Our work
We are committed to funding research that helps to prevent people from encountering the problem of scarring.
We have a long track record of research in this area, and it continues to be central to our activities.
Our previous and current research includes a public information campaign around scald prevention and first aid in children. We have also been involved in the development of ‘smart’ dressings and research aimed at improving the care of people with burns and other scar-causing conditions, including a ‘smart’ dressing' that detects infection-causing bacteria in the wound, changing colour for immediate visual diagnosis. This will avoid the overuse of antibiotics and the need for painful dressing changes to check for infection.
We are currently supporting an early-stage clinical trial of a new dressing containing a pro-healing substance that actively prevents scar formation. We are also funding a programme of work that includes the development of 3D ‘bioprinted’ facial cartilage (such as ears and noses) for the future treatment of people who are either born without body parts, such as ears or live with facial scarring. Currently, surgeons need to take cartilage from other areas of a person’s body to reconstruct facial cartilage, a process that creates more scars.
Other previous research looked at the clues in the blood of a person with a burn to create a test that can predict those patients who will go on to develop scar causing infections.
