Vascular Biology Lab receives grant to advance complex wound treatments

The SVI Vascular Biology team have received a generous research grant from the LEO Foundation, Denmark, an organisation dedicated to curing skin diseases across the globe.

The grant funds the lab’s work to create an alternate treatment for hundreds of thousands of patients with complex wounds. These wounds are commonly created by severe trauma, cancer resection or chronic conditions.

Currently, multilayered vascularised skin flaps are the mechanism used to treat these wounds. Unlike thin skin grafts, they must retain their blood supply to survive. These procedures are complex, as highly trained surgeons harvest tissue from a distant body site and surgically transfer them to the wound.

The team, consisting of Dr Kate Firipis, Associate Professor Geraldine Mitchell, Dr Anne Kong, Professor Wayne Morrison, seeks to 3D print human skin flaps in a lab to reconstruct the skin. The lab-grown cells negate the need to create a second wound on the patient’s body, reducing surgery length, risk of complications and time in hospital.

Kate, who applied for the grant, noted that the funding will empower the team to make significant strides in patient care for complex wounds, an area historically lacking in modern solutions.

“We sincerely appreciate the LEO Foundation’s support of our work. I can’t wait to start the project.”

Kate also recently received a Rising Star Fellowship from the Hyams Foundation, another contribution that will help progress the lab’s pioneering work.