Working towards a future of perfect organ repair.

Goal 01Organ innervation

Higher-quality innervation of repaired and transplanted organs.

When organs are transplanted or severely damaged, they have poor reinnervation. Highly regenerative animals in contrast can rebuild their peripheral nerves and have increased reinnervation. We are studying the mechanisms that guide peripheral nerves to rebuild themselves, innervate the organ, and what is preventing them from rebuilding in the first place.

Goal 02Fibrosis and regeneration

Healing that avoids scarring

With transcriptomics and AI-assisted analysis, we are looking for the decision point after injury where a tissue commits to rebuilding or to scarring, and the signals that push it one way or the other.

Goal 03Functional recovery

Evidence that the organ actually works.

We test whether structure predicts function — whether nerves regrew into the right places, whether those places reconnected with the brain, and whether the behavior that depends on that circuit return.

• Spiny mice regenerate wounded whisker pad skin with whisker follicles, muscles, and targeted innervation.Varholick, Kondapaneni & Maden (2025) · npj Regenerative Medicine
• Integrating regenerative biology with developmental psychobiology to understand behavioral recovery.Varholick (2025) · Developmental Dynamics
• Older spiny mice have delayed and spatially heterogeneous ear wound regeneration.Varholick et al. (2024) · Biology Open