Establishing a microbiological and immunological baseline for individuals with surgical wounds healing by secondary intention

Overview

This project sought to lay the foundations for identifying robust biological markers (biomarkers) for wound healing. Such biomarkers could potentially be used to predict time to healing or indicate optimal medical treatment for patient subgroups. The proposed work was nested within an NIHR-funded cohort study in the Department of Health Sciences which aims to collect demographic, treatment and outcome data from people with surgical wound healing by secondary intention (SWHSI) in Leeds and Hull.

The study has contributed to the establishment of infrastructure within the Technology Facility in the Department of Biology for receiving, processing, and storing biological samples. This resource will now be available to all university staff members and should significantly facilitate translational medicine studies in York.

The project was a first collaboration between the Departments of Health Sciences, Biology and HYMS and it is expected that this interaction will lead to broader and larger scale synergies between the departments. The study has provided strong evidence that the University can generate and deliver interdisciplinary programmes which integrate cutting-edge biomedical research with medical practice and public health policy.