Finding regenerative strategies capable of faithfully repairing tissues after surgery, disease or traumatic injury will have the potential to transform modern medicine and improve the lives of a limitless number of patients.

In dramatic contrast to the poor repair outcomes for humans and rodent models such as mice, salamanders are able to completely regenerate heart tissue, whole limbs and many other tissues following injury, at any life stage. This astounding capacity for repair provides a template on which to understand the process of natural regeneration and develop strategies to improve human repair.

Dr. Godwin’s work explores the molecular signals from nerve and immune cells that underpin the resistance to scarring, and the activation of regeneration in salamanders. This work combines both comparative biology and immunomodulation to investigate the potential for regeneration in a range of genetic mouse models.

Dr. Godwin holds a dual appointment at the MDI Biological Laboratory and the Jackson Laboratory.