Posted on December 4, 2025 by Sean M. Wood
Dr. Maria Gonzalez Porras is busy in her lab teaching fat how to accelerate healing and protect the body against the extreme cold. She won a $100,000 grant in the spring of 2024 to develop proof of concept for using tiny particles to control how fat cells produce heat when the body is exposed to cold. Now she has a $500,000 grant to go from concept to creation.
Dr. Gonzalez Porras' lab has developed a nanoparticle therapy that significantly improves wound healing from frostbite.
"In our research, we are seeing both an improvement in the healing aspect and vascularization,” Gonzalez Porras, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering said. “We were also able to demonstrate that following treatment with our nanotherapy, the system maintained temperature more effectively during cold exposure and that was really exciting."
Her lab has partnered with the Army Institute of Surgical Research to test the therapy in more realistic and severe battlefield-style injuries, where frostbite is combined with other trauma that reduces blood flow. The concept originated from research into "brown fat," a heat-producing type of fat studied for combating obesity.
“When we are born, we carry large amounts of brown fat,” Gonzalez Porras said. “Babies rely on this brown fat because their muscles aren’t developed enough to shiver, so this tissue helps them maintain body temperature. As we grow, most of that brown fat disappears. Now imagine if we could take the excess white fat that stores energy and transform it into brown fat that burns it. One of our most exciting tools is a tiny, engineered particle wrapped in fat. Inside, it carries a natural compound that turns lazy fat into active, energy-burning fat.”
The treatment is currently administered with a subcutaneous injection. Gonzalez Porras said the next step would be to create a cream that could be applied to protect against frostbite and improve wound healing.
“We think that by creating some type of cream or solution, we can create a transdermal delivery system for soldiers or outdoor workers or whoever wants to use this therapy,” Gonzalez Porras said.
— Sean M. Wood
