Faculty

Shomita Steiner

PhD
McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh

2027 Sessions

WHS Session M: The Diabetic Foot Consortium Going Beyond the Wound: Science, Care, Communication, and Community

The NIH/NIDDK Diabetic Foot Consortium (DFC) shows that healing diabetic foot ulcers takes more than wound closure—it takes coordinated science, standardized care, clear communication, and community partnership. This session spans the full arc of consortium work: from DFC resources and public engagement, to reducing practice variation, to a multidimensional biomarker matrix and the wound-healing trajectory, and finally to translating data into community impact. Together, the talks show how consortium-scale collaboration links mechanistic science, biomarker-driven prediction, and clinical practice into a single continuum of care. DFC Overview: Resources, Collaboration, and Public Engagement Crystal Holmes, DPM, CWSP; Shomita Steiner, PhD From Practice Variation to Standards of Care Brian Schmidt, DPM The Biomarker Matrix: Beyond a Single Marker Kellen Chen, PhD The Methylation Landscape: Cellular Memory and Its Role in Predicting DFU Healing Kanhaiya Singh, PhD From Data to Community Impact Semere Wagahta, PhD

Moderator (WHS)

Presenter (WHS)

Friday, April 30 3:30–4:30 PM
1.00 Credits
WHS
Faculty

Crystal Holmes

DPM
Clinical Associate Professor
University of Michigan

Crystal Murray Holmes, DPM, is a podiatry specialist in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She graduated from Kent State College of Podiatric Medicine. Dr. Holmes is currently a Clinical Associate Professor with University of Michigan Health System. She founded the Michigan Medicine Podiatry program in 2006 and still serves as the Program Director. She also has an active role in the training program for the University of Michigan Podiatry Research Fellowship in Limb Preservation, Wound Care, and Diabetes Related Lower Extremity Complications. The fellowship involves emphasis on research and patient populations at risk for limb loss. Dr. Holmes has had numerous leadership roles in national and international organizations such as chairperson on the scientific meeting planning committees at the International Working Group Diabetic Foot: Charcot, American Podiatric Medical Association and American Diabetes Association, and is a past president of the Michigan Podiatric Medical Association. She has research interest in diabetes limb preservation and has grant funding from the NIH/NIDDK and serves as a principle investigator in the Diabetic Foot Consortium.

Faculty

Shomita Steiner

PhD
McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh
Planning Committee

Kellen Chen

PhD
Assistant Professor
University of Arizona

Kellen Chen, PhD, is an assistant research professor in the Department of Surgery and Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Arizona, College of Medicine – Tucson. He previously received his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Virginia and earned his B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Chen completed his postdoctoral research fellowship at Stanford University.

Dr. Chen studies therapies to improve outcomes after injury, skin grafting, chronic wound development, biomedical device implantation, and more. Among these many research avenues, Dr. Chen is particularly interested in the molecular and cellular drivers of fibrosis and regeneration across all organ systems, and he previously studied healing after myocardial infarction or Achilles tendon injuries. He is also currently working on obtaining FDA approval for a clinical trial to study pharmacological inhibition of mechanical signaling to accelerate healing of deep dermal injury.

Dr. Chen has co-authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications and three book chapters, including first author publications in journals such as the Science Translational Medicine, Nature Communications, and PNAS. He has received a variety of awards, including the First Place Young Investigator’s Award from the Wound Healing Society.

Faculty

Crystal Holmes

DPM
Clinical Associate Professor
University of Michigan

Crystal Murray Holmes, DPM, is a podiatry specialist in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She graduated from Kent State College of Podiatric Medicine. Dr. Holmes is currently a Clinical Associate Professor with University of Michigan Health System. She founded the Michigan Medicine Podiatry program in 2006 and still serves as the Program Director. She also has an active role in the training program for the University of Michigan Podiatry Research Fellowship in Limb Preservation, Wound Care, and Diabetes Related Lower Extremity Complications. The fellowship involves emphasis on research and patient populations at risk for limb loss. Dr. Holmes has had numerous leadership roles in national and international organizations such as chairperson on the scientific meeting planning committees at the International Working Group Diabetic Foot: Charcot, American Podiatric Medical Association and American Diabetes Association, and is a past president of the Michigan Podiatric Medical Association. She has research interest in diabetes limb preservation and has grant funding from the NIH/NIDDK and serves as a principle investigator in the Diabetic Foot Consortium.

Faculty

Brian Schmidt

DPM
Associate Professor of Internal Medicine
University of Michigan Medical School

Brian Schmidt, DPM is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology, and Diabetes at the University of Michigan Medical School. He was raised in Michigan and completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan. After undergrad program, Dr. Schmidt proceeded to Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science and graduated summa cum laude as a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM).

Dr. Schmidt completed his Podiatric Medicine and Surgery Residency with Reconstructive Rearfoot and Ankle certification at Yale University. Dr. Schmidt is board certified by the American Board of Podiatric Medicine (ABPM). He has published numerous peer-reviewed manuscripts, book chapters, and is a leading expert in diabetic foot.

Dr. Schmidt has applied his clinical interest to translational research to better understand and promote diabetic foot ulcer healing and limb salvage through science. He is actively supported in his research by the National Institute of Health (NIH), the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), and industry.

Dr. Schmidt is an active member in multiple medical societies and holds leadership roles.

Faculty

Kanhaiya Singh

PhD
Associate Professor
University of Pittsburgh

Dr. Kanhaiya Singh is an Associate Professor at the Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Singh received his doctoral degree in Biotechnology from Banaras Hindu University, India. Prior to joining University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Singh served as an Assitant Professor at Indiana University. His research focus is on epigenetic mechanisms of gene expression during diabetic vasculopathy and includes single-cell transcriptomics and single-cell ATAC sequencing approaches to investigate the molecular pathways that are compromised. His laboratory is also investigating the epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation as a proxy for abnormal gene–environmental interactions in diabetic ischemic wounds. Current line of study aims to develop a simple and point of care approach to achieve targeted epigenetic editing of adult diabetic ischemic tissue in vivo. To that end, his team is employing Tissue Nanotransfection (TNT) technology as a delivery platform to administer combination gene therapy for diabetic ischemic tissue rescue. This research is funded through peer-reviewed grants from Department of Defense (DoD) and NIH-NIDDK. Dr. Singh has authored more than 50 peer reviewed publications. Dr Singh has been an Editorial Boards peer reviewed journals such as Scientific Reports, Plos One, Frontiers in Endocrinology and Heliyon. In this role, he has edited more than 200 publications and 4 special issues. He serves as active member of Wound Healing Society and American Diabetes Association.

Faculty

Shomita Steiner

PhD
McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh
Faculty

Semere Wagahta

PhD

WHS Session M: The Diabetic Foot Consortium Going Beyond the Wound: Science, Care, Communication, and Community

The NIH/NIDDK Diabetic Foot Consortium (DFC) shows that healing diabetic foot ulcers takes more than wound closure—it takes coordinated science, standardized care, clear communication, and community partnership. This session spans the full arc of consortium work: from DFC resources and public engagement, to reducing practice variation, to a multidimensional biomarker matrix and the wound-healing trajectory, and finally to translating data into community impact. Together, the talks show how consortium-scale collaboration links mechanistic science, biomarker-driven prediction, and clinical practice into a single continuum of care. DFC Overview: Resources, Collaboration, and Public Engagement Crystal Holmes, DPM, CWSP; Shomita Steiner, PhD From Practice Variation to Standards of Care Brian Schmidt, DPM The Biomarker Matrix: Beyond a Single Marker Kellen Chen, PhD The Methylation Landscape: Cellular Memory and Its Role in Predicting DFU Healing Kanhaiya Singh, PhD From Data to Community Impact Semere Wagahta, PhD

Moderator (WHS)

Presenter (WHS)

Friday, April 30 3:30–4:30 PM
1.00 Credits
WHS
Faculty

Crystal Holmes

DPM
Clinical Associate Professor
University of Michigan

Crystal Murray Holmes, DPM, is a podiatry specialist in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She graduated from Kent State College of Podiatric Medicine. Dr. Holmes is currently a Clinical Associate Professor with University of Michigan Health System. She founded the Michigan Medicine Podiatry program in 2006 and still serves as the Program Director. She also has an active role in the training program for the University of Michigan Podiatry Research Fellowship in Limb Preservation, Wound Care, and Diabetes Related Lower Extremity Complications. The fellowship involves emphasis on research and patient populations at risk for limb loss. Dr. Holmes has had numerous leadership roles in national and international organizations such as chairperson on the scientific meeting planning committees at the International Working Group Diabetic Foot: Charcot, American Podiatric Medical Association and American Diabetes Association, and is a past president of the Michigan Podiatric Medical Association. She has research interest in diabetes limb preservation and has grant funding from the NIH/NIDDK and serves as a principle investigator in the Diabetic Foot Consortium.

Faculty

Shomita Steiner

PhD
McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh
Planning Committee

Kellen Chen

PhD
Assistant Professor
University of Arizona

Kellen Chen, PhD, is an assistant research professor in the Department of Surgery and Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Arizona, College of Medicine – Tucson. He previously received his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Virginia and earned his B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Chen completed his postdoctoral research fellowship at Stanford University.

Dr. Chen studies therapies to improve outcomes after injury, skin grafting, chronic wound development, biomedical device implantation, and more. Among these many research avenues, Dr. Chen is particularly interested in the molecular and cellular drivers of fibrosis and regeneration across all organ systems, and he previously studied healing after myocardial infarction or Achilles tendon injuries. He is also currently working on obtaining FDA approval for a clinical trial to study pharmacological inhibition of mechanical signaling to accelerate healing of deep dermal injury.

Dr. Chen has co-authored over 50 peer-reviewed publications and three book chapters, including first author publications in journals such as the Science Translational Medicine, Nature Communications, and PNAS. He has received a variety of awards, including the First Place Young Investigator’s Award from the Wound Healing Society.

Faculty

Crystal Holmes

DPM
Clinical Associate Professor
University of Michigan

Crystal Murray Holmes, DPM, is a podiatry specialist in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She graduated from Kent State College of Podiatric Medicine. Dr. Holmes is currently a Clinical Associate Professor with University of Michigan Health System. She founded the Michigan Medicine Podiatry program in 2006 and still serves as the Program Director. She also has an active role in the training program for the University of Michigan Podiatry Research Fellowship in Limb Preservation, Wound Care, and Diabetes Related Lower Extremity Complications. The fellowship involves emphasis on research and patient populations at risk for limb loss. Dr. Holmes has had numerous leadership roles in national and international organizations such as chairperson on the scientific meeting planning committees at the International Working Group Diabetic Foot: Charcot, American Podiatric Medical Association and American Diabetes Association, and is a past president of the Michigan Podiatric Medical Association. She has research interest in diabetes limb preservation and has grant funding from the NIH/NIDDK and serves as a principle investigator in the Diabetic Foot Consortium.

Faculty

Brian Schmidt

DPM
Associate Professor of Internal Medicine
University of Michigan Medical School

Brian Schmidt, DPM is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology, and Diabetes at the University of Michigan Medical School. He was raised in Michigan and completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan. After undergrad program, Dr. Schmidt proceeded to Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science and graduated summa cum laude as a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM).

Dr. Schmidt completed his Podiatric Medicine and Surgery Residency with Reconstructive Rearfoot and Ankle certification at Yale University. Dr. Schmidt is board certified by the American Board of Podiatric Medicine (ABPM). He has published numerous peer-reviewed manuscripts, book chapters, and is a leading expert in diabetic foot.

Dr. Schmidt has applied his clinical interest to translational research to better understand and promote diabetic foot ulcer healing and limb salvage through science. He is actively supported in his research by the National Institute of Health (NIH), the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), and industry.

Dr. Schmidt is an active member in multiple medical societies and holds leadership roles.

Faculty

Kanhaiya Singh

PhD
Associate Professor
University of Pittsburgh

Dr. Kanhaiya Singh is an Associate Professor at the Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Singh received his doctoral degree in Biotechnology from Banaras Hindu University, India. Prior to joining University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Singh served as an Assitant Professor at Indiana University. His research focus is on epigenetic mechanisms of gene expression during diabetic vasculopathy and includes single-cell transcriptomics and single-cell ATAC sequencing approaches to investigate the molecular pathways that are compromised. His laboratory is also investigating the epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation as a proxy for abnormal gene–environmental interactions in diabetic ischemic wounds. Current line of study aims to develop a simple and point of care approach to achieve targeted epigenetic editing of adult diabetic ischemic tissue in vivo. To that end, his team is employing Tissue Nanotransfection (TNT) technology as a delivery platform to administer combination gene therapy for diabetic ischemic tissue rescue. This research is funded through peer-reviewed grants from Department of Defense (DoD) and NIH-NIDDK. Dr. Singh has authored more than 50 peer reviewed publications. Dr Singh has been an Editorial Boards peer reviewed journals such as Scientific Reports, Plos One, Frontiers in Endocrinology and Heliyon. In this role, he has edited more than 200 publications and 4 special issues. He serves as active member of Wound Healing Society and American Diabetes Association.

Faculty

Shomita Steiner

PhD
McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh
Faculty

Semere Wagahta

PhD
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