A medical breakthrough born of necessity and powered by innovation—Israeli researchers unveil next-generation bioengineered skin that may transform trauma care forever.

In what could be one of the most significant advances in burn medicine in decades, a team of pioneering scientists from Tel Aviv University and Sheba Medical Center has developed a cutting-edge bioengineered skin graft that slashes healing time in half, boasts exceptional durability, and could dramatically improve survival and recovery rates for burn victims—especially those injured in combat.

The revolutionary development comes not from theoretical speculation, but from battlefield urgency. Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, Israeli hospitals—most notably Sheba Medical Center—have treated a surge of young soldiers and civilians suffering from life-altering burns. Amid this grim reality, science and necessity collided, propelling researchers to fast-track what could soon become the gold standard in skin regeneration.

#פיתוח חדש של אוניברסיטת תל אביב והמרכז הרפואי שיבא:
בעקבות המלחמה והצורך לטפל במספר רב של כוויות קשות - החוקרים פיתחו "עור מהונדס" שמאפשר החלמה מהירה פי שניים מהמקובל

חוקרים מאוניברסיטת תל אביב ומהמרכז הרפואי שיבא תל השומר פיתחו "עור מהונדס" להשתלה בנפגעי כוויות. העור המהונדס –… pic.twitter.com/WYMCOnbKT2

— אוניברסיטת תל אביב Tel Aviv University (@Tel_Aviv_Uni) June 11, 2025

Healing in Half the Time, With None of the Drawbacks

The groundbreaking skin substitute—engineered from a patient’s own cells—outperforms existing treatments on virtually every metric. Traditional grafts, whether they are taken from the patient’s own body or cultivated from lab-grown tissues, often present severe limitations: they can damage surrounding healthy tissue, cause painful scarring, or shrink unpredictably after application.

This new bio-skin bypasses those challenges entirely. The team created it by extracting a small biopsy from the patient and seeding the cells onto FDA-approved nanofiber scaffolds—materials already approved for medical use. These scaffolds are animal-free, synthetic, and remarkably stable. Once introduced, the patient's own cells self-organize into a structure that faithfully mimics human skin, down to its layered complexity.

“In our animal trials, we observed wound closure in just four days, compared to the eight-day recoveryseen with conventional treatments,” explained Dr. Marina Ben-Shoshan, senior researcher at Sheba. “And that’s not all—We even observed early hair follicle growth.”

From Innovation to Impact: The Future of Battlefield Medicine

The implications of this advancement are staggering. Faster healing means fewer infections, reduced scarring, less pain, shorter hospital stays, and—critically—a higher chance of full functional recovery. For soldiers wounded in combat, it could mean the difference between lifelong disability and a return to normalcy.

Israeli Scientists Develop Bioengineered Skin That Heals Burns Twice as Fast

In a promising leap forward for burn treatment, researchers from Tel Aviv University and Sheba Medical Center have developed a new type of bioengineered skin that could dramat...https://t.co/TLtFOsp9TX pic.twitter.com/wXA00E4CgJ

— George Whitten (@georgewhitten) June 11, 2025

The research, now published in the prestigious journal Advanced Functional Materials, represents a collaborative powerhouse. Scientists from TAU’s Schools of Dental Medicine, Chemistry, and Engineering, together with surgeons and clinical specialists from Sheba’s Burn Center, combined their respective expertise in tissue engineering, material science, and trauma care.

With such promising results in animal models, the team is already preparing for human clinical trials, working to navigate the regulatory landscape and scale up production to bring this lifesaving technology to hospitals across Israel and beyond.

Key Highlights:

• Heals burns in 4 days, half the time of current methods

• Constructed from patient’s own cells—no animal products

• Stronger, more flexible, and easier to apply than traditional grafts

• Shows early signs of hair regrowth

• Tested successfully in preclinical animal trials

• Developed amid the medical crisis of the 2023 Israel-Hamas war