Centre for Burn Research
The Centre for Burn Research conducts research focusing on developing treatments and therapies to improve outcomes for burn patients. Our leadership has over 25 years of experience in burn care and research and has helped to develop other leading burn centres around Canada. Our goal is to improve survival and quality of life through high-quality, evidence-based care.
Research Overview
Our research group employs different in vitro and in vivo approaches to shed light on the process of wound healing after thermal injuries. We aim to create ideal skin substitutes that can revolutionize the treatment for burn patients. The focus of the group is to reveal the mechanisms leading to (ab)normal wound healing and develop clinically feasible strategies by combining innovative biomaterials and therapeutic cellular components to enable optimized skin regeneration outcomes post-thermal injuries. To this end, our lab is divided into two areas:
Stem Cell and Skin Regeneration
Our team is developing new techniques and materials for printing biological components to be used in artificial skin grafts and ideal skin substitutes. We are currently working towards a system to print a patient’s own stem cells into a skin-like substrate that can be directly applied to burn wounds.
Metabolism and Immunology
To better understand the mechanisms behind burn recovery, we employ different models that focus on specific aspects of burn injuries. These models allow us to observe the changes that occur during burns in real time and to test treatments and interventions in order to improve patient outcomes.
Becoming a Patient
All new patients may be referred by physicians only. Patients may have their doctor refer them to the clinic by faxing a referral to 905-538-8953 or sending by email to kurtzs@hhsc.ca.
Visit our Burn Trauma Unit page.
