Timothy Koh: How can inflammation improve wound healing in diabetes

For people with diabetes, the healing of even a small wound can be hampered by damaged blood vessels, impaired immune cells and poor circulation.

"There's millions of people who suffer from diabetes, and up to 25% of them will end up with a chronic wound in their lifetime," said Tim Koh, professor of kinesiology and nutrition in the UIC College of Applied Health Sciences at UIC.

Diabetes is a major unsolved problem in the field of tissue repair, and chronic ulcers and other wounds can have devastating effects. This is where Koh's research group comes in.

"We're trying to identify potential pathways that we can target that would improve healing and prevent the downstream events like amputation and death," he said.

They do this by studying inflammation, focusing on macrophages, a type of immune cell that can take on many functions. In one major study, Koh and colleagues completely eliminated macrophages from a wound. They found that the wound couldn't heal without them. "We need inflammation not just to prevent infection, but to get healing to occur," Koh said. In diabetes, macrophage function is disturbed, contributing to poor healing. Koh's group is trying to improve healing by restoring that function.

After arriving at UIC in 2001, Koh studied muscle injury and repair. An avid runner, he pursued a master's degree in sports biomechanics and a PhD in muscle mechanics.

He turned his attention to tissue injury thanks to colleague Dr. Luisa DiPietro, professor of periodontics and director of the UIC Center for Wound Healing and Tissue Regeneration. "She's been a collaborator and has been instrumental in gathering wound-healing researchers at UIC and in Chicago," Koh said.

Koh's studies of macrophages and their roles in wound healing have been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Currently on sabbatical, Koh has been developing a new course for the department of kinesiology and nutrition that prompts students to dive deeper into trending health topics.

In addition to DiPietro, Koh credits Dr. William Ennis as a valued partner in his research. Ennis, chief of wound healing and tissue repair at UI Health, has helped Koh integrate patient experiences into his research.

"I'm able to see what these wounds really look like, and see the concerns of the patients," Koh said. "We tend to be focused on what's happening in the wound, but it's attached to a person."