Pioneer Research
As well as being a provider of clinical care across ambulatory, acute and community care and providing advice and support through telehealth, Pioneer Wound Healing and Lymphoedema Centres also conducts research studies. All studies are co-ordinated from Pioneer’s Research Centre based in the Life Sciences and Innovation Centre, Inverness, Scotland.
Pioneer Publications
Click the button below to browse through recent Pioneer publications:
Research is a core value to Pioneer – we ensure that all our staff actively engages with our research activities, ensuring full commitment to recruitment of trial participants and promoting a culture of innovation
Our Research department excels in delivering rigorous and meaningful Research within wound healing, lymphoedema and lipoedema diagnosis and management. We commit to share the results of this Research with the global healthcare community to drive innovation and best practice for better patient outcomes.
Pioneer’s Organisational Values
With clinical centres across the UK and Panama, combined with our existing research partnerships with colleagues across South-East Asia, Pioneer are uniquely placed to support organisations seeking to deliver real world evidence from truly diverse and international populations.
From the first steps in new device development through to clinical and laboratory studies for regulatory approval and post marketing studies, Pioneer are dedicated to working in collaboration with our Research Partners.
Chief Medical Officer
Prof. Steven Jeffery
(Consultant Burns and Plastic Surgeon)
Chief Executive Officer
Prof. David Gray
(Tissue Viability Nurse Consultant)
Research Director
Prof. Michael Clark
Nurse Director
Carla Leca
(Tissue Viability Nurse Consultant)
Lead Research Nurse
Debbie Delloson
(Senior Tissue Viability Nurse Specialist)
+ 100
clinicians
Chief Medical Officer
Prof. Steven Jeffery
(Consultant Burns and Plastic Surgeon)
Chief Executive Officer
Prof. David Gray
(Tissue Viability Nurse Consultant)
Research Director
Prof. Michael Clark
Nurse Director
Carla Leca
(Tissue Viability Nurse Consultant)
Lead Research Nurse
Debbie Delloson
(Senior Tissue Viability Nurse Specialist)
+ 100
clinicians
Chief Medical Officer
Prof. Steven Jeffery
(Consultant Burns and Plastic Surgeon)
Chief Executive Officer
Prof. David Gray
(Tissue Viability Nurse Consultant)
Research Director
Prof. Michael Clark
Nurse Director
Carla Leca
(Tissue Viability Nurse Consultant)
Lead Research Nurse
Debbie Delloson
(Senior Tissue Viability Nurse Specialist)
+ 100
clinicians
- Research activities from phase I to phase IV Clinical Trials (from healthy volunteer studies, bench and laboratory investigations, case series through to multi centred Randomised Controlled Trials)
- Single and multi- centred studies
- Exceptional recruitment rates
- Supporting protocol development to provide innovative, efficient studies, with relevant outcome measures and appropriate sample sizes
- Data management and analysis
- Creation of final reports and preparation of manuscripts
- Creation of journal publications and conference presentations
- Ability to manage studies from planning to implementation and reporting, providing the full services of a CRO
Clinical trials
Research Objectives
Study Design
Informed Consent
Randomisation and Blinding
Data Collection and Monitoring
Analysis and Reporting
Our Research portfolio ranges from studies on fish skin, lasers, chemical debridement, compression methods, nutritional supplements, to sub-bandage pressure sensors and neuro-stimulation devices amongst other advanced wound care technology and lymphoedema management products or pathways.
See our most recent publications below.
If you would like to contact us regarding future Research collaborations, please contact info@pioneer-whlc.org.
Author(s): D. Gray, J. MacDonald, E. Huthersall, C. Jeffrey
Journal of Community Nursing (JCN) | July 2026
“Exploring the impact of non-healing wounds on primary care workload in Scotland”
Author(s): S. Jeffery, A. Wakaf, L. Marlinghaus, S. Gatermann, T. Meyer, J. Gil, I. Jozic, S. C. Davis
Biomedicines 2026 | 14(8), 1750
“Cold Atmospheric Plasma Disrupts Microbial Wound Bioburden: In Vitro, Porcine MRSA Biofilm, and Clinical Fluorescence Evidence from Bench to Bedside”
Author(s): J. McRoberts, S. Jeffery, D. Dellison
Journal of Wound Care | Volume 33, Sup5a
“Debrichem: A guide to debriding infected and hard-to-heal wounds.”
Author(s): A. Arif, I. Humphreys, S. Jeffery
Journal of Wound Care | 34:8, 623-630
“Vulnamin as an adjunct to standard of care in hard-to-heal venous leg ulcers: clinical effectiveness and cost modelling.”
Author(s): S. Hassan, I. Humphreys, S. Jeffery
Journal of Wound Care | Volume 35, Number 3
“The clinical and cost analysis of laser therapy for healing hard-to-heal leg ulcers: a self-control service evaluation study.”
Author(s): A. Sapre, S. Jeffery, F. Zaqout
International Journal of Tissue Repair | Vol. 2 No. 1 (2026)
“Use of a Biosynthetic Cellulose Dressing in Chronic Venous Leg Ulcer Healing: A Self-Controlled Clinical Service Evaluation”
Author(s): J. Stanton, A. Hickman, D. Rouncivell, F. Collins, D. Gray
Journal of Community Nursing (JCN) | December 2016
“Promoting patient concordance to support rapid leg ulcer healing”
Author(s): D. Gray, J. Stanton, D. Rouncivell, J. McRobert
British Journal of Nursing 2023 | Vol 32, No 15
“Venous and lymphovenous lower limb wound outcomes in specialist UK wound and lymphoedema clinics”
Author(s): D. Gray
Journal of Community Nursing (JCN) | December 2020
“Impact of specialist intervention on VLU healing rates in the community”
Author(s): V. Doody, D. Gray, J. McRobert, D. Rouncivell, P. Cooper
Journal of Community Nursing (JCN) | October 2022
“Wound discharge outcomes of a specialist wound telehealth service in 38 nursing homes over a three-year period”
Author(s): J. Stanton, C. Murphy, D. Gray
Journal of General Practice Nursing (GPN) | December 2017
“Telemedicine in wound care: improving patient outcomes”