Soldier Treatment and Repair Consortium Established

Military Medicine, Spring 2006

Made possible, in part, by federal dollars, the Soldier Treatment and Repair Consortium (STRaC) will explore regenerative medicine techniques. The consortium will be a partnership between top military and academic research centers and industry.

STRaC will focus on preclinical and clinical regenerative medicine research to engineer functional vascular, nerve and muscle tissue, as well as bone and cartilage, for the creation of digits and limbs. The five-year goal is the creation of a fully functional finger.

A recent briefing on the project included an update on the progress of STRaC. According to Dr. Alan Russel, PhD, Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Tissue Engineering Initiative, "STRaC will build upon the National Tissue Engineering Center's progress and provide a national infrastructure for development of new therapies to treat devastating combat injuries in a way that maximizes the opportunity for full restoration of tissue function."

Reference:

Fischer, Karen, "Senator Santorum Announces Innovative Treatment of Wounded Soldiers", press release, March, 3, 2006