The Wound Healing Society is pleased to offer recognition to deserving young scientists in the wound healing field. The purpose of the Young Investigator Award is to underscore the importance of furthering research in the area of wound healing by recognizing and rewarding top young researchers, and by facilitating the presentation and scientific discussion of new discoveries.

2022 Winners & Nominees

Young Investigator Award Winner
Kellen Chen
Characterization of Mechanoresponsive Inflammatory Cells during Wound Healing

Young Investigator Award Nominees
Harrison Shawa
COMPARING TRANSCRIPTOMES OF PAIRED ACUTE AND CHRONIC WOUNDS

Mateusz Wietecha
HEALING PHASE-SPECIFIC SIGNATURES OF WOUND FIBROBLASTS AND MATRIX PATTERNS DEFINE CANCER-ASSOCIATED FIBROBLAST SUBTYPES AND PREDICT CANCER OUTCOME

Nurul Jannah Nasir
DEFEROXAMINE IMPROVES THE WOUND MICROENVIRONMENT AND IMPROVES MUSCLE REGENERATION IN A MOUSE MODEL OF PRESSURE ULCERS

Poornachander Guda
DIABETIC DYSFUNCTIONAL EXOSOMES (DIAEXOSOMES) IMPAIR RESOLUTION OF HUMAN WOUND INFLAMMATION

Amanda Spielman
ADIPOCYTES TRANSITION TO PRO-FIBROTIC FIBROBLASTS AND CONTRIBUTE TO MUSCLE FIBROSIS FOLLOWING NERVE INJURY

Nicholas Guardino
Overcoming radiation induced oral fibrosis through the down regulation of Wnt signaling using BMP-7 inhibitors

Sara Ud-Din
A DOUBLE-BLIND RANDOMISED PLACEBO-CONTROLLED CLINICAL TRIAL DEMONSTRATES THAT PRE-EMPTIVE PRIMING OF HUMAN SKIN WITH TOPICAL EPIGALLOCATECHIN-3-GALLATE IMPROVES CUTANEOUS SKIN SCARRING

2021 Winners & Nominees

Young Investigator Award Winner
Shamiik Mascharak
Wnt-active Engrailed-1 Lineage-negative Fibroblasts Mediate Postnatal Skin Regeneration

Young Investigator Award Finalists
Jelena Marjanovic
MiR-193b-3p In Diabetic Foot Ulcers: A Master Regulator Of Impaired Wound Healing And A Tumor Protector

Umang Parikh
ENERGY METABOLISM GOVERNS THE DEGREE OF FIBROSIS IN DERMAL WOUND HEALING

Walker Short
Interleukin-10 Producing T-Lymphocytes Mitigate Dermal Fibrosis

Young Investigator Award Nominees
Juan Francisco Cortes Troncoso
Exosome Topical Therapy Delivered In Bioinspired Synthetic Protein Hydrogel Enhances Cutaneous Healing Of Diabetic Wounds

Nicholas Guardino
Adipocytes In Dermal Wounds Undergo Conversion To Pro-fibrotic Fibroblasts That Contribute To Scar Formation

Dominic Henn
CRISPR/Cas9 Editing Of Autologous Dendritic Cells To Enhance Angiogenesis And Wound Healing

Ana Tellechea
Novel Antibiotic-Free Synthetic Wound Matrix Prevents Wound Infection And Promotes Healing

2020 Winners & Nominees

Young Investigator Award Winner
Aayushi Uberoi
Commensal Microbiota Regulates Skin Barrier Function And Repair Via Signaling Through The Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor

Young Investigator Award Finalists

Janos Berrera
Digit Tip Regeneration Relies On Germ Layer Restricted Wnt And Hedgehog Signaling

Joseph Kuhn
Human Nrf2-Active Multipotent Stromal Cell Exosomes Reverse Pathologic Diabetic Wound Healing

Christopher Turner
Granzyme B Contributes To Pressure Injury Severity In Aged Skin

Young Investigator Award Nominees

Trevor Leonardo
Human Tissue Repair And Regeneration - Regulatory Landscapes In Response To Injury

Nava Rijal
Theoretical-Experimental Approach To Develop Electrotherapy For Diabetic Wound Healing

Alvaro Villerreal Ponce
Epidermal Nrf2 Orchestrates Tissue Regeneration Through Regulation Of Ccl2

2019 Winners & Nominees

Epigenetic Mapping of Wound Edge from Chronic Wound Patients Using Next Generation Sequencing
Kanhaiya Singh

Finalists Yasser Almadani Georgios Theocharidis Hima Vangapandu

Nominees Garrick Gu Karamjeet Kaur Christopher Turner Ji Won Son

2018 Winners & Nominees

Winners Ivan Jozic

Nominees/Finalists Michael Hu Georgios Theocharidis Amitava Das

2017 Winners

Winners Lindsay Kalan & Mohammed Ashrafi

2016 Winners & Nominees

Winners Mithun Sinha (ETRS Representative for 2017) Simon Barr Rivka Stone Michael Hu

Nominees/Finalists Amita Das Maggie Hodges Sridevi Nagaraja Bing Yu

2015 Winners & Nominees

Winners Natalie Jumper (ETRS Representative for 2016) Michael Hu Graham Walmsley Brian Wulff

Nominees/Finalists Kasturi Ganesh Qing Lin Monika Vinish Joshua Vorstenbosch

The WHS would like to thank the first place winner of the 2014 European Tissue Repair Society (Edinburgh, Scotland, September 10-12, 2014) for presenting at our meeting.
NOVEL FUNCTION FOR MYELOID CELL-RESTRICTED INSULIN/IGF-1 SIGNALING IN SKIN WOUND HEALING AND INFLAMMATION
Jana Knuever – Dermatology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

2014 Winners & Nominees

Amitava Das
Dominik Duscher
Kasturi Ganesh Barki
Michael Hu
Ravi Sood
Sandeep Dhall
Subhadip Ghatek
Sukanta Bhattacharya

The WHS would like to thank the first place winner of the 2013 European Tissue Repair Society (Reims, France, October 23-25, 2013) for presenting at our meeting.
Polyelectrolyte Scaffolds for Cardiac Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy
Raya Bushkalova – Institute of Metabolic and Cardiovascular Diseases, France

2013 Winners & Nominees

Alice King
Edna Suarez
Amitava Das
Shailee Patel
Kasturi Ganesh
Frank Lalezarzadeh
Guo-You Zhang

The WHS would like to thank the first place winner of the 2013 European Tissue Repair Society (Athens, Greece, October 4-5, 2012) for presenting at our meeting.
Activin- A Over-Expression in the Murine Lung Causes Pathology that Simulates Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)
Eirini Apostolou – - Institute of Metabolic and Cardiovascular Diseases, Toulouse, France

2012 Winners & Nominees

Winners Swathi Balaji (ETRS Representative for 2013) Yuk Chan Amitava Das Haley Lindner

Nominees/Finalists Alexander Cameron Sandeep Dhall Johan Junker Miguel Perez-Aso

The WHS would like to thank the first place winner of the 2011 European Tissue Repair Society (Amsterdam, The Netherlands, October 5-7, 2011) for presenting at our meeting.
Impaired bone function and dwarfism in mice lacking collagen-binding integrins α2β1 and α11β1 is caused by severely diminished IGF-1 levels
Katrin Blumbach – Dermatology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

2011 Winners & Nominees

Winners Victor Wong (ETRS Representative for 2012) Louis Le Melani Lighter Raul Sebastian

Nominees/Finalists Yu Jiaao Parit Patel Farhatullah Syed Muhammad Sultan

The WHS would also like to welcome the first place winner of the 2010 European Tissue Repair Society (Gent, Belgium, September 15-17, 2010) Tina Lucas - Department of Dermatology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

2010 Winners & Nominees

Winners Bianca Chin, MD (ETRS Representative for 2011) James L. Crawford, BS Anne Han, MD Michelle C. Naylor, MD

Nominees/Finalists Parag Butala, MD Keijiro Hori, MD Denis Knobel, MD Louis D. Le, MD

The WHS would also like to thank the first place winner of the 2009 ETRS (Limoges, France, August 2009) Young Investigator competition: Anca Sindrilaru from Ulm Germany

2009 Winners & Nominees

Winners John Paul Tutela Syed-Rehan Hussain Rongpei Lan Phuong Nguyen

Nominees/Finalists Selma Cetin-Ferra Taro Koyama Kenrick Kuwahara Yiqun Mo

Previous Young Investigator Award Winners

2011	Victor Wong - Stanford University, Stanford,CA USA MECHANICAL FORCES DICTATE MATRIX PHENOTYPE FOLLOWING CUTANEOUS INJURY VIA SKIN-SPECIFIC FOCAL ADHESION KINASE SIGNALING
2011	Louis Le - The Center For Molecular Fetal Therapy, Cincinnati,OH USA IL-10 RECAPITULATES THE FETAL REGENERATIVE PHENOTYPE BY REGULATION OF HYALURONAN SYNTHASES VIA A STAT3 DEPENDENT MECHANISM
2011	Melani Lighter - Plastic Surgery Research, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec Canada OVEREXPRESSION OF CD109 ATTENUATES CUTANEOUS INFLAMMATION AND FIBROTIC RESPONSES IN VIVO
2011	Raul Sebastian - Department Of Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School Of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland USA BURN WOUND HEALING IMPAIRMENT BY AGING IS ASSOCIATED WITH DECREASED ANGIOGENESIS AND HOMING OF BONE MARROW DERIVED ANGIOGENIC CELLS IN MICE
2010	Bianca Chin, MD Distinct Gene Express Patterns Exist in Fetal Dermal Wounds that Heal Regeneratively and Fetal Dermal Wounds That Heal Reparatively with Scar
2010	James Crawford, BS Breaking the Cycle of Injury: Topical Puma Silencing Decreases Reactive Oxygen Species Generation and Improves Diabetic Wound Healing
2010	Anne Han, MD Novel Molecular Techniques to Characterize the Microbial Flora in Chronic Wounds
2010	Michelle Naylor, MD Keloid Patients Have an Increased Propensity for Fibrocyte Differentiation
2009	Rongpei Lan, PhD Epithelial Regenerative Signaling Studies Using A Novel Wounding Device
2009	Phuong D. Nguyen, MD Mediators Of Increased Apoptosis In Stressed Diabetic Fibroblasts: P53 Control Of BAX And BCL-2
2009	Syed-Rehan A. Hussain, PhD Microrna Regulates Cell Proliferation And Migration Of Human Keratinocytes And Endothelial Cells
2009	John Paul Tutela, MD Improved Diabetic Wound Healing Via Topical Gene Therapy: A Vascular Mechanism
2008	S.S. Scherer Biodegradable Poly-n-Acetyl Glucosamine (PGLCNAC) Nanofibers Enhance Wound Healing by Activating Cell Migration, Angiogenesis and Cell Proliferation
2008	A.R. Maldonado Identification of Altered Genomic Signatures in Diabetic Endothelial Progenitor Cells Through a Computational Systems Biology Approach
2008	J. Vorstenbosch Trangenic Mice Overexpressing CD109, A Novel TGF-Beta Co-Receptor, in the Skin, Display Elevated Expression of Collagen 1 and Fibronectin
2008	E.I. Chang Accumulation of Oxygen Free Radicals Impairs HIF-1 Alpha Transactivation Resulting in a Decreased Response to Ischemic Injury
2007	M.L. Petreaca VEGF Promotes Macrophage Apoptosis Through Stimulation of Tumor Necrosis Factor Superfamily Member 14 (TNFSF14/Light)
2007	S.S. Vaikunth Cultured Skin Substitutes (CSS): An Ideal Model for the Study of Angiogenesis and Vasculogenesis
2007	C.F. Schierle Silicone Gel Occlusion Suppresses Epidermal Activation in a Murine Cutaneous Wound Model
2007	P.R. Arany Healing Wound as a Tumor Microenvironment Niche
2006	R. Aslam Neovascularization Induced by Lactate May Involve Stem Cell Homing
2006	MJ Reiss COX-2 Inhibits MMP-9 Induction by TNF-Alpha in Skin
2006	A. Bizet CD109 Is a Novel TGF-Beta Accessory Receptor that Inhibits TGF-Beta Signaling in Keratinocytes
2006	B. Naik-Mathuria Negative Pressure Wound Therapy is Safe and Effective in Children of All Ages
2005	Hakim K. Said HRE-Luciferase Transfection Quantifies Tissue level ISCHEMIA in a Reabbit Ear Wound Model
2005	Corrie L. Gallant Behm The Role of Genetics on Wound Contraction in a Porcine Model
2005	Jennifer Yeh Altered Skin Wound Healing in Homeobox Gene MSX-2 Knockout Mice
2005	Ashley E. Ducale Inihibition of Mitogen Activated Kinase-Mediated Hyaluronan Expression by Glucocorticoids
2004	Karen Cross Determination of Burn Depth Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy
2004	Mimi Leong Light-Emitting Diode Therapy Increases VEGF and No Production in Raw 264.7 Cells
2004	David Rosenberg Aged Rats Display Increased Ischemia-Reperfusion Skin Injury in the In Vivo Magnet Model
2004	Esther Wassermann A Chronic Pressure Sore Nude Mouse Model
2003	Sundeep Keswani Adenoviral Mediated Gene Transfer of PDGF-B Enhances Wound Healing in Type I and Type II Diabetic Wounds
2003	Kurtis Moyer Inhibition of GAP Junction Intercellular Communication Alters Mast Cell-Fibroblast Collagen Lattice Contraction
2003	Wendy Parker TGF-BETA1 Binding by Endoglin Requires Betaglycan but no the Type II Signaling Receptor
2003	Jian Fei Wang Connective Tissue Growth Factor RNAI Suppresses Porcine Skin Fibroblast Cell Gene Expression
2002	Howard Levinson Blockade of Actin-Myosin Filament Sliding Inhibits Wound Contraction
2002	Rainer Mittermayr The protective effect of a novel No-Donor on Ischemia/Reperfusion injury in a rat epigastric flap model
2002	Yubin Shi Carp, A Cardiac Ankyrin Repeat Protein, Is Upregulated During Wound Healing And Induces Angiogenesis In Experimental Granulation Tissue
2002	Neil Bhowmick The conditional knock-out of the transforming growth factor type II receptor in fibroblasts results in impaired wound healing
2001	Colman Byrnes, MD DNA-Growth Factor Transfection to Enhance Cutaneous Wound Healing
2001	Jagajan Karmacharyna, MD Adenoviral Mediated Overexpression of Soluble Growth Factors and Their Effects in Impaired Wound Healing
2001	Susan Opalenik, PhD The Kinetic Contribution of Bone Marrow-Derived Cells to Healing Cutaneous Wounds
2001	Colin Riodan, MD Analysis of the Matrix Metalloproteinase Profile in Different Chronic Wounds After Surgical Debridement