Interview with Dr. Adam Landsman, DPM, PhD,
Assistant Professor of Surgery Harvard Medical School

Why bring research and clinical trials to SMU?
I believe research helps students think more critically about the treatments they observe and helps them formulate important questions.  Doing clinical trials allows you to study pathologies, blood and imaging work more than you would in standard private practice.  I also find we provide a higher level of care for our patients because we study them so closely we can catch things that slip past regular clinic exams.

What type of clinical trial will you be teaching? 
A significant portion of the clinical trials will address complications of diabetes, usually for ulcerations. This is one area that is of interest to the medical community at large.  Patients participating in the trials will already have the wounds; therefore these particular studies will not be about preventing the ulcers, but rather, healing them once they are formed.  We will be doing the most cutting edge treatment on people who wouldn't have access otherwise. 

What type of complications?
Let's say you have a sore and six weeks goes by and it hasn't changed in size; this usually is considered to be a chronic wound and they are very difficult to close.  Normally when you get a scratch you put a band-aid on it and three days later it's gone.  For those suffering with diabetes a wound can go on for three or more years.

Why the concern?
Diabetics have a few problems that make their wounds difficult to treat - one is neuropathy. The patient doesn't feel the wound, so for many the first time they realize they have a footsore is when they see blood on the carpet.  Poor eyesight, one of the things that is affected by diabetes, and poor sensation make it difficult to spot the wound early as well.  So it's not uncommon for a wound to advance pretty far before a patient realizes he/she has an injury.

When will the trials begin?
We plan to start the first clinical trials in November. We are also trying to expand the facilities for more basic science research, as well as a motion analysis lab to study the way people walk.

How can research advance students to the next level in their career?
You are going to have people that are always pushing the envelope and are willing to work at the leading edge to develop new and more advanced research programs, all the time.  My objective is to have the students think as researchers and give them the tools to be analytical, and to look at the literature and say, 'hey this doesn't make sense,' or 'this is brilliant,' or something in between.  

How does research expand the University's vision to be nationally recognized as a premier health sciences institution?
It clearly shows Samuel Merritt University is interested in making itself the best it can be.  Faculty and staff come up with a concept and SMU seems to move quickly and decisively.  I've been to places where an idea has been kicked around for years and years before anything happens.

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