Foundations & Research

Professor Widgerow completed his undergraduate and post-graduate studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. He was the top surgical graduate at the University of Witwatersrand in 1989. He has held various positions in numerous academic and professional associations, including that of President of the Association of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery of Southern Africa (APRSSA). He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and was appointed Honorary Professor by the Senate of Wits University in 1999. He is author of more than 110 plastic surgical-related publications and two books. He is currently Editor-in-Chief of “Wound Healing Southern Africa.” He was also the founder and medical director of eleven wound clinics in South Africa. His current fields of interest are translational basic science research, medical device innovations, tissue engineering and wound healing.

After twenty years in private plastic surgical practice in South Africa, Prof Widgerow relocated to Irvine, California in Dec. 2009, to pursue his interests in research, medical device innovations and wound care, but he still plays an active role in academic medicine worldwide. In August 2012, he joined the University of California Irvine Plastic Surgery Division as Clinical Professor and Director of the Laboratory of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (TERM). He has redesigned and introduced major research projects to the TERM Lab and has entered submissions on multiple Grant proposals. He has recruited a team of fifteen researchers and runs a vibrant, dynamic research facility at UCIMC.