The basic science focus of our laboratory is angiogenesis, the formation of new capillaries from pre-existing blood vessels. The laboratory is located on the fourth floor of the impressive new Karp Research Building on the main Children's Hospital Campus in the Longwood Medical Area. Its central location among Harvard Medical School and other affiliated hospitals including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Center, and the Joslin Diabetes Center facilitates collaboration with talented investigators across many disciplines.

Our facility has approximately 1500 square feet of space with state-of-the-art equipment. The laboratory is supported by the Department of Plastic Surgery, under the leadership of John G. Meara, MD, DMD, MBA, as well as by the Vascular Anomalies Center, directed by John B. Mulliken, MD and Steven Fishman, MD.

The mission of the laboratory is to study pediatric plastic surgical problems and to develop improved treatments for those conditions. We are interested in translational basic research that has direct clinical applicability. Our basic science questions are derived from clinical experience, and our aim is to translate the knowledge gained in the laboratory back to the clinic to improve patient care. The laboratory is focused on the following three areas: