding for cells and source of stem cells in bladder engineering.

Select Publications

• Malhotra NR, Green JR, Rigsby CK, Holl JL, Cheng EY, Johnson EK. Urinary tract infection after retrograde urethrogram in children: A multicenter study. Journal of Pediatric Urology, December 2017.
• Gong EM, Cheng EY. Current challenges with proximal hypospadias: We have a long way to go. Journal of Pediatric Urology, October 2017.
• Ellens REH, Bakula DM, Mullins AJ, Scott Reyes KJ, Austin P, Baskin L, Bernabé K, Cheng EY, Fried, E, Frimberger D, Galan D, Gonzalez L, Greenfield S, Kolon T, Kropp B, Lakshmanan Y, Meyer S, Meyer T, Mullins LL, Nokoff NJ, Palmer B, Poppas D, Paradis A. Psychological Adjustment of Parents of Children Born with Atypical Genitalia 1 Year after Genitoplasty. Journal of Urology, October 2017.

Research Description

Bladder dysfunction from obstruction or denervation is the cause of kidney failure in many pediatric patients. Dr. Gong leads research to determine mechanisms behind pathologic bladder degeneration. His goal is to develop therapeutic agents that can prevent loss of bladder function and promote regeneration of healthy bladder tissue in children affected by posterior urethral valves or neurogenic bladder.

Select Publications

• Li B, Lindgren BW, Liu DB, Gong EM. Robot-assisted laparoscopic megaureter tapering with ureteral reimplantation: Tips and tricks. Journal of Pediatric Urology, December 2017.
• Maizels M, Gong EM, Meade P, Nelson LD, Dungan JS. “1 Voice” triages care by algorithm for newborn urological ultrasound findings. Journal of Pediatric Urology, February 2018. Journal of Pediatric Urology, February 2018.
• Papagiannopoulos D, Gong E. Revisiting Sports Precautions in Children With Solitary Kidneys and Congenital Anomalies of the Kidney and Urinary Tract. Urology, March 2017.

Dr. Hofer is interested in the process of urethral healing, which is the basis of reconstructive surgery. He has developed a rat model of urethroplasty to better understand this process and to develop strategies to prevent abnormal urethral healing and improve the healing process. He is also analyzing the effects of systemic or local hormone re-supplementation on surgical complications in hypogonadal men undergoing urethral surgery such as urethroplasty and artificial urinary sphincter placement.

Select Publications

• Hofer MD, Kapur P, Cordon BH, Hamoun F, Russell D, Scott JM, Roehrborn CG, Morey AF. Low Testosterone Levels Result in Decreased Periurethral Vascularity via an Androgen Receptor-mediated Process: Pilot Study in Urethral Stricture Tissue. Urology, July 2017
• Morrison CD, Cinà DP, Gonzalez CM, Hofer MD. Surgical Approaches and Long-Term Outcomes in Adults with Complex Reoperative Hypospadias Repair. Journal of Urology, May 2018.
• Hofer MD, Cheng EY, Bury MI, Xu W, Hong SJ, Kaplan WE, Sharma AK. Androgen supplementation in rats increases the inflammatory response and prolongs urethral healing. 2015 Mar;85(3):691-7.

Research Description

The primary research focus of the lab is urologic regenerative medicine, specifically tissue engineering utilizing nanomolecules and novel synthetic biomaterials in bladder regeneration models. We study the regenerative applications of combining novel elastomeric scaffolds with an array of stem and progenitor cell populations in order to recapitulate the native bladder environment.

For more information, see the faculty profile of Arun Sharma, PhD, or the Sharma Laboratory pages.

Fellows

Edward Diaz, Devon Snow-Lisy

Research Staff

Matthew Bury, Natalie Fuller

Selected Publications

• Iannaccone PM, Galat V, Bury MI, Ma YC, Sharma AK. The utility of stem cells in pediatric urinary bladder regeneration. Pediatric Research, January 2018.
• Hofer MD, Morey AF, Sheth K, Tausch TJ, Siegel J, Cordon BH, Bury MI, Cheng EY, Sharma AK, Gonzalez CM, Kaplan WE, Kavoussi NL, Klein A, Roehrborn CG. Low Serum Testosterone Level Predisposes to Artificial Urinary Sphincter Cuff Erosion. Urology, November 2016.
• Liu JS, Bury MI, Fuller NJ, Sturm RM, Ahmad N, Sharma AK. Bone Marrow Stem/Progenitor Cells Attenuate the Inflammatory Milieu Following Substitution Urethroplasty. Scientific Reports, October 2016.

For a complete list of publications, refer to Northwestern Scholars.