Stacy Stephenson

Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Research, UT College of Medicine

Dr. Stephenson serves as a cosmetic and reconstructive surgeon and physician at the University of Tennessee Medical Center​. The Laboratory of Regenerative Medicine focuses on novel approaches for re-growing bone and nerves that have been damaged due to injury. Drs. Stephenson and Masi are particularly interested in healing bone and nerve damage in the arms and legs using carbon-based nanomaterials - structures that directly stimulate the growth of fat-derived adult stem cells to become new bone and nerve cells to repair injuries. They have recently shown that, using these materials, new nerve and bone cells can be generated that might one day be used clinically to repair damaged tissues. The laboratory is also investigating whether new blood vessels can develop within these therapeutic nanomaterials to help improve nerve and bone growth leading to enhanced tissue regeneration. Their long-term goal is to improve care and outcomes of patients by using their own body's fat-derived adult stem cells to repair injuries that cannot be treated by traditional methods.