Innovations in Burns and Wound Healing: What’s on the Horizon?

Innovations in Burns and Wound Healing: Emerging Research Directions

Survival rates following severe burns and complex injuries have improved dramatically over recent decades. Today, the focus of care has shifted. For many patients, the greatest challenges lie not only in closing a wound, but in how well it heals — including function, scarring, infection risk, and long-term quality of life.

These developments sit within a broader landscape of innovations in burns and wound healing, where advances in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine and biomaterials are reshaping how clinicians approach reconstruction and recovery.

At the Blond McIndoe Research Foundation (BMRF), supporting research that advances reconstruction and restores lives has always been central to our mission. Many of today’s emerging innovations build directly on the types of early-stage and translational research that the Foundation has supported through its Pump Prime grants and Fellowships.

Tissue engineering: rebuilding skin, cartilage, and soft tissue

Tissue engineering aims to repair or replace damaged tissue by combining living cells with supportive structures, often known as scaffolds. In burns and reconstructive surgery, this approach is opening up new possibilities for rebuilding complex structures that were previously difficult or impossible to restore.

One promising area is 3D printing of living tissue, where biomaterials are used as “bio-inks” to create patient-specific structures. A recent BMRF Pump Prime project led by Mr Thomas Jovic (2023–24) explores the use of hyaluronic acid — a naturally occurring substance in the body — to 3D print fine sheets and grids capable of supporting new skin and cartilage growth. The long-term vision is to create custom-made structures, such as ears or noses, for people affected by burns, cancer, or trauma, reducing reliance on traditional skin grafts.

This work builds on earlier BMRF Fellowship research, including Miss Li Yenn Yong’s project (2018–19), which investigated the possibility of 3D printing blood vessels using stem cells. Creating reliable vascular networks remains one of the biggest challenges in tissue engineering, and this research laid important groundwork for producing viable, laboratory-grown tissue that could one day be made off the shelf.

Together, these projects illustrate how early-stage research supported by BMRF contributes to the long-term evolution of reconstructive surgery.

Regenerative medicine: encouraging the body to heal itself

Regenerative medicine focuses on guiding the body’s own healing responses rather than simply replacing damaged tissue. This includes understanding how inflammation, blood supply, and cellular signalling affect recovery after injury.

A clear example of this approach is Ms Victoria Giblin’s Pump Prime project (2017–18), Wound healing – a sweet solution. Her research explored how certain sugars can encourage blood vessel formation within wounds, resist bacterial breakdown, and be incorporated into simple dressings already used in clinical practice. Improving blood supply to the wound bed is critical for faster healing, reduced scarring, and better long-term outcomes, particularly in burns and traumatic injuries.

Other BMRF-funded research has focused on identifying biological markers that indicate whether a wound is healing well. Fellowship projects such as Mr Lewis Dingle’s work on markers of healing in complex wounds (2018–19) have helped build knowledge around how clinicians might better predict outcomes and tailor treatment earlier in the healing process.

These regenerative approaches highlight the importance of understanding how and why wounds heal, knowledge that underpins future therapeutic advances.

Biomaterials: dressings and scaffolds that actively support healing

Modern wound care increasingly relies on biomaterials designed to actively support healing rather than simply protect an injury. These materials can provide structural support, reduce infection risk, and interact positively with the body’s immune response.

A recent Pump Prime award to Mr Mandeep Bajwa (2022–23) is exploring the use of NovoSorb®, a biodegradable synthetic scaffold, to support healing following surgery for early-stage mouth cancer. Wounds inside the mouth are particularly challenging due to constant movement and exposure to saliva. This research is the first to study NovoSorb® in this setting, with the aim of improving healing while avoiding long-term complications. Although early-stage, the project has now secured NHS Trust support and is ready to progress.

At Fellowship level, Ms Jessica Roberts’ research (2023–24) examines how the immune system responds to bone-regenerating biomaterials. By modelling interactions between immune cells and new materials, her work aims to make future implants safer and more effective, accelerating innovation while reducing patient risk.

Earlier Fellowship work by Mrs Cynthia De Courcey (2020–21) similarly focused on the biocompatibility of novel 3D-bioprinted cartilage, addressing key safety and integration challenges that must be resolved before new materials can be used clinically.

Training, safety, and translating innovation into care

Innovation in burns and reconstructive care is not limited to materials and biology. Improving outcomes also depends on training, safety, and timely intervention.

A Pump Prime project led by Mr Jonathan Cubitt (2019–20) focused on improving delivery of emergency escharotomy, a time-critical surgical procedure required to restore blood flow or breathing in severe burns. By developing a surgical simulator, this research aims to ensure that surgeons and emergency clinicians are better prepared to perform this life-saving intervention when it matters most.

Projects such as this highlight the breadth of BMRF’s funding, supporting not only future technologies but also practical improvements in care delivery that can have immediate clinical impact.

Looking ahead: where the field is moving

Research in burns and wound healing is increasingly collaborative and international, with progress driven by complementary advances across surgery, biology, materials science, and data analysis. Many of the developments now attracting global attention are built on the kind of foundational research that organisations like BMRF have long supported.

Advanced, data-led wound assessment

New analytical tools are being explored to support more consistent and earlier assessment of wounds, helping clinicians predict healing trajectories and identify complications sooner. These approaches rely heavily on robust biological understanding and high-quality clinical data, areas where early-stage research remains essential.

Modulating scarring and fibrosis

Reducing excessive scarring remains one of the most important unmet needs in burns care. International research is focused on understanding and moderating the biological pathways that drive fibrosis, with the aim of improving long-term function and appearance following injury. Progress in this area depends on detailed insight into wound biology and tissue response.

Improving blood supply in engineered and healing tissue

Across tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, establishing reliable blood supply remains one of the greatest challenges. Researchers are investigating ways to encourage rapid vascularisation within healing or engineered tissue, building on earlier work in angiogenesis and wound biology.

Immune-aware biomaterials and reconstruction

There is growing recognition that successful reconstruction depends not only on materials and mechanics, but on how the immune system responds. Research into immune-responsive biomaterials is shaping the next generation of implants, dressings, and engineered tissues, closely aligned with recent BMRF Fellowship research exploring biocompatibility and immune interaction.

From innovation to impact

While these advances are encouraging, translating research into routine clinical practice takes time. New techniques and materials must be rigorously tested, approved, and adopted safely. Early-stage funding plays a vital role in this process, enabling researchers to generate the evidence needed to progress promising ideas towards patient benefit.

Through its Pump Prime grants and Fellowships, BMRF helps bridge the gap between early innovation and meaningful clinical impact, supporting research that improves reconstructive outcomes, restores function, and enhances quality of life.

Looking ahead with purpose

The future of burns and wound healing lies in collaboration between surgeons, scientists, engineers, and patients. Tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and biomaterials each offer powerful tools, but their greatest impact will come through careful integration and evidence-based application.

At the Blond McIndoe Research Foundation, we remain committed to supporting research that pushes boundaries while keeping patient benefit at its heart. Today’s innovations are built on decades of scientific progress, and with continued support, they offer real hope for better healing and better lives.