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Wound, Burn, and Inflammation Program

In the United States, among patients with diabetes, 15 percent develop a foot ulcer, and 12 to 24 percent of individuals with a foot ulcer require amputation. With funding (1U01DK119099-01) from the National Institutes of Health, the Center for Regenerative Medicine and Engineering at Indiana University School of Medicine is able to treat diabetic foot ulcer with leading expertise.

The center is equipped with an interdisciplinary research and education program that delivers cutting-edge innovation that leads to the development of a Clinical Research Unit (CRU). The Center for Regenerative Medicine and Engineering is the major participant in this multi-site research consortium, focused on propelling new scientific discoveries to be expeditiously translated to better care for patients with diabetic foot ulcers.

The center is focused on providing wound-healing expertise and wound care of patient populations with diabetic foot ulcers. Using an efficient clinical and scientific infrastructure, the center is developing evidentiary criteria for qualifying/validating the targeted diabetic foot ulcer biomarker. Research faculty are developing and implementing novel strategies to monitor and address the confounding factors relevant to biomarker study outcomes. The center will establish Clinical Research Unit administration and achieve Diabetic Foot Consortium (DFC) readiness.

Comprehensive Wound Center

The Indiana Center for Regenerative Medicine and Engineering works with the IU Health Comprehensive Wound Center in treating complicated and non-healing wounds, using the most current, advanced wound dressings and leading-edge wound-care technologies to provide the best possible outcome. Learn more about our research and facilities.

CWC Brochure

Burn and Biofilm Infection

When the barrier function of the skin is breached during burn wound, microbial infection colonizes the injured area. Microbial infestation leads to compromised host response to injury. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institutes of Health estimate that more than 65 percent of all human infections caused by microbes exhibit a biofilm phenotype.

Pathogenic biofilms are microbial communities within self-secreted extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) collectively made up of carbohydrates, microbial proteins and DNA along with host substances. Such physical protective barrier confer antibiotic tolerance to microbes, thereby giving benefit to biofilm over planktonic form. This gives biofilms a more resistant version of infection and generates a potential candidate for antimicrobial strategies.

At the Center for Regenerative Medicine and Engineering, research efforts are focused on targeting molecular pathways to retard biofilm-inducible pathological mechanisms.