The Thomas K. Hunt Endowed Lecture was established in 2013 to honor the legacy of Dr. Hunt who is a leader in wound healing research and a founding member of the Wound Healing Society. The purpose of this lecture is to inspire and educate wound healing researchers on related research innovations. Every year an honorary speaker is chosen by the Wound Healing Foundation and not limited to those who are directly involved in wound healing research but includes investigators who demonstrate the ability to bridge scientific gaps and cross boundaries through the use of basic physiology to understand healing processes in multiple organ systems. Dr Schultz will discuss his pioneering work in discovering and developing techniques and products to improve wound repair in different tissue varieties. Utilizing his knowledge of biochemistry coupled with inflammation has led to multiple commercial products that reduce scar formation, reduce bacterial biofilm formation, debride necrotic tissue, and treat pulmonary infections in COVID patients. Dr Schultz's research has explored new areas of in antimicrobial technologies that use the immune system pathways of the hosts to prevent or combat developing, persistent, or resistant bacterial infections.

The use of directed energy devices such as ultrasound, microcurrent, radiofrequency, and light have been used in wound care. Recent mechanistic insights are now improving the rigor and reproducibility of these clinical applications. The talks in this session provide a statewells-of-the-art update on the field.

Wound healing and response to treatments can vary substantially between individuals leading to heterogeneity of outcomes. Understanding the underlying variables that affect wound healing may allow wound treatments to be more closely tailored to the individual to address barriers in healing. Chronic wounds in older individuals are among the most devastating and difficult to treat age-related ailments and are strongly intertwined with a sense of self-worth and quality of life. As the population ages, a subset of older adults is disproportionately vulnerable to developing chronic wounds and is at especially high risk for iatrogenic complications with wound care interventions. In these frail older individuals, wounds are usually caused by decline in more than one domain of function, in contrast to younger individuals. In this session, we will review the underpinnings of poor wound healing in frail older adults and discuss approach to older adults with wounds including comprehensive risk and functional assessment, identification of red flags, medications, special considerations for management of wounds in frailty. Furthermore, disparities in access to health care can impact outcomes and complications. We will also explore the effects of race, rurality, and socioeconomic status on wound healing responses in this session.

International Collaboration Research for Stoma Patients: The First Anorectal Transplantation in a Canine Model
Jun Araki, MD, PhD

Identification of Inflammation-related Micrornas in Type 2 Diabetic-derived Neutrophils and Functional Analysis
Takahiro Umehara, PhD

The Japanese Society for Wound Healing (JSWH) aims to contribute to society through promotion and development of basic and clinical research concerning wound healing and ultimately by improving clinical care in wound healing patients. In this session, two distinguished speakers from the JSWH will present innovative research findings on the role of inflammation in wound repair and regeneration.

Following a brief introduction of the program, the competition will focus on two areas of wound research. A translational track (clinical and research studies) and a commercial track (products and devices). Each participants will have 5 minutes to present their work in a single PowerPoint slide. Presentations will be followed by Q&A from judges and a winner will be selected. This session is a WHS Members Only Event. Lunch will be Provided. Supported by, Alira Health & Team Technologies.

Extracellular vesicles (exosomes) are particles released by cells that carry bioactive molecules (lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids) and regulate intercellular communication. Inclusion of viable cells into wound repair products remains a technical challenge, and the alternative approach of incorporating their shed exosomes carries great potential to mediate key therapeutic effects of pro-reparative cells. In this session we will examine the experimental data establishing a role for exosomes in wound healing.

Wound healing encompasses regulation of responses from levels of the tissue to the eigenome. The talks in this session will discuss innovations in the study of basic mechanisms that regulate fibrosis and wound healing across different organs.

Regulation of Wound Healing by an Epidermal Serpin
Re-epithelializationinvolves a partial, transient epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-like state allowing epidermal keratinocytes to mobilize towards the wound bed. The precise mechanisms regulating transient epidermal EMT in wound repair remain unknown. We identified a serine protease inhibitor (serpin) that is expressed in the skin specifically upon wounding. Preliminary studies showed in vitro and in vivo wounds treated with recombinant forms of the serpin exhibit accelerated healing. This WHF 3M Fellowship funded research aims to 1) identify the cellular signaling pathways involved and 2) investigate the reparative and immunologic responses of serpin knock out mice wounds thereby identifying a potential new therapeutic target.

Inhibition of Pressure Ulcers Development with Nanosilk
The fastest growing segment of our population is those over 65 years of age. In the US, the number of people older than 65 years is estimated to reach 71 million in 2030. In addition, the combination of aging and the increased rates of obesity and cardiovascular disease has led to more patients with decreased mobility and the need of assistance in their daily activities. A major morbidity of decreased mobility is the development of pressure ulcers (PU). PU take a long time to heal and the treatment is costly for both the patient and healthcare system. In the US, PU cost an estimated $11 billion dollars every year, with up to $70,000 being spent on a single wound. In addition, the term "never event" is commonly applied to PU, perpetuating the impression that they are always associated with medical error. The Center for Medicaid and State Operations (CMS) announced that Medicare will no longer pay the extra cost of treating PU stages 3 and 4 that occur while the patient is in the hospital. PU add on average at least $700 per ulcer to Medicare hospital payments. In order to help patients have a better quality of life and reduce the burden of PU, we've developed a nanosilk-based medical device that is low cost, easy to use, and has a great potential to prevent the development of PU.

In this session, young investigators involved in cutting-edge research will compete for the WHS Young Investigator Award. The winner will present his/her work at the ETRS meeting. Oral presentations will feature the top eight abstracts submitted to the WHS by young investigators as well as the winner of the ETRS Young Investigator Award.

This session will focus on the multiple facets of cellular senescence and tumor biology as related to development, stress responses, and normal wound healing, and their dysfunction in age- and diabetes-related wound healing impairments. Recent advances in understanding senescent cells in the context of tissue repair and their interactions with the immune system to promote or inhibit tissue repair will be discussed.

Oral abstract presentations will feature the highest scoring abstracts submitted to the WHS.

Oral abstract presentations will feature the highest scoring abstracts submitted to the WHS.

This session will provide an informal, interactive forum for trainees and new investigators on a wide range of topics in wound research and practice including scientific publications, grant writing, professional mentoring, developing a professional network and work-life balance among others. Several senior WHS members and established investigators will share their experiences and suggestions in individual topic-based table forums. Attendees are welcome to mingle and interact with various members.

This session will focus on recent advances in biomaterials research for applications in wound care and tissue regeneration. The emphasis will be on regenerative engineering approaches and how these approaches can lead to the development of patient-specific medical devices. Approaches will include 3D bioprinting techniques and tunable biomaterials to fabricate complex, multi-material, and multi-cellular engineered tissues.

New advanced wound care diagnostics and telehealth methods are being developed to provide actionable details to the clinicians and wound care practitioners to guide debridement, remove biofilms, and predict wound healing. The speakers will cover latest methods of using fluorescence and hyper spectral imaging to examine the status of the wound. in addition we will provide real world evidence on Charcot Foot and new research collaboration to follow the patients journey to better guide patient care from the home setting to the clinic.

The Diabetic Foot Consortium (DFC), funded by the National Institutes of Health is the first-ever multicenter network to study diabetic foot ulcers. Clinical Research sites within DFC network serve as an excellent resource for rigorous wound healing clinical trials. The session will discuss ongoing activities and future initiatives, how to participate in this unique initiative or become a satellite CRU, how to utilize the resources available (e.g., biorepository) for your research.

This session will highlight the highest scoring abstracts selected for poster presentations. Eight short 'rapid-fire' poster talks will be featured. Presenters will have one slide and two minutes to summarize novel research findings, then one minute to answer questions. This session will immediately precede the poster gala, where all

Speakers from the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) will discuss how potential products are classified and generally proceed through the approval process. Use of data from in vitro, animal, and human in vivo data in the different approval processes will also be discussed. The importance of quality data and key endpoint requirements for wound treatment product regulatory review in regard to the complexity of wound subject health will be touched on.

Oral presentations will feature the highest scoring abstracts submitted to the WHS.