Lauren Moffatt, PhD

Lauren Moffatt, PhD, serves as Director of the Firefighters' Burn and Surgical Research Laboratory at MedStar Washington Hospital Center (MWHC) and MedStar Health Research Institute (MHRI) in Washington, D.C. Dr. Moffatt's research focuses on cellular and molecular biology, specifically the pathophysiology of burn wounds and the molecular and cellular mechanisms of tissue injury and wound repair.

Dr. Moffatt is part of MedStar's research team at The Burn Center. This center encompasses all aspects of burn research (multi-center clinical trials plus pre-clinical, translational, and basic science research). With a 20-bed facility, the Burn Center at MWHC is one of largest burn centers in the United States. As part of this center, Dr. Moffatt works with numerous internal, private sector, and public sector groups to explore and conduct collaborative research opportunities.

Her extramural funding has come from companies, such as Potomac Electric Power Company, for research into industrial electrical injury; and Pfizer, for burn wound research; as well as from public agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health, for research on untreated hypertrophic scarring.

Dr. Moffatt earned her PhD in Animal Biotechnology and Biomedical Sciences from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA. She is a member of a number of professional societies, including the American Burn Association and the American Society for Microbiology, as well as a member of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at MHRI.

Research Interests

Dr. Moffatt's research interests include

• Burn and thermal injury
• Cellular and molecular biology
• Basic science

Selected Research

Examination of Local and Systemic In Vivo Responses to Electrical Injury Using an Electrical Burn Delivery System

Dr. Moffatt is co-investigator on a study (article published in the Journal of Burn Care & Research,2012;33:118-129) that seeks to create a more representative model for human injury and further elucidate the physics and pathophysiology of this unique form of tissue injury. This research may aid in designing stage-appropriate therapy and improving limb salvage.

View Dr. Moffatt's publications on PubMed