Annette Wysocki

Professor and Associate Dean for Research

Research areas include wound healing, proteolytic degradation of extracellular matrix, cell adhesion and migration, tissue engineering and biomaterials, skin biology, bioethics, responsible conduct of research, research policy

Current Research

The focus of our laboratory is on understanding the biological mechanisms responsible for delayed healing in chronic wounds. We combine the use of clinical materials, such as wound fluid and tissue, with the powerful tools of cell/molecular biology to discover the mechanisms underlying the pathophysiology of delayed healing. We discovered the degradation of fibronectin in chronic wounds, the activation and over-expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-2; MMP-9) and serine proteases in chronic wound fluid; and identified bacteria capable of secreting proteases that can degrade extracellular matrix substrates important for healing.

Ongoing efforts are directed at studying how cells respond to different environmental conditions that may affect cell migration using an in vitro wound model and dermal equivalent. We are actively pursuing the development of a therapeutic strategy to inhibit proteolytic degradation of extracellular matrix to promote wound healing. Collaborative efforts have been directed at projects on keloids, pressure ulcers, colonizing and infecting bacteria, bacterial proteases, and topical antiseptic agents. More recently our laboratory has also pursued studies of POSS-based nanomaterials to develop cartilage/synovial fluid substitutes and hemostatic agents. Other efforts are directed at bioethics, responsible conduct of research, and science policy.

Learn more at www.umass.edu/nursing/faculty-staff/administration-faculty-research-office/annette-wysocki

Academic Background

BSN East Carolina University,1978
MSN East Carolina University, 1980
PhD University of Texas at Austin, 1986
NIH Postdoctoral Research Fellow: UT-Southwestern, Dallas, TX; Weil-Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, 1986-1991

Selected Publications

Wysocki, A. B., Bhalla, S., Tierno, Jr., P. M., Stevens-Riley, M., & Propst, R-C. (2013). Proteolytic activity by multiple bacterial species isolated from chronic venous leg ulcers degrades matrix substrates. Biological Research in Nursing, 15, 407-415. DOI: 10.1177/1099800412464683

Wysocki, A. B., Tran, A., Janorkar, A. V. (2012). Cell migration and proliferation in bionanohybrids composed of Type II collagen and POSS amphiphiles. NanoLIFE, 2, 1241001-1 -10. DOI: 10.1142/S1793984412410012

Vick, L. R., Propst, R. C., Bozeman, R., & Wysocki, A. B.. (2009). The effect of Dakin’s solution on components of a dermal equivalent. Journal of Surgical Research, 155, 54-64

Frank, D. N., Wysocki, A. B., Specht-Glick, D. D., Rooney, A., Feldman, R. A., St. Amand, A., Pace, N. R., & Trent, J. (2009). Microbial diversity in chronic open wounds. Wound Repair and Regeneration, 17, 163-172

Tuan, T.-L., Hwu, P., Ho, W., Yiu, P., Chang., R., Wysocki, A., & Benya, P. (2008). Adenoviral overexpression and small interfering RNA suppression demonstrate that plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 produces elevated collagen accumulation in normal and keloid fibroblasts. American Journal of Pathology, 173, 1311-1325.

Malinda, K. M., Wysocki, A. B., Koblinski, J., Kleinman, H. K., & Ponce, M. L. (2008). Angiogenic laminin peptides stimulate wound healing. International Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, 40, 2771-2780

Wysocki, A. B., Kusakabe, A. O., Chang, S., & Tuan, T.-L. (1999). Temporal expression of urokinase plasminogen activator, plasminogen activator inhibitor and gelatinase-B in chronic chronic wound fluid switches from a chronic to acute wound profile with progression to healing. Wound Repair and Regeneration, 7, 154-165.

Wysocki, A. B., Staiano-Coico, L., & Grinnell, F. (1993). Wound fluid from chronic leg ulcers contains elevated levels of metalloproteinases MMP-2 and MMP-9. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 101(1), 64-68.

Grinnell, F., Ho, C-H., & Wysocki, A. B. (1992). Degradation of fibronectin and vitronectin in chronic wound fluid: Analysis by cell blotting, immunoblotting, and cell adhesion assays. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 98(4), 410-416.

Annette Wysocki

Institute for Applied Life Sciences