Though woundcare is now a well established specialty, fundamental questions remain unanswered with respect to the pathologies which result in non-healing wounds. WoundCentrics is helping to champion the cause of basic wound research by promoting provider involvement in active research.
Case in point is an exciting partnership between the US Army Institute for Surgical Research (ISR), and one of our clinicians, CEO Marcus Gitterle, MD. The ISR was founded to focus on the scientific aspects of wound healing, an issue that impacts countless warfighters and civilians annually. The capabilities of their primary lab in San Antonio, Texas, are without peer in this field.
To help advance the clinical science of wound healing, Dr. Gitterle began a long-term collaboration with the US Army, designed to harness the synergy between our large clinical footprint and provider expertise, and their best-of-breed laboratory expertise.
The first study under this collaborative agreement was launched in February, 2016. This study is expected to be the first complete study of the human wound microbiome, including all bacterial, fungal and viral components.
In addition, the study represents the first use of “transcriptomics,” in non-healing wounds, allowing researchers to analyze signaling between microbiome organisms, thought to be a potential source for healing interventions.
Our goal in this research collaboration is to help advance understanding of the complex role of the human microbiome in contributing to non-healing wounds, and ultimately to help identify solutions to wound healing challenges through this understanding.
We are aware that many organizations in woundcare pursue research affiliations, but these are predominantly relationships that create revenue, and the focus is predominantly on products, rather than fundamental scientific insight.
WoundCentrics is proud to facilitate important research that is not funded by industry, and which has the potential to significantly advance the science of wound healing. It’s our way of “giving back.”