Restore have recently appointed Dr Fadi Issa, previously part of Restore’s Scientific
Advisory Committee, as their new Director of Research. Dr Issa qualified in Medicine from the
University of Oxford and is now a Wellcome Trust CRCD Fellow and Group Leader at the
Transplantation Research Immunology Group (TRIG) of the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences,
University of Oxford.

Dr Issa’s previous role for Restore involved helping to evaluate research and novel therapies to
improve the treatment and outcome for burns and scarring. Dr Issa’s wealth of knowledge in
research and experience in plastic and reconstructive surgery and transplantation immunology
places him well to direct Restore’s current and future research interests.

Restore’s current projects include:

• The technology of immunomodulation– providing the potential for using cadaveric, donated
  skin from unrelated patients to resurface large burns in the future.
• Cooling burns– Locating the proteins involved in healing burns and block their action to
  provide better drug targets for preventing scarring.
• Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMS)– providing a toolkit for burns teams to
  assess a patient’s psychological recovery and flag up when they are in need of support.
• Using technology to grow cells at a very rapid rate to cover large sized burns.
• Collaborating with Dr Ellis to use technology to rapidly grow immune cells for the
  immunomodulation project
• The BEST Project– the first clinical randomised control trial on the use of silicon dressings for
  scarring.
• The Restore Collaborative– currently establishing both the patient and clinician
  understanding of burn management across the globe and if there are any barriers to
  implementing the optimum first aid for burns.

Dr Issa said “I look forward to guiding Restore over the coming years and responding to new
developments in the science of burns treatment, ensuring we are at the forefront of the field and
making a measurable impact on patient care.”

We thank Mr Jonathon Pleat, the outgoing Director of Research, for his forward-thinking leadership
over many years and for guiding Restore to the cutting edge of burns research.

 

By Jasmine Bailey, Restore Student Fellow