Innovations in Space-Grown Human Tissue Boosted by ACS Award

Tammy T. Chang, MD, PhD, FACS, isn’t simply reaching for the stars by conducting research aboard the International Space Station; she’s hoping to revolutionize the future of liver transplantation by growing tissue in microgravity.

A past recipient of the George H. A. Clowes Jr., MD, FACS Memorial Research Career Development Award, Dr. Chang intends to use the condition of weightlessness within low Earth orbit (approximately 1,200 miles above the Earth’s surface) to engineer the self-assembly of human liver tissues in order to provide an alternative to traditional liver transplants.

“It was extremely gratifying to learn that I was a recipient of the Clowes Award in 2016,” said Dr. Chang, a professor of surgery at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and director of the Chang Laboratory for Liver Tissue Engineering, which is a basic and translational research lab dedicated to liver tissue engineering. “As a researcher, it is very validating to learn that your peers have recognized the importance and significance of your work and collectively decided to support it.”