Interviews

1. What are your specific tasks in the FORCE REPAIR team at EWMA?
Our tasks revolve around dissemination and communication activities. Communication efforts span across our multiple platforms such as the annual EWMA conference, social media channels, and our newsletter. Moreover, we contribute to the Communication Committee to enhance project outreach and engagement. Our network of wound care professionals will be used to understand the priorities and needs of health care professionals and patients so that FORCE REPAIR reflects the needs of various communities.

2. Can you explain the scope of work of EWMA and how do you reach your objectives and goals?
EWMA’s mission is to bring together key stakeholders in wound care, facilitating the implementation of cost-effective approaches on all aspects of wound management. Within this framework, and in alignment with my objectives, EWMA envision to accelerate translational research and to support the identification of unmet clinical needs and link basic/applied research and clinical practice, therefore fostering the development of new technologies and better therapeutic options.

3. Could you please share your thoughts on what you believe are the major challenges facing wound care today?
Wound care is facing several challenges spanning different areas, ranging from improvement of clinical practice, healthcare accessibility and use of resources, to strengthening education and enhancing healing outcomes. These are related to organizational requirements and the existing gap among the key intervenient (healthcare professionals, patients, caregivers, researchers, regulatory entities, industry, policy makers) that ultimately hinder the advance of innovative ideas for new technologies and products.

4. Is this your first experience working on an EU-funded project? What is your opinion about this programme?
No, I have had previous experience as partner or coordinator of EU-funded projects. As an academic researcher I believe this programme is key to advance the European Research and Innovation Eco-system, including in the field of wound care. By fostering the collaboration between key stakeholders such as academics, healthcare institutions, industry, and organizations such as EWMA, this programme potentiates the development and translation of technologies/therapies with increasing efficacy.

1. What are your specific tasks in the FORCE REPAIR team at Akribes Biomedical?
Within Akribes, I am responsible for overseeing clinical collaborations set up for the collection of wound exudates from chronic wound patients. The wound exudates are the core aspect of the assay platform developed at Akribes, which allows for the testing of potential wound therapeutics using a personalized medicine approach.
I am also responsible for communication with Force Repair partners and for preparing and presenting the data obtained by Akribes within the Force Repair project.

2. What expertise you bring into the project? – follow-up: Why is this field of research so exciting?
I am a cell biologist by training with an additional four years of experience in biotech. In Akribes, I am involved in scientific research and the development of drug and in vitro diagnostics, including regulatory aspects, which are all centered around chronic wounds. The development of efficacious therapies for chronic wound patients has not been successful for the last decades. The vision of making a real difference for chronic wound patients is what makes this field of research so exciting.

3. Is this your first experience working on an EU-funded project? What is your opinion about this programme?
This is my first experience working on an EU-funded project. I value the focus given to the multidisciplinary approach, covering basic product development, early-stage regulatory compliance, and project dissemination. I like the emphasis given to the project's outcomes, including, not only the product itself but also new knowledge and new collaboration opportunities.
I believe that the experience I have gained in these multiple areas gives me the possibility to contribute and interact with several of the very diverse sub-projects within the FORCE REPAIR project.

4. What motivates you personally?
Since I joined Akribes I have become aware of the burden that chronic wounds place on patients and society. Sadly, I also realized that the treatment options for these patients do not meet their needs. They seem to have been forgotten by our society, making chronic wounds another type of orphan disease. In my scientific career, I have always preferred working on less popular topics, where I felt I could make a much greater impact. In this regard, working on chronic wounds suits me well.

1. What are your specific tasks in the FORCE REPAIR team at UNIPV?
As a UNIPV partner, I am responsible for characterizing the combined bio-inks regarding rheological properties. In addition, the main tasks I am working on are the in-vitro (biological substitutes) and ex-vivo (porcine dermal tissue) evaluation of the bioadhesive properties of hydrogels using two specific tests which are rheological synergism and tensile test. In addition, I will assess the shrinking forces after UV treatments of the hydrogels and the nanomechanics of the bio-inks.

2. What is your research focus at UNIPV?
The focus of my research is the production of stimuli-responsive scaffolds to treat wound healing. Currently, I’m working on the design and development of fibrous scaffolds produced via centrifugal spinning, intended for skin tissue engineering. These scaffolds are loaded with a conductive material, which should promote the passage of the electrical current, and, after skin electrical stimulation, it should enhance cell regeneration and adhesion and play an antibacterial activity.

3. What expertise you bring into the project? – follow-up: Why is this field of research so exciting?
Our team can bring into the project its deep experience and knowledge of the evaluation of rheological measurements and bioadhesion using various equipment and methods. In addition, we are confident in the physicochemical characterization of biomaterials.
Similarly to FORCE REPAIR, we are carrying on several projects that focus on the development of scaffolds, intended specifically for skin wound healing.

4. Is this your first experience working on an EU-funded project? What is your opinion about this programme?
FORCE REPAIR is my first experience working on an EU-funded project. I believe that these programs offer a great opportunity to support professional and personal growth. Getting to work with foreign people, coming from different organizations is inspiring. In FORCE REPAIR, partners are companies, universities and institutions and this heterogeneity allows to merging of different points of view, backgrounds and expertise to obtain the best for the future of patients.

1. What are your specific tasks in the FORCE REPAIR team at Betthera?
Our tasks is to evaluate the proposed technology using the health technology assessment (HTA) method, covering all the properties, effects, and impacts of the proposed technology. Part of our activities will first be a systematic review of studies of economic effectiveness of treatments of chronic wounds. Subsequently, the HTA report will be compiled, including a health economic evaluation and modeling impact on society, business model and marketability of the technology.

2. What is your research focus at Betthera?
Health technology assessment, literature reviews and meta-analyses, cost-effectiveness analysis, budget impact models, cost-consequence analyses and societal impact.

3. What expertise you bring into the project? – follow-up: Why is this field of research so exciting?
Understanding the socioeconomic impact of health solutions allows policymakers, healthcare professionals, and researchers to implement more effective strategies for improving public health. By identifying the most significant factors influencing health outcomes, resources can be allocated more efficiently to address the root causes of health disparities.

5. What are you currently working on within the scope of FORCE REPAIR?
We are working on a systematic review of studies of economic effectiveness of treatments of chronic wounds. The aim of this review is to identify the costs and effects of currently used care alternatives. To assess the effectiveness of the proposed technology, it is first necessary to know the comparator, i.e. current state of care in detail.