Michelle Griffin

Royal College of Surgeons Scholar Award, Stanford University - Regenerative Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery

I am an Academic Plastic Surgery Registrar at University College London, holding an NIHR Clinical Fellowship under Professor Peter Butler. Through two masters and a PhD I strive to combine regenerative medicine research and reconstructive surgery to improve the outcomes of children with congenital facial deformities. With Medical Research Council, Royal College of Surgeons and Action Medical Research fellowships I completed my UCL doctorate and created cartilage facial implants using 3D-printing and children’s own stem cells. As a Fulbright scholar, I will continue my postdoctoral work with Professor Michael Longaker’s group at Stanford University to develop my 3D-printed facial implants with a novel type of stem cells isolated from skeletal tissues. As Prof. Longaker’s laboratory first identified the skeletal stem cell I’m excited to learn from world renown stem cell leaders. I hope that the collaborative and interdisciplinary nature of Stanford will enable me to create a novel pioneering platform for manufacturing facial engineered cartilage for treating birth defects that can make a clinical impact soon. I will balance my spare time between my passion for surfing and the outdoors in California’s coastal waters with keyboard playing and enjoying San-Francisco Bay area’s vibrant jazz scene.