David G. Armstrong Receives World Union of Wound Healing Societies Lifetime Achievement Award and Fellowship Honor

David G. Armstrong receives the WUWHS Lifetime Achievement Award from his friend and colleague, Professor Emeritus Dato’ Dr. Harikrishna K. R. Nair, President of the World Union of Wound Healing Societies, during the organization’s Silver Jubilee congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The honor recognizes Armstrong’s career contributions to wound care and limb preservation.

International recognition celebrates a career advancing wound care, limb preservation, research, and education.

David G. Armstrong,  Distinguished Professor of Surgery and Neurological Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, received the World Union of Wound Healing Societies (WUWHS) Lifetime Achievement Award and was named a Fellow of the College of Wound Care Specialists (FCWCS) during WUWHS 2026 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Presented during the congress’s Silver Jubilee celebrations, the two honors recognize Armstrong’s sustained contributions to wound care and his career devoted to improving the lives of people at risk for preventable amputation.

Recognition from the global wound care community

At the September 25 opening ceremony, Armstrong was congratulated by his friend and colleague, Professor Emeritus Dato’ Dr. Harikrishna K. R. Nair, WUWHS President and Congress Organising Chairman, alongside YB Datuk Chang Lih Kang, Malaysia’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation.

The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes Armstrong’s career accomplishments in the field. The fellowship honors his contributions to patient care, education, research, and the development of the wound care profession, acknowledging sustained excellence and leadership.

A shared achievement

“These honors belong to a much larger family of patients, colleagues, mentors, and students who have shaped this work,” Armstrong said. “Our shared purpose is to help people keep their mobility, their independence, and their place in the world.”

“Receiving this recognition alongside my friend and colleague Hari Nair makes it especially meaningful,” he added. “I am grateful for his leadership in bringing the global wound care community together, and to Minister Chang for joining us in celebrating the connection between science, innovation, and better patient care.”

A career devoted to limb preservation

Armstrong’s work brings together clinical care, research, and technology to advance diabetic foot care and limb preservation. He is founder and co-director of the Southwestern Academic Limb Salvage Alliance (SALSA) and founding president of the American Limb Preservation Society (ALPS), which supports interdisciplinary teams working to eliminate preventable amputations.

At USC, Armstrong also directs the National Science Foundation–funded Center to Stream Healthcare in Place (C2SHiP), connecting advances in wearable technology, consumer electronics, and medical devices with the goal of helping people spend more healthy, active days outside the hospital.

Across these efforts, a central theme is collaboration: bringing clinicians, scientists, engineers, and patients together to improve care. The WUWHS honors recognize a career built around that shared work and its reach across specialties and national borders.

About WUWHS

The World Union of Wound Healing Societies brings together wound care associations from around the world. It has official representation from more than 90% of the clinical population. It promotes international collaboration in education, research, and health care delivery to improve outcomes for people with acute and chronic wounds. WUWHS 2026 takes place September 23–27 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.