We are a novel
wound-care research organization
Our Mission
Open Wound Research is a forward-thinking organisation focused on advancing wound care through innovation and collaboration. Our mission is to:
- Simplify wound care studies, making them easier to conduct and reproduce
- Make wound care more accessible and actionable for clinical, fiduciary, and industry stakeholders
- Provide high-quality wound care data and software using open-source principles
- Create and promote generative models that advance knowledge in wound care
Who We Are
At Open Wound Research, we’re dedicated to making wound care research easier, more reliable, and impactful.
We bring together expertise in clinical care, research, and data science to create tools and data pipelines that meet the unique needs of our partners.
We believe in sharing knowledge, which is why we open-source our data and software to encourage transparency and collaboration across the wound care community.
Our goal is to make research simpler and more actionable for everyone involved.
Areas of Focus
Open Wound Research works with sponsors and wound care stakeholders to conduct impactful research.
Latest research findings and innovative solutions
Meet the team
Our team is a passionate and diverse group of individuals, each bringing unique skills and expertise to the table. Get to know the talented people who make it all happen!
Zweli Tunyiswa
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder
Zweli is an experienced healthcare management professional and an entrepreneur with a background in quantitative marketing and data science. He has worked in wound care since 2011 when he joined, helped build, and became a partner at one of the largest post-acute wound-care consultancies in the nation.
It was during that time that he delved into the study of wound care, primarily at the market and institutional level, and secondarily at the clinical level. The challenges of wound care research led to his conversion to a Bayesian, commiserations with Ryan Dirks, and a partnership in the form of Open Wound Research, to bring cutting-edge statistical and data science methods to wound care research.
Ryan Dirks
P.A., Chief Clinical Officer and Co-Founder
Ryan became interested in caring for patients as a Physician Assistant to extend physicians' hands and provide care in underserved areas. His passion for sports as an NCAA athlete and Olympic hopeful made sports medicine a natural fit. In 2011, he was introduced to skilled nursing wound care and felt a unique calling to provide specialty care in an often underserved area.
The love for this work and increasing demand sparked the idea of starting United Wound Healing, and eventually, his role as CEO led to full-time leadership and administration.
His role as CEO at United Wound Healing, and his longtime relationships with Dr. Frykberg and Zwelithini, led to a mutual agreement that there was a unique opportunity to join their unique skillsets together to bring a new vision to wound care research.
Robert Frykberg
D.P.M., Chief Research Officer
Dr. Frykberg is a widely respected and experienced wound care clinician, educator, researcher, and speaker. He is a graduate of the California College of Podiatric Medicine, and Harvard School of Public Health, where he obtained his Masters in Public Health (MPH).
In his 46 years of wound care research, he has been involved in more than one hundred publications and studies, where he has brought his considerable intellectual gravitas to bear on the study of wound care, with a focus on diabetic wounds and limb salvage.
Dr. Frykberg's commitment to gold-standard wound research and his experience in the reality of wound care, research and otherwise, is invaluable to Open Wound Research’s mission.
Our published articles and posters
These works reflect our commitment to advancing knowledge and sharing innovative solutions through research and collaborative efforts.
Our Blog
Our blogs cover the latest trends and insights in open wound injury, offering expert tips and practical advice to keep you informed and inspired.
