Academic Research Collaboration Message Board

Vitaliy Volansky, DPM

Department/Division: General Surgery/ Podiatry Division

vitaliy.volansky@bmc.org

Research Project Description:

I am conducting funded research in chronic wound healing and limb salvage at Boston Medical Center, a safety-net hospital with a high volume of diabetic foot, venous leg, and other complex chronic ulcers.

I serve as PI on multiple Phase 3 multicenter trials of skin substitutes, cellular matrices, and biologic grafts, supported by an experienced clinical trial and regulatory infrastructure. Building on this foundation, I am developing investigator-initiated studies with three aims: (1) identify wound exudate biomarkers (e.g., proteases, inflammatory cytokines, growth factors) that predict healing and response to advanced therapies; (2) characterize outcomes and treatment response in sickle cell leg ulcers, an understudied and difficult-to-heal population; and (3) develop an AI-based smartphone imaging tool to automate plantar offloading prescriptions for diabetic foot ulcers.

My primary question is why some chronic wounds heal while others stall, and how to match each patient to the right therapy early rather than through months of trial and error. Answering it has implications for amputation prevention, healthcare costs, and health equity in underserved populations.

Clinical Science Expertise needed:

Basic science wound biology and tissue repair; proteomic or molecular assay expertise for wound exudate biomarker analysis; biobanking; computer vision and machine learning for wound imaging. Clinical Science Hematology (sickle cell disease); vascular surgery and endocrinology (diabetic foot and venous disease); biostatistics and epidemiology; outcomes research on amputation and health disparities.