Silkworm Cocoons Aiding in the Surgical Repair of Injured or Diseased Tissues—Whitney Stoppel—Stoppel Lab, University of Florida
Finding Genius Podcast
Richard Jacobs
4.4 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 13 February 2019
⏱️ 38 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Stoppel Lab at the University of Florida opened its doors and accepted its first Ph.D. student just a few months ago, but they're already knee-deep in an exciting endeavor which could aid in the repair of injured or diseased tissues in patients: designing natural material that has the same characteristics and structure of natural tissue and is constructed to match the wound healing rate of different patients with different injuries or illnesses.
While other scientists may be working on similar projects, the Stoppel Lab is going about this in a unique way, by using a natural biopolymer extracted from the cocoon of silkworms. When these cocoons are washed, broken down into viscous solutions, and made insoluble, they can be used to create fully formed scaffolds which will be used in different tissue structures. The acellular platform being created has many beneficial characteristics that make it convenient for use in the surgery room. For example, it's easy to sterilize and easy to store, which means it doesn't have to be made on demand.
Whitney Stoppel, Ph.D. runs the Stoppel Lab and joins the podcast to discuss all the ins and outs of the chemistry and physiology behind the work being done and the greatest challenges faced so far. Press play for the full conversation and visit www.stoppellab.com to learn more.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | You're listening to the Future Tech Podcast with Richard Jacobs. |
| 0:09.0 | Future Technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, |
| 0:11.8 | Stem Cells, 3D printing, gene editing, |
| 0:14.6 | Bitcoin, blockchain, the microbiome, quantum computing, virtual reality, and exploring space |
| 0:21.0 | are much closer than you might think. |
| 0:23.0 | In fact, many early versions of these technologies are in play right now, |
| 0:27.0 | and the companies that are using these technologies |
| 0:30.0 | for the focus of this podcast. |
| 0:32.0 | My goal for you, the listener, is to learn from these |
| 0:34.4 | podcasts. You may very well learn something that may change the course of your life |
| 0:38.2 | for the better. Steer you towards a new career or give you insight into |
| 0:42.4 | addressing a thorny medical problem. |
| 0:44.4 | Remember, this podcast and its content is informational and nature only. No medical, |
| 0:49.2 | tax, legal, financial, or psychological advice is being given. |
| 0:53.0 | If you've enjoyed the podcast, please listen, subscribe, like, and tell your friends about it. |
| 0:58.0 | Thank you. Hello, this is Richard Jacobs with the Future Tech and Future Tech health |
| 1:08.2 | podcasts and I have Whitney Stoppel, which is a professor of the University of |
| 1:12.1 | Florida, head of the Stoppel Lab, named after her, and we're going to be talking about her work there. |
| 1:18.0 | So Whitney, thank you for coming. |
| 1:19.0 | Thank you. |
| 1:20.0 | Yeah, the subject is a bit complicated, so it's probably better if you explain it, but can you talk about the nature of your work and the basics of it? |
| 1:27.5 | Sure, yeah. So at the University of Florida, my lab is really interested in understanding and designing natural |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Richard Jacobs, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Richard Jacobs and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.