Planning Committee

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Dr. Alvarez obtained a bachelors of science in Pre-Med and Chemistry from the University of Dayton, Ohio (1974).  He received his doctorate in Nutritional Biochemistry from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ in 1979.  He was an NIH Postdoctoral fellow and a Wound Healing Fellow at the Department of Dermatology, University of Miami School of Medicine from 1979-1982. Dr. Alvarez has been the recipient of more than 90 research grants and awards.  Among them, The National Institute of Health Training Award to study dermal-epidermal interactions during wound repair, U. S. Army Medical Research and Development Command Award to study epidermal migration in partial thickness wounds and National Institute of Health grant to study Emotional Stress and Wound Healing in Diabetics. 

Dr. Alvarez served as a member of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, a panel for guideline development in the prevention and management of pressure ulcers.  Dr. Alvarez is the Founder and Chairman of FRAIL (for the recognition of the adult immobilized life).   FRAIL is a panel seeking solutions for skin related complications of adults with chronic illness.  Dr. Alvarez also served as a panel member of S.C.A.L.E. (an expert group to build a consensus proposal on Skin Changes at Life’s End.  Dr. Alvarez has held faculty positions with: The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine; Cornell University Medical College; Rockefeller University and New York Medical College.  Dr. Alvarez is a founding editor of the journal WOUNDS, the managing editor of ePlasty, the first open access journal in plastic surgery.  He has authored over 200 peer- reviewed publications relating to wound care.  Dr. Alvarez has also been principal investigator in more than 60 major clinical trials.

Currently, Dr. Alvarez is Professor (by Courtesy) in the Department of Surgery at Rutgers, New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ.

Dr. Swathi Balaji is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital (BCM/TCH) in Houston, Texas. The research in her laboratory focuses on understanding the sequelae of fibrosis in response to dermal injuries in postnatal patients, with a particular emphasis on understanding 1) how individuals from broad patient demographics respond to similar injuries with significantly “heterogeneous” scarring patterns that lead to a spectrum of postnatal fibrotic outcomes, and 2) why scars persist once formed. She is currently studying the fibroblast energy metabolism and inter cellular signaling mechanisms that communicate and regulate the fibrogenic phenotype mediated via the secretion of extracellular vesicles also known as exosomes. Prior to joining BCM/TCH in 2015, Dr. Balaji received her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering in 2010 from the University of Cincinnati, where she first gained interest in wound healing and tissue regeneration when she had the opportunity to work with Professors Daria Narmoneva, Ph.D. at the University of Cincinnati and Timothy Crombleholme, M.D. at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. She then worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow in Dr. Sundeep Keswani’s Laboratory at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, where she studied the scarless wound healing mechanisms of the fetal regenerative responses.

Adrian Barbul, MD is a General Surgeon with over  35+ years dedication to research and clinical activity to understanding wound healing, both at a basic science level and at the bedside. His basic laboratory research focused on studying the nutritional and immune regulation of wound healing. The laboratory was federally funded for over 15 years and trained numerous surgical resident and doctoral and post-doctoral fellows. As a practicing surgeon, he  translated scientific advances to the bedside, such as being  the first to study the effect of growth factors (EGF) on pressure ulcers and numerous other, often investigator initiated, clinical translational research.  As founding member and then as President of the Wound Healing Society he has lead a team charged with the promulgation of clinical care guidelines for arterial, diabetic, venous and pressure ulcers which have been widely disseminated, accepted and adopted. He is Professor of Surgery at  Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Director of Wound Care Services at  the Tennessee Valley VA Medical Center.

Dr. Karen Bauer is a Wound Certified Nurse Practitioner. She graduated with an M.S. from the Ohio State University and a Doctorate of Nursing Practice from The University of Toledo. She has been practicing as a nurse practitioner for 16 years, with 14 of those years being in the field of wound management and 8 in vascular medicine. She currently practices at the University of Toledo Medical Center as well as multiple outreach sites encompassing ambulatory clinics, long-term care, and acute care centers.  Karen has developed and oversees a team of advanced practice providers, is the Director of Wound and Vascular Services at UT in the Division of Vascular, Endovascular, and Wound Surgery, and is the Program Director at the Fulton County Wound and Hyperbaric Center.

She is certified as a wound specialist through the American Board of Wound Management and currently serves as a Nurse Board Member for the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care and serves on the Board of Directors for the Society for Vascular Nursing. She is an Editorial Board Member for Wound Management and Prevention, and Advances in Skin and Wound Care. Karen lectures regionally, nationally, and internationally. She is a published researcher. She loves dogs, food, and hanging out with her daughter in her free time.

Dr. Windy Cole is a native Ohioan. She graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Cincinnati. She is a 1999  honors graduate of  the Kent State University College of Podiatric Medicine. Dr. Cole’s practice is located in Northeast Ohio where she serves as Medical Director of the Wound Care Center, University Hospitals Ahuja Medical Center and Adjunct Professor and Director of Wound Care Research at Kent State University College of Podiatric Medicine. She is a dedicated healthcare advocate with interests focused on medical education, diabetic foot care, wound care, limb salvage, clinical research and humanitarian efforts. Dr. Cole has published on these topics and is a sought-after speaker both nationally and internationally. She is currently a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of both Lower Extremity Review and Podiatry Today.

Professor Jeffrey M. Davidson received his BS from Tufts, an MS and PhD from Stanford, and postdoctoral training at the University of Washington with the late Paul Bornstein. Prior to being recruited to the Department of Pathology, MIcrobiology and Immunology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (1986-) his previous professional positions were with Ronald G. Crystal as a Senior Staff Fellow at the NHLBI and an Assistant/Associate Professorship at the University of Utah, where he also received a Research Career Scientist appointment in the Department of Veterans Affairs (1981-2017). Dr Davidson held the prestigious Senior Research Career Scientist position from 1997 to 2017. Dr Davidson has published nearly 200 scientific articles (h-index:54) and more than 40 book chapters and reviews on connective tissue biochemistry and wound healing often with distinguished collaborators. His federally-funded research for the past 39 years has investigated the role of growth factors in age- and diabetes-related healing defects, gene therapy of wounds, biomaterial-tissue interactions, and signaling processes in wound repair. Dr Davidson has served on numerous public and private advisory panels, and throughout his career he has had an extensive series of scientific collaborations and consultancies with the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors. Dr Davidson was chair of the NIH Pathobiochemistry Study Section, and he has regularly served on NIH study sections. He is a past president of the Wound Healing Society and the American Society for Matrix Biology (ASMB). In the past, he has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, Wounds, Matrix Biology, and the International Wound Journal. Dr Davidson served as Editor in Chief of Wound Repair and Regeneration from 2015-20. He founded the Gordon Research Conference on Tissue Repair and Regeneration and co-founded the Innovations in Wound Healing meeting (Chair, 2015). He organized the Gordon Research Conference on Elastic Tissue, a Keystone Conference on wound healing, and the 2012 meeting of the ASMB. He currently a member of program committees for Innovations in Wound Healing and the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care. In 2020, Dr Davidson was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus.

Dr. Michael N. Desvigne is a true plastic and reconstructive surgeon who has chosen to dedicate his expertise to reconstructive surgery, specifically wound reconstruction.  Dr, Desvigne believes performing reconstructive surgery has made him a better wound healing clinician and managing complex wounds has made him a better reconstructive surgeon.  Dr. Desvigne brings a wealth of experience from a variety of disciplines.  He is board certified in plastic surgery, general surgery, wound care and hyperbaric medicine. With this quadruple certification he approaches each wound problem with a staircase approach including surgical and nonsurgical solutions.   In 2018 Dr. Desvigne brought his cosmetic expertise to the wound reconstructive world where he would perform most cosmetic procedures under local anesthesia and or “twilight” to minimize the risks of general anesthesia. He has now added this approach to his wound reconstructive surgery practice, a term he coined as “Outpatient Wound Reconstruction” (OWR) optimizing outcomes while minimizing risk.

Dr. Desvigne is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). He is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgery (ASPS), the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) and the Arizona Society of Plastic Surgeons. He is also a member of the American Academy of Wound Specialists, Wound Healing Society and the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society.  He is a world-renowned lecturer and consultant in wound healing technologies. He has created multiple programs for inpatient and outpatient centers of excellence in wound care, with a focus on the continuum of care.

In his spare time, Dr. Desvigne refuels by running, swimming, boating, cooking, reading, and writing, and social entrepreneurism. He enjoys giving back to the community by performing humanitarian missions alongside his wife.
 

Suzie Ehmann, PT DPT, CWS, CLT-LANA, is clinical specialist working at Atrium Health Stanly.   Over the last 15 years, she has dedicated her practice to the evaluation and comprehensive treatment of patients with lymphatic disorders and chronic non-healing wounds.  Dr. Ehmann has a focused interest on the science of compression and impact of edema management on functional ability and mobility.  She has spoken nationally and internationally on this topic.
Dr. Ehmann is a Certified Lymphedema Therapist through the Lymphology Association of North American; a Certified Wound Specialist through the American Board of Wound Management.  She is a proud member of the Lymphology Association of North America and the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care.  She has been a featured speaker at national and international conferences, such as the Symposium for Advance Wound Care, Wild On Wounds, National Lymphedema Network International Conference, European Wound Management Association, International Compression Club and numerous regional lymphedema and wound conferences.   In addition, she has authored several articles published in peer reviewed journals.

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Daniel G. Federman, M.D., F.A.C.P. graduated from Swarthmore College and New York University School of Medicine. After completing an internship, residency, and chief residency at the University of Miami, he began his academic career at the University of Miami/Miami VA and soon moved on to the VA Connecticut Healthcare System and Yale. He currently is a Professor of Medicine at the Yale University School of Medicine and Chief of Medicine at VA Connecticut Health Care System. In addition to providing clinical care to Veterans, he has published extensively on the interface between primary care and dermatology, quality of care, cancer screening, venous disease, peripheral arterial disease, and battlefield acupuncture. He serves on several journal editorial boards, has over 200 publications, lectures nationally, and has been the recipient of several teaching awards.

Heather Hettrick is a Professor in the Physical Therapy Program at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale Florida.  

Dr. Heather Hettrick is a Professor in the Physical Therapy Program at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale Florida.  Dr. Hettrick has been a licensed physical therapist since 1995.  She received her PhD in physical therapy in 2003 and has dedicated her entire professional career to integumentary function and dysfunction, becoming a key opinion leader on integumentary function, repair and regeneration, as well as wound, lymphedema and burn management.  Dr. Hettrick’s diverse clinical background is complemented by experience in research, professional writing and publication, speaking on the national and international circuit, volunteering on professional board organizations, consulting, lobbying for legislative change on Capitol Hill, organizing humanitarian work in Haiti, and creating entrepreneurial endeavors focusing on experiential learning.  

She is a Certified Wound Specialist (CWS), Advanced Wound Care Certified (AWCC), Certified Lymphedema Therapist (CLT), and internationally dual certified in Lymphedema and Wound Care (CLWT).  She is LANA credentialed by the Lymphology Association of North America.  Dr. Hettrick is also a Comprehensive Oncology Rehabilitation Expert (CORE) and Experiential Learning Fellow.  She has attended over 90 continuing education courses, authored over 30 journal articles, published 6 book chapters, and presented over 200 professional programs and conference presentations on various integumentary related topics.  

Dr. Hettrick is a Past President of the American Board of Wound Management and is a past Board and Executive Committee member of the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care.  She is currently on the board of the World Alliance of Wound and Lymphedema Care, advisory board for the Why Wound Care Campaign and Editorial Board for Today’s Wound Clinic.  Additionally, she is on the planning committee for the American Vein and Lymphatic Society as well as Symposium on Advanced Wound Care, and Faculty/Director of Wound Education for the International Lymphedema and Wound Training Institute.

Coming Soon!

Alton R. Johnson Jr., DPM is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes-Podiatry. Founder and CEO of AJ Educational Empowerment.  Dr. Johnson received his Bachelors of Science degree in Biology from Barry University. During his time as an undergraduate at Barry U., Dr. Johnson completed a summer basic science research internship at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and a clinical epidemiology research internship at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In 2012, he attended the Kent State University College of Podiatric Medicine, Doctor of Podiatric Medicine. In addition, as a podiatric medical student Dr. Johnson presented several research posters focused on geriatric fall secondary to foot deformities.

In 2016, Dr. Johnson went on to complete a three-year Podiatric Medicine & Surgery Residency at AHMC in Aventura, FL. Dr. Johnson was part of AHMC’s back-to-back to back ResEd Summit Midwest Residency Rumble 1st Place championship teams. Dr. Johnson has also managed to present multiple research projects at The Future of Regenerative Medicine Congress, ResEd Summit Midwest Conferences, SAWC and the ACFAS Conference. During his chief year of residency, Dr. Johnson was able to publish several peer-reviewed journal articles and participate in an international medical mission in Haiti. In 2019, Dr. Johnson was awarded the American Podiatric Medicine Association and Symposium of Advanced Wound Care Podiatrist Wound Care Scholarship at the SAWC Fall 2019 conference in Las Vegas, NV. In 2020, Dr. Johnson was bestowed the American Board of Wound Management Foundation Scholarship and selected as the only podiatric clinical investigator in the nation for the 2020 National Institutes of Health/National Medical Association Academic Medicine Fellows Program. In 2021, Dr. Johnson completed a two-year ACFAS Podiatric Medicine and Surgery Clinical Research Fellowship and two-year Clinical Research Post-Doctoral Clinical Research Certification at the University Pennsylvania-Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA. His research emphasis has been focused on gerontology, tropical and international medicine, regenerative medicine, wound care, diabetic limb preservation techniques, rare dermatological and bone pathologies, biomedical technology, and advanced durable medical equipment technology.

Paul J. Kim is the Medical Director of the Wound Program at University of Texas Southwestern Clements University Hospital, Dallas, Texas.  He has the rank of Professor in the Department of Plastic Surgery and Orthopedic Surgery.  He is also a Fellow of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons.

Dr. Kim received his Bachelor of Arts degree, Magna Cum Laude, in Psychology and Biology from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1995 and his Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree from the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine in 2002 with multiple honors.  Dr. Kim completed a surgical foot and ankle residency program in 2005 from Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Virginia.  He also received a Master of Science Degree in Clinical Research Management from Arizona State University in 2012.

Dr. Kim has received both intramural and extramural research grants in the areas of wound care, Diabetic limb salvage, and tendon pathology.  He has chaired multiple committees related to research and Evidence Based Medicine and the Diabetic limb for various national and international organizations.  Dr. Kim is also a national and international speaker and has authored over 150 basic science, clinical manuscripts, and book chapters on various topics in foot and ankle medicine and surgery with a specific interest in the Diabetic Limb.

Dr. Kirsner is Chairman and Harvey Blank Professor in the Dr. Phillip Frost Dermatology in the Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.  He is Chief of Dermatology at the University of Miami Hospital and Clinics and Jackson Memorial Hospital and directs the University of Miami Hospital Wound Center.  Dr. Kirsner received his undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University, his medical degree from the University of Miami and a PhD in epidemiology from the University of Miami, after he completed his clinical training.  His clinical training included internal medicine, a clinical and research fellowship in wound healing and dermatology at the University of Miami.  His research interests include Wound Healing and Skin Cancer Epidemiology.  Dr. Kirsner serves on the editorial boards for a number of journals in dermatology and wound healing and serves in national leadership positions in both Wound Healing and Dermatology, including currently serving on the American Academy of Dermatology Board of Directors and Wound Healing Society Board of Directors.  In addition to career development awards, foundation, industry sponsored funding and CDC funding, he currently leads or is part of a number of NIH funded grants.  Independent of books, book chapters and abstracts, he has published over 550 articles.

John C. Lantis II, MD, is currently the site Chief of Surgery at Mount Sinai West Hospital, in mid-town Manhattan where he practices as a senior vascular surgeon. Prior to this he served as Vice Chairman for operations, for the Department of Surgery at both Mount Sinai West and Mount Sinai Morningside since 2014, and the chief of Vascular and Endovascular surgery since 2007. He attained the academic rank of Professor of Surgery first at Columbia University in 2013, and subsequently in 2014 at the Icahn School of Medicine. In addition, as co-chair of the Cardiovascular and interventional radiology value analysis committee, he has sat on the corporate steering committee for value analysis since 2014.

He is a world leader in limb salvage and lower extremity wound healing, which includes a very large breath of knowledge in regard to cellular and tissue-based therapies and local and regional flap therapy. He has been a principal investigator on over 70 clinical trials; including having participated in most of the lower extremity stem cell therapy trials. He is frequently asked to speak internationally in regard to these subjects.

He is the Clinical Editor of WOUNDS and sits on the editorial boards of most of the major Wound journals. He is the past president of the New York Vascular Surgery Society, a founding member of the American Board of Wound Medicine and Surgery, and the Vascular Study Group of New York.

In addition he is locally recognized for excellent outcomes in carotid surgery, and endovascular limb salvage. His practice also includes abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, vascular access for hemodialysis, complex head and neck reconstruction, major abdominal sarcoma resection, and advanced outpatient venous therapy.

Dr. Lantis leads the diabetic foot team, the amputation team and is his institution's principal consultant for the advanced wound care.

Dr. Lehrman, recently named one of America’s Most Influential Podiatrists, is in private practice Fort Collins, CO, is a Certified Professional Coder, and operates Lehrman Consulting, LLC.  He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery, Fellow of the American Society of Podiatric Surgeons, and is recognized as a “Master” by the American Professional Wound Care Association. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Podiatric Practice Management and an Expert Panelist on Codingline.  In his role as a Consultant to the APMA Health Policy and Practice Department, Dr. Lehrman serves as an advisor to the APMA Coding Committee and the APMA MACRA Task Force. Dr. Lehrman sits on the board of directors of both the American Professional Wound Care Association and the American Society of Podiatric Surgeons. He is an adjunct clinical professor at Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine. Dr. Lehrman is also on the editorial advisory board of the journal WOUNDS and is a consulting editor for Podiatry Management magazine.

Dr. Hadar Lev-Tov is a Board certified dermatologist and full time faculty at the Dr. Phillip Frost Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery at the University of Miami. Dr. Lev-Tov has long standing interest in management and investigation of wounds. Dr. Lev-Tov's research is supported in part by NIH, Dermatology Foundation and industry.

The ultimate goal of a physician scientist is to take observations and findings from the clinic, study them in the laboratory, and translate these findings to novel therapies to help human disease.  During my research career my work has been focused primarily in the field of wound healing, the response to injury, and regenerative medicine, with an emphasis on elucidating the mechanisms involved in the regenerative response to injury in the fetus, the role of inflammation and oxidative stress in tissue repair, and the correction of abnormal healing in the adult. My team has pioneered the role of dysregulated microRNAs in the diabetic wound healing impairment, and the mechanisms of the correction of this wound healing impairment with stem cell and gene therapy. My team is developing novel treatment paradigms using small molecule therapeutics, to promote healing and tissue regeneration in multiple tissues by modulating the inflammatory response, oxidative stress, angiogenesis, and the composition of the extracellular matrix. The goal of this regenerative medicine approach is to restore normal tissue architecture and function and to prevent the complications of impaired healing after injury.

Jeanine Maguire is a PT and CWS who serves as the VP for  Skin Integrity, Wound Management at Genesis HealthCare. In that role, Jeanine collaborates with the interdisciplinary team within SNF/LTC/ALF facilities across the United States to provide education, mentoring and consultation. As a proponent of evidence-based patient centered care, she leads an interdisciplinary national skin council in review and synthesis of research and guidelines in order to to update policies and provide live and webinar education. As a recognized innovative professional, Jeanine is committed to influencing and supporting the emerging paradigm of compassion in healthcare. Jeanine currently serves on the educational council for AHCA and is a recognized leader and speaker for best practices in wound management.

Cathy is an Advanced Practice WOC Nurse providing care to patients across the continuum in acute care, long-term care, home health and outpatient settings. Employed by Connecticut Clinical Nursing Associates, she also provides consulting to organizations wishing to improve wound outcomes, conducts clinical research, lectures nationally and internationally, is the Co-Editor of the text Wound, Ostomy, Continence Secrets as well as the 3rd Edition of the Wound Care Certification Study Guide. Cathy provides clinical support to WoundReference.com, currently serves as the Co-chair of the Post-Acute Care Symposium  and is a Clinical Instructor at the Yale School of Nursing.

Maritza Molina is a driven Registered Dietitian who is determined to prevent, cure, improve nutrition related diseases through evidence-based nutrition practice guidelines. Maritza has years of experience working with an array of populations in different clinical sectors that range from acute care settings, specialty outpatient settings, and community nutrition. She has also developed and directed outpatient programs, and owns her own private practice.  

Maritza currently works as a fulltime RD for Keck Medicine of USC Outpatient General Surgery Department. Maritza was granted the opportunity to create for the first time ever an outpatient nutrition program for Keck Medicine of USC Outpatient General Surgery Department, and has successfully built a structural foundation, spearheaded, and directed the program as it continues to grow and evolve. Her nutrition clinic serves the following specialties:
General Surgery,Upper GI,Thoracic,The Southwestern Academic Limb Salvage Alliance+Flow and Toe,Colorectal and Plastics. 

She provides Advance Nutrition Education for following specialty cases and not limited to: Esophagectomy, Gastrectomy, RYN+GB, Fundoplication, Gastroparesis, Colectomy, and other GI related disease, EN and TPN/PPN management, pre-surgery optimization, and post-surgery nutrition management.

Since 2018, Maritza has worked as an Acute and Critical Care Clinical Registered Dietitian for all of Avanti Hospitals in Los Angeles, CA.
In addition, Maritza also has her own outpatient private practice Silver Spoon Elite Nutrition, founded in 2015. Where she specializes in Sports Nutrition, prevent/manage nutrition related diseases, and weight management. 
Maritza’s past professional experience also includes creating and directing a nutrition program for White Memorial Community Health Center (WMCHC). She created bilingual pediatric nutrition classes, nutrition handouts for patients and families, provided one-on-one medical nutrition therapy for either preventative nutrition, acute or chronic conditions.

Over the last year Maritza has been fortunate to co-author an expert consensus and guidance book “Nutrition Interventions in Adults with Diabetic Foot Ulcers” written alongside her MD colleagues in 2021. She has also been a speaker for the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care for Spring 2021 where she spoke about “Targeted Nutrition Therapy to Support Wound Healing” and for Fall 2021 where she expanded on the importance of nutrition in wound care “Nutrition: Heart of Healthcare and Wound Care”.

Dr. Narmoneva received magna cum laude MS degree in Experimental Condensed Matter Physics from Moscow Institute in Physics and Technology, Moscow, Russia, in 1993. She completed her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Duke University in 2000, where she worked in the cartilage mechanics laboratory with Dr. Lori Setton. After graduating from Duke, Dr. Narmoneva went to do postdoctoral training in bioengineering with Dr. Roger Kamm at MIT (2000-2001), and with Dr. Rich Lee at Brigam & Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School (2002-2004), as a postdoctoral fellow of American Heart Association. In 2005, Dr. Narmoneva joined the faculty of Biomedical Engineering Department at the University of Cincinnati, where she is currently an Associate Professor with tenure. Dr. Narmoneva’s research is in the area of vascular tissue engineering and regeneration and wound healing. In particular, the team applies bioengineering, biophysical and molecular/cell biology approaches to understand the effects of diabetes on vascular cells, cell-cell interactions and the role of microenvironment in regulating endothelial cell behavior. The goal of the laboratory is development of novel treatment strategies for regenerative healing of diabetic and chronic wounds and diabetic cardiomyopathy. Dr. Narmoneva’s research program has been supported by the NIH, American Heart Association, Proctor & Gamble, Ohio Technology Commercialization Accelerator. She is an author of more than 60 papers & proceedings. Dr. Narmoneva’s research has been featured on the NSF web page, in the local news, and has received multiple recognitions via research awards from the International Wound Healing Society.

A native of Minnesota, Maryanne graduated as a nurse in 1987.  She has extensive experience in ICU nursing and also spent many years as a flight nurse.

Maryanne’s experience at Regions Hospital includes staff nurse on the Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Trauma Nurse Clinician, Neurosurgical Nurse Clinician, and FCCS(Fundamentals of Critical Care Support) coordinator.   Maryanne helped establish clinical research efforts for the Department of Surgery and has coordinated multiple research studies.
 
Maryanne and her team have established the Complex Abdominal Reconstruction Service (CARS) at Regions Hospital.  The CARS team has developed novel and structured approaches for managing complex abdominal wounds and enteric fistulae.  The CARS team focuses on the best possible patient outcomes and a good quality of life on the “journey to  surgical repair”.   The CARS team currently services over two hundred patients with all aspects of patient care; nutrition, conditioning, surgery and wound care.

Dr. Ruotsi is the Medical Director of the Saratoga Hospital Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine in Saratoga Springs, NY.   In this role he is responsible for outpatient wound care services as well as inpatient wound care consultative services.   He is board certified in Wound Care by the American Board of Wound Medicine and Surgery, is certified as a Wound Specialist (CWS-P) by the American Board of Wound Management, and is board certified in Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine by the American Board of Preventive Medicine. He is additionally certified as a Diving Medical Officer (DMO) by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and is on the Board of Directors of the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP). Dr. Ruotsi is a Founding Diplomate and sits on the Board of Directors of the American Board of Wound Medicine and Surgery and is Co-Chair of the Wound Care Summit for the AMP Amputation Prevention Symposium. He sat on the Board of Directors of the American College of Clinical Wound Specialists and was Chair of its Education Committee from 2013 through 2015.  He is a member of the CLI Global Wound Care Board, the Wound Healing Society (WHS), is a faculty member of the Wound Certification Prep Course, and lectures nationally as well as internationally on topics related to wound care and hyperbaric medicine. Dr. Ruotsi lives in Gansevoort, NY, enjoys boating, flying, fishing, bicycling, skiing, and keeping up with the lives of his three adult children.

Susie Seaman is a Board-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner, Wound Care Nurse (CWCN), and Wound Specialist (CWS). She holds a Master's degree in Nursing from San Diego State University, and a Family Nurse Practitioner Certificate from the University of California, San Diego. She had been a Certified Wound Ostomy and Continence Nurse for 32 years, practicing in the home health care arena for eight years before moving to the outpatient clinic setting 24 years ago. Ms. Seaman founded the Sharp Grossmont Hospital Wound Healing Center in La Mesa, California in 1998 as an adjunct to their Hyperbaric Oxygen program. She left there in 2006 to open a wound clinic for Sharp Rees-Stealy, a 600+ provider multi-specialty medical group with offices throughout San Diego. She left the wound clinic environment in January 2019 to work for Infectious Disease Consultants in La Jolla, California where she oversaw antibiotic therapy for patients with skin and soft tissue infections, osteomyelitis, and other challenging infections. Ms. Seaman is now back in wound care, having started a wound clinic for Family Health Centers of San Diego, one of the nation’s ten largest Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC). In this setting, she is honored to support their mission to provide caring, affordable, high quality health care to everyone, with a special commitment to uninsured, low-income and medically underserved persons. Ms. Seaman has been a principal investigator on several research projects involving wound and ostomy care. Her Master’s thesis examined Braden Scale scores and the incidence of pressure ulcers in the home hospice setting. Ms. Seaman speaks nationally on a variety of topics, including chronic wound care, wound assessment, lower extremity wounds, topical therapy, and use of advanced technologies. She has also authored numerous articles and book chapters on both wound and ostomy care. She has a special interest in the treatment of lower extremity ulcers and the diagnosis and treatment of atypical wounds.

Dr. Jayesh B. Shah is the President of South Texas Wound Associates, where he provides clinical wound care services in San Antonio since the past 17 years; President of TIMEO2 Healing Concepts, LLC, which provides consulting and education services in wound care and hyperbaric medicine; Medical Director of Wound Healing Center at Northeast Baptist Hospital and Mission Trail Baptist Wound Healing Center in San Antonio, Texas; Immediated past President of American College of Hyperbaric Medicine; current Board of Trustees Member of Texas Medical Association. He is current Co- Chair of WoundCON and Current Board Member of ISTAP.

He has published “Wound Care Certification Study Guide” in 2011, its second edition in 2016, Its third edition in 2021; Textbook of Chronic Wound Care: An Evidence-Based Approach to Diagnosis and Treatment in 2018, and created “WoundDoctor”  Free App, a comprehensive wound care resource tool for physicians, nurses and physical therapists for iPhone, Android and iPad. He has authored over 40 chapters on wound topics in 4 books and 30+ scientific articles in wound care and hyperbaric medicine. He is past Assistant Editor of Journal of ACCWS and present editorial board member of Today's Wound Clinic.

To his credit, Dr. Shah is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award (2020) Diabetes Research Award (2019) Paul James Sheffield Education Award for Lifetime Dedication to Education in the field of Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine (2014); Jefferson C. Davis Memorial Award for Excellence in Clinical Hyperbaric Medicine (2007 and 2011); Carolyn Sue Award (2009); Young Scientist/Medical Doctor Award (2008).

Marcus S. Speyrer, RN, CWS, FACCWS, DAPWCA is the Chief Operating Officer and Partner in The Wound Treatment Center, LLC & The Wound Treatment Center Consulting, LLC in Opelousas, LA.  He began in wound care in 1993.  He is a Registered Nurse and Certified Wound Specialist. He received his Associate Degree in Nursing at the University of New York Regents College in 1995.  He has participated in numerous research trials and has several publications. He is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for the peer-reviewed journal, WOUNDS. He has served on numerous advisory panels and is a consultant with 3M™/KCI and Organogenesis Speakers’ Bureau.  Member of Undersea Hyperbaric Medical Society, Association for the Advancement of Wound Care, American Professional Wound Care Association, and Fellow of the American College of Certified Wound Specialists.

Anthony Tickner, DPM, FACCWS, FRCFS is a board-certified wound care surgeon trained at Saint Vincent Hospital, UMass Medical Center and Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. In addition to holding an advanced certificate of qualification in limb salvage through the ABPM, he is also fellowed by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, the AACWS, APWCA, APWH and the ADFS. Dr Tickner is a highly sought-after international wound care consultant and is the Medical Director of both the Saint Vincent Hospital Wound Healing Center in Worcester, MA and limb salvage and amputation prevention services at Associated Foot Specialists in Hudson, Massachusetts. Dr Tickner also serves on the Executive Board of the Massachusetts Foot & Ankle Society. Dr Tickner is also on the ABPM committee for amputation prevention and has published numerous works in the fields of podiatric surgery, reconstruction and limb salvage.

Dr Tomic-Canic is a Vice chair of Research and Professor as well as the Director of Wound Healing and Regenerative Medicine Research Program at the Dr Phillip Frost De[artment of Dermatology and Cutanelous Surgery at the University Of Miami Miller School Of Medicine. She was recently honoerd by William H. Eaglstein Chair in Wound Healing. Dr Tomic-Canic is also a senior faculty member of the Human Genetics & Genomics and Molecular & Cellular Pharmacology Programs and Associate Member of the Hussman Genomics Institute at the University of Miami. She completed her doctoral and postdoctoral training at the NYU School of Medicine and joined the faculty of NYU Departments of Dermatology and Microbiology. As a faculty member of the Weill Cornell Medical College she directed Tissue Repair Program at the Hospital for Special Surgery before moving to University of Miami in 2008. Her current research is focused in three main areas: molecular and cellular mechanisms of wound healing and its inhibition, including epigenetic and genomic regulation (developing new therapeutics and wound diagnostics); anti-inflammatory processes in cutaneous wound healing (mechanisms by which stress and metabolic changes regulate healing) and wound infection/host response. Her research has been continuously funded by the NIH for neraly 20 years. Dr Tomic-Canic has participated in national scientific and clinical panels discussing the immense need for translational research areas to improve clinical outcomes of wound healing. She served as a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Biological Chemistry (2009-2014), and currently serves as a Section Editor for Journal of Investigative Dermatology and a Senio Editor of the Experimental Dermatology and Wound Repair and Regeneration Journals. She is recognized national and international leader in the field of wound healing research and was honored by NIH with WALS Lectureship. She served to Advisory Council of the NIH/NINR and was appointed to The Big Data to Knoledge Multi-Council Working Group. She is an active member of the Wound Healing Society. She served as a member of the Executive Board and was the WHS President in 2016-2017. Recently, her scientific contributions  to the field of wound healing and her leadership were recognized by the Wound Healing Society's Lifetime Achievement Award. 

Dot has been a registered nurse since 1976 and began her practice of ostomy and wound management in 1980.  She has practiced in acute care, home care and long-term care, spent 7 years in industry, and has practiced in outpatient care since 2001. She has been Board Certified by the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Certification Board since 1985 and The American Board of Wound Management since 2004. She practices at the Saratoga Hospital Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Current Activities:
• Co-Chair of the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care
• Co-Director of the Wound Track for AMP, the Amputation Prevention Symposium. 
• Faculty of the Wound Certification Prep Course (since 2004)
• Member and Secretary of the Board of the International Wound Infection Institute and serving on the Slough Project sub-committee
• Chair of the Practicing Clinician Panel for “Why Wound Care”
• Member of the International Planning Committee for the 2020 World Union of Wound Healing Societies conference to be held in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
• Member the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society
• Member of the World Council of Enterostomal Therapy, 
• Member Wound Healing Society
• Founding Editor and continues on Editorial Board of the Today’s Wound Clinic journal
• On speaker’s bureau and Medical Advisory Boards for several wound manufacturers
• National and International lecturer on all aspects of Wound Management

Dr. Zgheib is an innovative and highly driven clinical/scientific expert driven by a passion for biomedical innovation, focused on unmet medical needs with the goal of improving human health. Dr. Zgheib has an expansive background in leadership and over 16 years of experience in biomedical research.  He has extensive experience in regenerative medicine, tissue repair, nanotechnology, and biomaterials. Dr. Zgheib is the chief scientific officer of Ceria Therapeutics, inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing innovative and novel therapies to treat overactive and nonproductive inflammation to promote healing. He is also a faculty at the Department of Surgery at the University of Colorado Denver - Anschutz Medical Campus. He is also a faculty at the Department of Surgery at the University of Colorado Denver - Anschutz Medical Campus. Dr. Zgheib earned a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Medical Pharmacology and Toxicology with an emphasis on targeting inflammation to promote tissue repair and regeneration. Dr. Zgheib also earned a Master of Pharmacology and Cosmetology Degree, a Master of Biomedical Sciences Degree, and a Bachelor of Biochemistry Degree. Dr. Zgheib trained at the Prebys Sanford Burnham Medical Discovery Institute in Orlando, Florida where he studied regenerative medicine with an emphasis on elucidating the regulatory mechanisms of inflammation and oxidative stress in injury, and identifying potential therapeutic approaches that target these processes to promote tissue repair and healing. Dr. Zgheib is a well published author and has multiple US and International patents to his name. Dr. Zgheib received many awards including the 2016 junior faculty travel award from the Wound Healing Society, the 2018 Owen H. Wangensteen Excellence in Research Award from The American College of Surgeons, the 2019 Wound Healing Society Shark Tank Finalist, the 2021 WHF-Medline Innovation Award, and the Award for Academic Excellence and Superior Scholarship from The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.

Coming Soon!