A Major Research Project to Advance Regenerative Therapy for Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) Using Transgenic Stem Cells

BOSTON, Massachusetts (November 1, 2021) - Shriners Children’s is pleased to announce that a cutting-edge gene and stem cell therapy research program to cure a rare skin blistering disorder is to be supported by the Howard Green Center for Children’s Skin Health & Research at Shriners Children’s Boston.

The lead scientist is Dr. Jeffrey Morgan, who has a proven track record of successful innovation and leadership skills. Dr. Morgan will guide this program as it pursues its goal of improving the outcomes and lives of patients with burns, skin disorders and dermatological conditions. The expert co-investigators on the research project are Robert Sheridan M.D., Mehmet Toner Ph.D., and Martin Yarmush M.D., Ph.D., all at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Shriners Children’s Boston.

Dr. Morgan has extensive experience in genetically engineering skin to treat various genetic disorders or to deliver local wound healing factors. His interdisciplinary research has produced 110 publications in high-impact, peer-reviewed scientific journals. Working in translation and commercialization of technologies, Dr. Morgan is an inventor on 13 issued patents and was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. Innovations developed in his laboratories are distributed worldwide. Dr. Morgan has served in a number of leadership positions in academia as well as start-up companies.

Dr. Morgan trained at Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Howard Green, M.D. Dr. Green was the first to grow skin grafts using a patient’s own cells, one of the earliest examples of stem cell therapy. The first grafts from cultured skin were used to treat two patients with life threatening burns at Shriners Children’s Boston in the early 1980s, cementing the impact of Dr. Green’s discovery, as well as his bond, with Shriners Children’s.

“Dr. Green dedicated his career to furthering our understanding of skin regeneration and improving the outcomes for patients,” Dr. Morgan said. “I am honored not only to build on his work in helping improve the lives of patients, but to do so together with Shriners Children’s. ”

“Dr. Morgan’s appointment as principal investigator will help the Howard Green Center for Children’s Skin Health & Research take the next step in caring for patients with devastating skin injuries and conditions,” said Jerry G. Gantt, chairman of the Board of Trustees of Shriners Children’s. “Dr. Morgan’s leadership in the field and longtime connection with Dr. Howard Green make him a natural choice to lead the research project, and we are honored to have him as an important part of our Shriners Children’s family.”

About the Howard Green Center for Children’s Skin Health & Research at Shriners Children’s Boston

Founded in 2016, the Howard Green Center for Children’s Skin Health and Research at Shriners Children’s Boston is a first-of-its kind center dedicated to advancing the field of regenerative medicine. The mission is to engage in translational research projects that work hand-in-hand with clinical practice to move regenerative medicine along the discovery continuum to bring new treatments to children more quickly. The ultimate goal is to further improve the outcomes and lives of patients with burns, skin disorders and dermatological conditions by providing world-class care regardless of the families’ ability to pay or insurance status.

The Center is the vision of Dr. Green and his family. By making a generous and transformational gift to Shriners Children’s Boston, Mrs. Rosine Kauffmann Green ensured her late husband’s work would continue on and help children in Boston and around the world.

Media Contact: Mel Bower | Shriners Children's | 813-281-8643 | mbower@shrinenet.org