Lauren E. Kokai, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Plastic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh and the Co-Director of the Adipose Stem Cell Research Center. Dr. Kokai earned her PhD from the University of Pittsburgh in 2009 from the Department of Bioengineering and completed a dissertation on polymer drug delivery vehicles for nerve regeneration. From 2006-2008, Dr. Kokai was a Fellowship participant in the NIH Cellular Approaches to Tissue Engineering and Regeneration Program of the McGowan Institute. Dr. Kokai also has experience in developing and testing regenerative medicine products and has worked for a leading international pharmaceutical company, Allergan Medical in Santa Barbara, California.
Dr. Kokai’s research focuses on soft tissue engineering to improve post-oncologic patient care. Her ongoing projects include elucidating mechanisms to control adipocyte signaling in inflammation and, generating tissue engineered lymph nodes for secondary lymphedema treatment. She is a co-investigator on the NIH funded research project entitled “Injectable Engineered Tissue for Cancer Reconstruction” and is PI on a Plastic Surgery Foundation Endowment Award titled, “Modulating Macrophage Dynamics to Improve Autologous Fat Grafting Outcomes.”
- BS, University of PIttsburgh
- PhD, University of Pittsburgh
Education & Training
Adipose-derived therapeutics. Adipose therapeutics include exosomes, matrix, stem cells and whole tissue particulates. These embodiments have a multitude of clinical uses including anti-inflammatories, anti-fibrotics and pro-regeneratives. I have assisted with commercial development of an adipose-derived extracellular matrix product Renuva™. My laboratory has also studied mechanisms through which adipose stem cells and adipose tissue particles modulate inflammation in wound beds and have sought new strategies to improve soft tissue engineering.
Drug delivery systems for tissue engineering. My lab has continuously utilized biocompatible degradable drug delivery systems to promote tissue regeneration with small molecules, proteins and metabolites. We are able to manipulate manufacturing parameters to produce single and double polymer microspheres for drug encapsulation and sustained release and have advanced a range of co-encapsulation techniques to protect sensitive moieties such as peptides and growth factors. Finally, my laboratory has investigated drug delivery with liposomes to modulate adipose inflammation and metabolism.
Adipose inflammation contribution to tissue pathogenesis and cellular dysfunction. Excess adiposity, as occurs with obesity or morbid obesity, induces inflammation, contributes to metabolic disease, is associated with increased cancer risk and accumulates environmental toxins. My laboratory has explored mechanisms through which adipose contributes to breast cancer development as well as liver disease. Further, adipose is utilized as a soft tissue filler in breast reconstruction following oncosurgery and my laboratory has investigated potential clinical risks of this approach on tumor recurrence with mouse models.
Dr. Kokai is Co-Director of the Adipose Stem Cell Center.