Mitchell Sanders

Dr Vickie R. Driver is System Wide Medical Director of the Wound Care and Hyperbaric Centers at INOVA Healthcare in the DC Metropolitan area and is Professor, University of Virginia, School of Medicine. She is also Fellow, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons-Glasgow, PM and Inaugural Fellow, Assoc for the Advancement of Wound Care, FAAWC. Dr Driver has accepted the position as Chair, Board of Directors for the Wound Care Collaborative Community, an important collaboration with the FDA, CMS and the NIH and received a prestigious honor of receiving The Robert A. Warriner III, MD Memorial Award. She is Board Certified with American Board of Podiatric Surgeons and is a Fellow at the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, licensed in VA, MA, and RI. Her career has a special emphasis on wound healing and limb preservation, and she is proud to be an outspoken ambassador for improving care to patients that face

Irena Pastar, Ph.D. is a professor in the Dr. Phillip Frost Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Pastar received doctoral degree in molecular microbiology at the University of Belgrade, followed by postdoctoral trainings at The Rockefeller University and Cornell University Weill Medical College. She was an Assistant Professor at the New York University School of Medicine before joining the University of Miami faculty in 2011. Dr. Pastar’s research focuses on molecular mechanisms of wound healing, cutaneous response to pathogens, mechanism od novel antimicrobial therapies, and molecular pathology of hidradenitis suppurativa and hronic wounds. The long-term goal of Dr Pastar’s research is to enable the development of novel treatments by leveraging understanding of host-pathogen interactions in patients suffering from chronic cutaneous inflammatory conditions. Dr. Pastar is leading multiple translational projects on wound infections funded by National Institute of Health (NIH) and Industry. As an established investigator in the field of wound healing she has been recognized by multiple awards from the Wound Healing Society and Symposium on Advanced Wound Care. She has multiple editorial responsibilities, including serving on editorial board of the Wound Repair and Regeneration Journal and as a grant reviewer for NIH and DoD pannels .

Dr. Piul Rabbani is an Assistant Professor in the Hansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery as well as Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, at New York University School of Medicine. Her lab’s research program is focused on the identification of intercellular communication mechanisms that are deficient in chronic non-healing diabetic cutaneous wounds, with particular interest in compensating with mesenchymal progenitor cell populations. Dr. Rabbani’s lab is investigating extracellular vesicles as mediators of cellular conversation and exploring means of maximizing therapeutic potential of extracellular vesicles harvested from adult multipotent stromal cells. She is also involved in incorporating exosome-based approaches with biomaterials to develop translatable delivery vehicles. Dr. Rabbani did her post-doctoral work with Dr. Daniel Ceradini on multipotent stromal cells, their metabolic regulation, and application within diabetic wound healing. She did her graduate work with Dr. Mayumi Ito, investigating the co-regulation of melanocyte and hair follicle epithelial stem cells.

Dr. Zgheib is a clinical and scientific expert with extensive experience in biomedical innovation, focusing on addressing unmet medical needs to improve patient outcomes. He serves as the Chief Scientific Officer at Ceria Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company developing therapies to regulate inflammation and promote healing. Additionally, he is a faculty member in the Department of Surgery at the University of Arizona, with joint appointments in Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacology.
Dr. Zgheib holds a PhD in Medical Pharmacology and Toxicology, emphasizing inflammation-driven tissue repair and regeneration. His academic background includes a Master’s in Pharmacology and Cosmetology, a Master’s in Biomedical Sciences, and a Bachelor’s in Biochemistry. He completed advanced research training at the Prebys Sanford Burnham Medical Discovery Institute, focusing on inflammation and oxidative stress in injury and identifying therapeutic approaches to enhance healing.
Dr. Zgheib’s expertise spans regenerative medicine, tissue repair, nanotechnology, and biomaterials. He has authored multiple scientific publications and holds several U.S. and international patents. His contributions to the field have been recognized with awards such as the 2023 Wound Healing Society Mid-Career Faculty Award, the 2021 WHF-Medline Innovation Award, and the 2018 Owen H. Wangensteen Excellence in Research Award from the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Zgheib’s leadership and research continue to drive advancements in therapeutic development and patient care.