Kacey Marra, Ph.D., is recognized for her interdisciplinary research in the design, synthesis, characterization and assessment of polymeric biomaterials. Kacey joined the Department of Surgery as an Assistant Professor in November 2002. Prior to that appointment she was with Carnegie Mellon University as a Research Scientist at the Institute for Complex Engineered Systems (ICES), and an associated faculty member in the Department of Biomedical Engineering (1998-2002), and the Department of Materials Science Engineering (2000-2002). In 1996-7, Kacey was a post-doctoral fellow at the Emory University School of Medicine, with advisor Elliot Chaikof, M.D., Ph.D. At Emory, Kacey worked on the synthesis of novel synthetic blood vessels.

Kacey is actively involved in research efforts investigating polymeric biomaterials for tissue engineering applications. Kacey is the Director of the Plastic Surgery Laboratory at Pitt. Her research is focused on the utilization of adipose-derived stem cells for tissue engineering applications such as cartilage, fat, and bone regeneration. Additionally, a major research effort in her laboratory is the long-term delivery of neurotrophic factors for long gap nerve repair.  Dr. Marra participates in numerous outreach programs, including a high school student program she developed in her laboratory (ROHSS: Research Opportunities for High School Students).  For further information, please visit her laboratory website:  http://kaceymarra.com.