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 Campisi will discuss her pioneering work that explores the connection of aging with cellular senescence, and cancer and wounds. Her research on cell senescence and its driving influence on inflammation and subsequently on both aging and cancer has received international attention. This research has opened areas of exploration and discovery including DNA repair mechanisms and molecular pathways that protect cells from stress and promote cellular longevity.

This session will address emerging research on cellular metabolism as a driver of wound healing and regeneration responses. Speakers will cover recent insights into how mitochondria and cellular energetics influences phenotypes involved in tissue repair. Further, they will also discuss recent innovations in the tools being used to assess metabolism and mitochondrial dysfunction in normal and diseased states, including single-cell bioenergetics and optical imaging.

This session will focus on recent insights into wound mechanobiology and tissue electrical fields in wound healing. Speakers will discuss how tissue mechanics and the physical microenvironment of the wound influence tissue morphogenesis, hair follicle neogenesis, and regenerative wound healing. They will further address the chemical, molecular and electrical responses that influence wound healing phenotypes.

This session will address the roles of non-genetic factors and new cellular subtypes in wound healing. Speakers will discuss how these mechanisms affect healing in both acute and chronic wound wounds. Further, they will provide insight into how proteomic and metabolomic approaches can inform our understanding of wound healing and drive therapeutic approaches that target these pathways.

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 from each track will be announced. This session is a WHS Members Only Event. Lunch will be Provided.

The bases of many pathologies of the eye are problems in wound healing. This session introduces to the broader WHS membership a few of the major clinical issues in this specialized tissue. Dr. Zhao will start the session discussing the bioelectric-sensitive healing on the ocular surface. Dr. Eells will the present insights into cellular energetics in the dysregulated chronic wound situations that characterize numerous retinal diseases.

The recruitment and/or activation of various types of immune cell types is a significant feature of the wound healing response. Immune cells are important for preventing wound infection and they also play a role in shaping the repair response by regulating reepithelialization, angiogenesis, and scar formation. The speakers in this session will discuss recent developments on immune cells in wound healing, including the role of T cells in scar formation and fibrosis as well as the role of macrophages in wound healing.

In the WHF-3M Fellowship session, the 2021 awardee, Rivka C Stone from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine will present her fellowship-funded research on targeting inflammatory networks that control healing outcomes in diabetic foot ulcers. This research includes identifying the key inflammatory networks in DFU healing and validation of the networks using prospective cohort of matched DFU healers and nonhealers.

This remarkable story illustrates how health care providers sustained body and mind in the face of incredible trauma. Marcus' touching tale of trauma, hospitalization, and healing will provide insight from ‘the other end of the stethoscope.' The value of excellent skills and the remarkable impact of health care professionals is honored and recognized. Heartwarming and hilarious, this program reminds health care professionals why they do what they do, and inspires dedication to excellence in patient care.

The purpose of this two-year Wound Healing Innovation Grant supported by Medline is to stimulate scientific research of young investigators or junior faculty who are pursuing a career in wound healing research and have innovative research that can potentially change or provide new therapies or products. During the WHF-Medline Corius Innovation Lecture, grant recipient Indranil Sinha, MD will present the results of his award-funded research on developing and testing culture-free autologous stem cell transplantation in murine wounds using a Nanosheet technology and the potential impact on chronic wounds in humans. A panel discussion and Q&A will immediately follow the lecture about the innovative research as well as the prospective commercialization

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.