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Integrating Microstructural Growth Models with Preclinical Data to Advance Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Patch Repair

Award Number: R21HD115087
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/01/2026
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2028

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Integrating Microstructural Growth Models with Preclinical Data to Advance Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Patch Repair - PROJECT ABSTRACT: Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a life-threatening birth defect that affects approximately 1 in 2,500–5,000 live births. It is caused by a defect in the diaphragm that allows abdominal organs to migrate into the chest cavity, often requiring surgical repair. Large defects are typically reconstructed using mesh patches, most commonly non-resorbable synthetic materials such as GORE-TEX® or resorbable collagen-based biomeshes. Despite these interventions, recurrence rates remain high, exceeding 30–50% within the first few years post-repair. This is largely due to rapid postnatal growth, mechanical failure at the patch–tissue interface, and alterations in tissue structure that reduce long-term repair strength. Mesh materials are cleared by the FDA 510k as substantially equivalent to other devices but lack preclinical or clinical testing specific to CDH. Current animal models provide some insight into material performance and healing, but they do not fully replicate the growth dynamics and tissue remodeling observed in pediatric patients. Consequently, surgeons must currently select patches intraoperatively based on limited pre-clinical or clinical evidence, since benchtop and preclinical animal models cannot fully capture the challenges present in human pathology. This project addresses this gap by developing a computational model to simulate interactions between mesh patches and growing pathological tissues. By integrating experimental data from laboratory studies, animal models, and human cadaver tissue experiments, the model will predict how growth, material degradation, and tissue remodeling contribute to recurrence risk. Central Hypothesis By combining growth dynamics, material breakdown, and tissue remodeling, and verifying the model with human tissue data, it can better predict points of mechanical weakness and translate findings from animal models to human patients. Aim 1 will quantify how patch materials degrade and change mechanically over time in an animal model and develop a detailed computational model to predict how growth influences healing and stress at the patch–tissue interface, validating predictions with experimental measurements. Aim 2 will experimentally test human diaphragm tissues to characterize their microstructure and passive mechanical properties and will biochemically alter samples to simulate disease conditions. These data will be integrated with the growth and repair model from Aim 1 to build a humanized model that predicts how patches and tissue interact and how interface stresses evolve over time in patient anatomy. This work will generate an advanced computational model that links structural, biological, and mechanical factors to patch performance in CDH repair. By making animal studies more translatable to human conditions and providing a basis for rational biomaterial selection, this approach has the potential to inform future surgical planning and device design for pediatric patients with this challenging condition.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $438,349 )
2026	2026	GEORGIA TECH RESEARCH CORP	926 DALNEY ST NW	ATLANTA	GA	30318	FULTON	USA	Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research	000	1	7/28/2026	NEW	$438,349
														Subtotal = $438,349

Grand Total All Awards = $438,349

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Integrating Microstructural Growth Models with Preclinical Data to Advance Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Patch Repair

Award Number: R21HD115087

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/01/2026

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2028

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