Identifying protein and metabolite markers of burn injury and trauma

It can be difficult for clinical teams to determine the severity of burn injuries when the patient first presents to the hospital. This is because burn wounds continue to deepen/progress over time, in a process known as burn wound conversion. Some wounds may deepen over days or weeks and require aggressive surgical treatment e.g. grafting, and some wounds don’t progress, stay superficial in depth, and they can be managed conservatively with the application of different bandages or dressings. We have previously found that certain proteins present in early burn wound fluid may help predict burn depth and the time taken to heal. We would like to identify which proteins and metabolites are related to wounds that heal faster and with a better outcome, compared to those which heal slowly, with scarring and require surgery. In this project, these proteins and metabolites will be validated using different techniques and to help develop an assay which can be used in the clinic.