Singaporean’s research spells new hope for healing severe skin injuries, chronic wounds

Singaporean researcher Magdalene Ho is chief executive and co-founder of Traxion Biotech, a company working to commercialise a smart wound-dressing technology.

PHOTO: ENTERPRISE LAB, IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON

Published Oct 05, 2026, 05:00 AM

Updated Oct 05, 2026, 05:00 AM

SINGAPORE – Spending time in hospitals as a child helped set a Singaporean researcher on a path to bioengineering, eventually leading her to develop a smart wound-dressing technology that could make wounds heal twice as fast.

Magdalene Ho, chief executive and co-founder of Traxion Biotech – a spin-off from Imperial College London – hopes that in a couple of years, the technology can benefit patients, particularly those with traumatic wounds and severe skin injuries, where body tissue has been lost through accidents or burns.

The technology uses traction force-activated payloads (TrAPs), which harness the forces generated by cells as they move through the body to release healing proteins where needed to help repair damaged tissue.

Ho told The Straits Times that other possible future uses include treating chronic wounds like diabetic foot ulcers and “potentially even beyond skin, for example, into bone, muscle, nerves and other applications”.

“Ultimately, we hope this means better healing, fewer complications, and that patients can get back to their lives sooner,” the 30-year-old added.

Ho and her British research colleagues demonstrated good results for the TrAPs technology and had their findings published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Materials, one of the leading academic journals in materials science, on July 27.

The technology is based on a natural process in which cells generate forces as they interact with the extracellular matrix, the network of tissue around them. These forces are particularly important during processes such as wound healing and when the body mounts an immune response.

The research team at the lab of Ben Almquist, an associate professor at Imperial College’s bioengineering department, used these forces as an intrinsic trigger.

TrAPs are biostructures that bind healing proteins. When cells pull on the TrAPs, they trigger the release of these proteins at the right place and time to help repair damaged tissue.

Scaffolds for wound healing

With this, wound healing can likely occur at double the normal speed, as shown through the lab’s tests on living skin, said Ho, who is also a post-doctoral research associate at Imperial’s bioengineering department.

The current standard treatment involves scaffolds, or biomaterials specially engineered to interact safely with human biological systems for medical purposes.

Because TrAPs can be incorporated into existing wound-treatment scaffolds, there is no need to develop an entirely new treatment platform. This could shorten the time needed to bring the technology to commercial use, said Ho.

As the technology taps the body’s own repair mechanism, it can be easily adapted and integrated into existing products used to treat traumatic wounds and severe skin injuries.

It can likely reduce the need for expensive healing drugs if the repair materials can come directly from the patient’s own blood or wound tissue and be used at much lower concentrations than drugs, she added.

TrAPs were designed to be directly applicable to products already used in clinics, minimising the need for doctors and nurses to change how they treat wounds.

Almquist told ST: “What particularly stands out with this research is that the patient’s own body becomes the pharmacy.

“We are not delivering a manufactured drug and hoping it survives long enough to work. We are capturing what the body is already making and giving it back to the cells that need it.”

Building on the successful demonstration of this technology on rat bone injuries, mouse skin wounds and living human skin maintained in the laboratory, Traxion Biotech will now put the technology through large-animal validation and safety studies, ahead of an eventual bid for regulatory approval.

What started off as a summer research project with the Almquist Lab at Imperial College London eventually led Magdalene Ho to work with her colleagues on developing the smart wound-dressing technology. PHOTO: THOMAS ANGUS/IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON

What started off as a summer research project with the Almquist Lab at Imperial College London eventually led Magdalene Ho to work with her colleagues on developing the smart wound-dressing technology.

PHOTO: THOMAS ANGUS/IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON

Ho described publishing the team’s work in Nature Materials as a special moment for the team.

Personally, she felt “a mix of excitement and some satisfaction”, as it represented years of research during her time at Imperial.

Often-overlooked challenge

Ho added that wound healing is often an underappreciated clinical issue, despite the enormous burden on patients and healthcare systems.

Having the team’s work recognised in the journal will hopefully help shine a light on this “silent epidemic”.

Overseas studies estimate that 19% to 34% of those with diabetes will develop a foot ulcer over their lifetime.

A 2023 study of Singapore’s acute hospital data estimated that more than 16,700 people were admitted each year with a chronic wound, creating an economic burden of about $350 million.

Traxion is currently building its network in the UK and US, and Ho said it would be meaningful if the benefits of TrAPs could be brought to Singapore and, through Singapore, to other Asian markets.

Frequent sports injuries

Ho spent the last decade furthering her bioengineering studies and work experience abroad. She said she initially wanted to become a doctor after spending time in hospitals growing up, either for frequent sports injuries from practising track and field activities or while caring for family members with illnesses that required hospitalisation.

An incidental lunchtime seminar she attended, where she heard about medical innovations, steered her towards biomedical engineering – “a science that can save lives” – when she realised the significant impact that good innovations could have.

Her studies at Imperial started in 2015, where she went on to attain a Master of Science in biomedical engineering and a PhD.

In the midst of her master’s studies, she took on a year-long industrial placement in Switzerland with pharmaceutical company Novartis “to learn how breakthroughs are translated into patients in multinational companies”.

She also spent a few months in the US at two different universities for training and a collaborative study.

Speaking about her future plans, Ho said she enjoys living in London now but remains open to relocating to places that provide the best support, talent, funding and ecosystem to allow more patients to benefit from the team’s technology.

She usually travels back to Singapore at least once a year to visit her family, including her grandmother, and has made more frequent trips lately to attend weddings.

As to whether she will return to pursue a research career here, Ho reiterated that she is open to wherever opportunities take her.

Nevertheless, she added: “Singapore will always have a very special place in my heart because it was home for the first part of my life.”

新加坡研究员何玛格达琳是Traxion Biotech的首席执行官兼联合创始人，该公司致力于将智能伤口敷料技术商业化。

图片：伦敦帝国理工学院企业实验室

发布于 2026 年 10 月 5 日上午 5:00

更新于2026年10月5日上午5:00

新加坡——童年时期在医院的经历帮助一位新加坡研究人员走上了生物工程之路，最终促使她开发出一种智能伤口敷料技术，可以使伤口愈合速度提高一倍。

伦敦帝国理工学院衍生公司 Traxion Biotech 的首席执行官兼联合创始人 Magdalene Ho 希望，几年后，这项技术能够造福患者，特别是那些遭受创伤性伤口和严重皮肤损伤的患者，这些患者的身体组织因事故或烧伤而丧失。

该技术利用牵引力激活有效载荷（TrAPs），利用细胞在体内移动时产生的力，在需要的地方释放修复蛋白，以帮助修复受损组织。

何先生告诉《海峡时报》，其他可能的未来用途包括治疗糖尿病足溃疡等慢性伤口，“甚至可能超越皮肤，例如应用于骨骼、肌肉、神经和其他领域”。

“最终，我们希望这意味着更好的康复、更少的并发症，以及患者能够更快地恢复正常生活，”这位 30 岁的医生补充道。

Ho 和她的英国研究同事们展示了 TrAPs 技术的良好效果，他们的研究成果于 7 月 27 日发表在同行评审期刊《自然材料》上，该期刊是材料科学领域领先的学术期刊之一。

这项技术基于一种自然过程：细胞在与细胞外基质（即其周围的组织网络）相互作用时会产生力。这些力在伤口愈合和机体产生免疫反应等过程中尤为重要。

帝国理工学院生物工程系副教授本·阿尔姆奎斯特的实验室研究团队利用这些力作为内在触发器。

TrAPs是能够结合修复蛋白的生物结构。当细胞牵拉TrAPs时，会触发这些蛋白在正确的时间和地点释放，从而帮助修复受损组织。

用于伤口愈合的支架

何教授表示，有了这项技术，伤口愈合的速度可能会是正常速度的两倍，实验室对活体皮肤的测试也证实了这一点。何教授同时也是帝国理工学院生物工程系的博士后研究员。

目前的标准治疗方法是使用支架，或者使用专门设计用于与人体生物系统安全相互作用以达到医疗目的的生物材料。

Ho表示，由于TrAPs可以整合到现有的伤口治疗支架中，因此无需开发全新的治疗平台。这有望缩短该技术商业化所需的时间。

由于该技术利用了人体自身的修复机制，因此可以很容易地进行调整并整合到用于治疗创伤性伤口和严重皮肤损伤的现有产品中。

她补充说，如果修复材料可以直接取自患者自身的血液或伤口组织，并且使用浓度远低于药物，那么就有可能减少对昂贵治疗药物的需求。

TraAPs 的设计旨在直接应用于诊所已使用的产品，最大限度地减少医生和护士改变伤口处理方式的需要。

Almquist 告诉 ST：“这项研究最突出的地方在于，患者自身的身体变成了药房。

“我们不是输送一种人工合成的药物，然后寄希望于它能存活足够长的时间发挥作用。我们是在获取人体自身已经产生的物质，并将其补充给需要的细胞。”

在成功演示了该技术在大鼠骨损伤、小鼠皮肤伤口和实验室中保存的活体人类皮肤上的效果之后，Traxion Biotech 现在将对该技术进行大型动物验证和安全性研究，最终争取获得监管部门的批准。

最初，玛格达琳·何（Magdalene Ho）在伦敦帝国理工学院阿尔姆奎斯特实验室参与了一个暑期研究项目，最终却与同事们一起致力于智能伤口敷料技术的研发。照片：托马斯·安格斯/伦敦帝国理工学院

最初，Magdalene Ho 在伦敦帝国理工学院 Almquist 实验室开展了一个暑期研究项目，最终促使她与同事们一起开发智能伤口敷料技术。

照片：托马斯·安格斯/伦敦帝国理工学院

Ho 表示，在《自然·材料》上发表团队的研究成果是团队的一个特殊时刻。

她个人感到“既兴奋又有些满足”，因为这代表了她在帝国理工学院期间多年的研究成果。

常被忽视的挑战

何医生补充说，尽管伤口愈合给患者和医疗保健系统带来了巨大的负担，但它往往是一个被低估的临床问题。

团队的研究成果能在期刊上得到认可，有望帮助人们关注到这种“无声的流行病”。

海外研究估计，19%至34%的糖尿病患者在其一生中会患上足部溃疡。

2023 年新加坡急性医院数据的一项研究估计，每年有超过 16,700 人因慢性伤口入院，造成约 3.5 亿美元的经济负担。

Traxion 目前正在英国和美国建设其网络，Ho 表示，如果 Trap 的好处能够带到新加坡，并通过新加坡带到其他亚洲市场，那将意义非凡。

频繁的运动损伤

何女士过去十年一直在海外深造生物工程专业并积累工作经验。她说，她最初的梦想是成为一名医生，因为她从小就经常出入医院，要么是因为练习田径运动时经常受伤，要么是因为照顾生病需要住院的家人。

一次偶然的机会，她参加了一个午餐研讨会，会上她了解到了医学创新，这让她意识到好的创新可以产生重大影响，并由此走上了生物医学工程——“一门可以拯救生命的科学”。

她于 2015 年开始在帝国理工学院学习，并在那里获得了生物医学工程硕士学位和博士学位。

在攻读硕士学位期间，她曾在瑞士的诺华制药公司进行为期一年的工业实习，“以了解跨国公司如何将突破性成果转化为患者疗效”。

她还曾在美国的两所不同的大学待了几个月，接受培训并参与合作研究。

谈到未来的计划，何女士表示，她现在很享受在伦敦的生活，但她仍然愿意搬迁到能够提供最佳支持、人才、资金和生态系统的地方，以便让更多的患者受益于该团队的技术。

她通常每年至少回新加坡一次探望家人，包括她的祖母，最近更是频繁前往新加坡参加婚礼。

至于她是否会回到这里继续从事研究工作，何女士重申，她对任何机会都持开放态度。

不过，她补充道：“新加坡在我心中永远占有非常特殊的地位，因为那是我生命最初阶段的家。”