Scar Free Foundation Centre for Conflict Wound Research
Description
The Scar Free Foundation Centre for Conflict Wound Research at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB), is a partnership with the University of Birmingham (UoB), the Centre for Appearance Research (CAR, University of the West of England), and the CASEVAC injured veterans club.
It is our aspiration to generate a national and international network of clinical and academic research with the common goal of improving the lives of patients living with scarring and developing approaches to prevent scarring.
The principal aim of the Centre is to reduce and eventually eradicate the impact of scarring and related loss of function amongst Armed Forces personnel who sustain critical injuries during their deployment, as well as civilians injured in conflict or terrorism incidents. It will achieve this by supporting a nationally relevant programme of biological and clinical research under three strategic themes:
1. Acute wound care and diagnosis and diagnosis
Development of therapies and diagnostic tools that are appropriate for treating acute injuries sustained in austere conflict environments, where risks of contamination, extremes of temperature, and transportability are all factors.
2. The biology of scarring biology of scarring
To better inform new treatments by advancing our understanding of how the body heals and protects itself following the types of trauma that are likely in future conflicts, including chemical, burn, and complex blast injury.
3. Life-long scar impact, revision, and rehabilitation
Improvement of therapies for seriously injured Armed Forces personnel and veterans to reduce and correct scars, and to promote resilience to the psychological impact of their injuries.
Public involvement in research
Patients and their families have personal experiences of treatments and living with the results of an injury or condition that researchers and healthcare professionals may not have. By being involved in our research, patients and the public can advise on what is important to them and bring different perspectives to the way that research studies are planned, designed and carried out.
We have an active PPI group at the Centre who meet regularly. We also have opportunities to be involved in our Birmingham based projects: Scar Laser; anti-scarring dressing clinical trial and our Bristol based UNITS project. Patients and the public can be involved in different parts of the research process and in different ways. This can involve coming to meetings (in Birmingham or Bristol), joining meetings by telephone or reviewing documents and commenting by email or post.
Location Get directions to this organisation
Institute for Translational Medicine, Research & Development - University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Heritage Building (Queen Elizabeth Hospital), Queen Elizabeth Medical Centre, Birmingham, B15 2TH
Key Contact
Laura Nice, PPI Manager
Email: l.nice@bham.ac.uk
Tel: 0121 371 8200
Website: https://www.conflictwoundresearch.org.uk/
Coverage
Birmingham, Bristol
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