The Skin Gun

Medical miracle (find out why at 02:39): VIDEO

Gerlach's Gun

The Bioreactor Group, led by McGowan Institute faculty member Joerg Gerlach, MD, PhD, Professor in the Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, currently collaborates with national and international scientists with this novel research tool.

As noted, regenerating skin cells is but one of the many applications associated with a bioreactor. Dr. Gerlach’s bioreactor technology serves as part of an alternative approach to mend skin damaged by burns and abrasion-type injuries. Recent press (Newsweek and Popular Science) has highlighted Dr. Gerlach’s “skin gun”—one part of his 3-phase skin burn disease therapy. Also, in early 2008, both the Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative and the U. S. Department of Defense funded Dr. Gerlach’s efforts to further this burn repair application.