- September 15, 2025
- By Liya Tadesse
A private foundation has awarded the University of Maryland, College Park and University of Maryland, Baltimore $500,000 to support bioengineering research on organ transplantation, from extending organ viability to improving patient outcomes.
Most of the funding from the Mickey Dale Family Foundation will support an endowed graduate fellowship at UMCP's A. James Clark School of Engineering, UMB's School of Medicine and their Edward & Jennifer St. John Center for Translational Engineering and Medicine in Baltimore. The goal furthers the institutions' shared mission to end the organ shortage crisis.
More than 103,000 people are currently on the U.S. transplant list, and 13 die every day waiting for an organ, according to the U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration.
Inaugural Fellow Martin Carrasco, a second-year doctoral student in UMCP's Fischell Department of Bioengineering, is working with Distinguished University Professor and department Chair John P. Fisher to develop a two-chamber kidney bioreactor, a small-scale device designed to culture kidney-specific cells for uses including therapies targeting end-stage kidney disease.
Carrasco will also collaborate with Dr. Raphael P.H. Meier, associate professor of surgery at UMSOM and liver, kidney, and pancreas transplant surgeon at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
“By empowering young researchers like Martin, we’re building the foundation for innovations that will not only advance the science of organ engineering but also directly improve patient care,” Fisher said. “Martin’s work exemplifies the collaborative spirit between engineering and medicine that is essential to eliminating the transplant waiting list.”
The Mickey Dale Family Foundation award will also support a new symposium at the St. John Center to bring together experts, clinicians, researchers and students to share the latest advances in organ transplantation research, inspire collaboration and attract more partners to this life-saving mission.