The Fiona Wood Foundation is thrilled to celebrate the doctoral achievement of Tyler Osborne, one of our PhD researchers, who has successfully completed his Doctor of Philosophy at Murdoch University.
Tyler’s research explores an important and often overlooked question in burn care: how non-severe burn injuries affect metabolic health over time.
While severe burns are known to cause major changes to the body’s metabolism, Tyler’s work shows that even smaller burns can have lasting systemic effects. His research demonstrates that people with non-severe burns may experience elevated metabolic activity for years after their injury, meaning the body continues to use energy at higher-than-expected levels long after the skin has healed.
Importantly, Tyler’s work highlights that these metabolic changes may increase the risk of long-term conditions linked to metabolism and ageing, including type 2 diabetes.
Through his PhD, Tyler investigated several key aspects of metabolic function after burn injury, including:
- Increased resting energy expenditure after non-severe burns
- Changes in carbohydrate metabolism
- Inflammation related to metabolic stress
His research also explored whether exercise could help address these changes. Tyler demonstrated that a six-week combined strength and aerobic exercise program was safe and well-tolerated in people recovering from non-severe burns, providing valuable insights for future rehabilitation approaches.
Building on these findings, Tyler has developed a protocol for a future clinical trial investigating long-term exercise and dietary interventions to improve metabolic health following burn injury.
Non-severe burns account for around 93% of burns treated in hospitals, making this research particularly significant for improving the long-term care and recovery of burn patients.
Tyler’s work represents an important contribution to the growing understanding that burn injuries affect far more than the skin. His research is helping shape future approaches to recovery, rehabilitation and long-term health after burn injury.
We congratulate Tyler on this outstanding achievement and thank him for his dedication to advancing burn research.