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Welcome to the Washington Lab
.tmb-image350.jpg?Culture=en&sfvrsn=b6e63bb_1 "Washington, Kia -- 2022 (168 x 225)")
Kia Washington, MD, FACS
Professor of Surgery | Director, Research, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery | Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Research Interests
Dr. Washington's research interests include the study of whole eye transplantation to restore vision for those suffering from blindness from trauma and diseases. Additionally, her interests include improving nerve regeneration after injury and in the setting of vascularized composite allotransplantation.
Active Research Projects
Total Human Eye-allotransplantation Innovation Advancement
The purpose of this grant funding ($46 million) awarded by ARPA-H, is to develop clinically viable platforms that preserve human donor eyes and enable therapies that restore human visual function through retinal ganglion cell survival and optic nerve regeneration following eye transplantation. Technological advancement in this area is needed. This project seeks to address vision restoration for millions of blind patients by overcoming existing barriers in eye transplantation and optic nerve regeneration. Blindness is caused by a myriad of factors such as injury, gene variations, and aging. Advancing whole eye transplant has the potential to provide an agnostic solution for the variety issues that cause blindness.
Advancement of a Tissue Oxygenation Measurement Device and Evaluation of Galectin-3 as Novel Non-invasive Prognostic Biomarkers for Monitoring VCA Rejection
This grant funds preclinical large animal studies on galectin-3, a protein that can be detected in blood and saliva and has been found to be increased in the circulation of rodent recipients of VCAs subjected to prolonged periods of ischemia. Organs and tissues subjected to prolonged ischemia trigger a severe inflammatory response in the recipient once the blood vessels are reconnected during transplantation. This grant studies the role of galectin-3 in this process. Eventually, the goal would be for patients to be able to do a simple at-home saliva test to check for signs of graft rejection, though abnormal results would still need to be examined by a doctor.