David G. Armstrong
Encyclopedia
David G. Armstrong is an American podiatric surgeon and researcher most widely known for his work in amputation prevention, the diabetic foot
, and wound healing. He and his frequent collaborators, Lawrence A. Lavery and Andrew J.M. Boulton, have together produced many key works in the taxonomy, classification and treatment of the diabetic foot. He is Professor of Surgery director of the Southern Arizona Limb Salvage Alliance (SALSA) at the University of Arizona
and has produced more than 320 peer reviewed manuscripts and dozens of book chapters.
. His father, Leo N. Armstrong, was a noted podiatrist in California and figures large in many of Armstrong’s anecdotes, lectures, and writings. As a child, he traveled worldwide with his family and a core group of physicians, mostly podiatrists. This influenced his later career as an ambassador for diabetic foot care and podiatry.{Podiatry
}
After attending the Dunn School
in Los Olivos, California, Armstrong attended Occidental College
in Los Angeles and later the California College of Podiatric Medicine, where he graduated with honors{CSPM}. It was during his college years that he met his future wife, Tania C. Armstrong, on a family trip to Egypt
. It is in honor of this that their first child Alexandria A. Armstrong, later received her name.
Armstrong performed his residency at the Kern Hospital for Special Surgery in Detroit, where much of his interest in the diabetic foot emerged{Diabetic Foot}. Additionally, it was where he became aware of the works of two influential clinician-researchers, Andrew JM Boulton, of the University of Manchester, and Paul Wilson Brand, of the Hansen's Disease Center in Carville, Louisiana.
{University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio}. His visit and subsequent acceptance into the program brought him into close proximity of the next two important members of his development, Lawrence A. Lavery, then a junior faculty member, and Professor Lawrence B. Harkless
, Armstrong’s chief.
Armstrong’s relationship with Lavery was, by all accounts, strong from the beginning. Lavery and Armstrong wrote an astonishing 28 manuscripts in the first nine months of his fellowship. Many of those became important foundational works in epidemiology, classification and treatment of the diabetic foot. Since that time, Armstrong and Lavery, nicknamed “the Lennon and McCartney of the Diabetic Foot”, have written more than 150 manuscripts, books and book chapters including the American Diabetes Association
s Clinical Care of the Diabetic Foot (ISBN 1-58040-223-2){Clinical Care of the Diabetic Foot}. The two researchers credit Harkless for providing the environment for this to occur, as there had previously never existed a full-time academic podiatry faculty of this kind in an American medical school.
Following Lavery’s departure to develop a private nationwide diabetic foot program, Armstrong remained prolific, but soon grew interested in new challenges.
College of Medicine as well as a Master of Science in Tissue Repair of Wound Healing at Professor Keith Harding’s University of Wales College of Medicine
.
It was also during this time that Armstrong was reacquainted with George Andros, a prominent vascular surgeon. This renewed friendship led to the development of the Diabetic Foot Global Conference, (DFCon).DFCon This meeting, the largest annual diabetic foot gathering in the world, hosts delegates from 50 countries and all 50 U.S. states in more than 10 medical and surgical disciplines.
During his cross-country move from Tucson to Chicago, Armstrong's father and greatest influence died. This led to an increasing determination by Armstrong to further advance the profession that had literally nurtured him.
. He founded the Center for Lower Extremity Ambulatory Research (CLEAR), which rapidly became the most productive podiatric research group in the world. This program produced or recruited several key members of the field including Stephanie C. Wu, James Wrobel, Lee C. Rogers, Nicholas J. Bevilacqua, Bijan Najafi, Manish Bharara and Vickie Driver. This group produced many key works in the literature, becoming amongst the first podiatrists to be published in JAMA
and the Lancet. Armstrong also became the first tenured podiatrist in the history of Rosalind Franklin University and the Scholl College.
, widely viewed as a lifetime achievement award in the field of the diabetic foot. That same year, he was also named the 2010 Honorary Fellow of the American College of Certified Wound Specialists as well as the inaugural recipient of the William S. Baer Award for Advances in Biosurgery/Biotherapy by the International Conference on Biotherapy. He frequently offers that these awards are more "recognitions of the importance of the problem" and of "the acknowledgement of the profession in the care of people at risk."
Dr. Armstrong is past Chair of Scientific Sessions for the ADA’s Foot Care Council, and a past member of the National Board of Directors of the American Diabetes Association. He sits on the Infectious Diseases Society of America
’s Diabetic Foot Infection Advisory Committee. In 2011, he was appointed Chair of the World Diabetic Foot Commission of the FIP, representing clinicians from more than 30 nations. Dr. Armstrong has also been conferred the title of Visiting Professor at the University of Manchester
College of Medicine, the University of Cardiff College of Medicine and the Complutense University of Madrid
.
In 2006, Armstrong was awarded the Father of the Year Award by the National Father's Day Council and the Chicago Area American Diabetes Association. He lives in Tucson with his wife Tania and three daughters Alexandria, Natalie and Nina.
Diabetic foot
Diabetic foot ulcer is one of the major complications of diabetes mellitus, and probably the major component of the diabetic foot. It occurs in 15% of all patients with diabetes and precedes 84% of all lower leg amputations...
, and wound healing. He and his frequent collaborators, Lawrence A. Lavery and Andrew J.M. Boulton, have together produced many key works in the taxonomy, classification and treatment of the diabetic foot. He is Professor of Surgery director of the Southern Arizona Limb Salvage Alliance (SALSA) at the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
and has produced more than 320 peer reviewed manuscripts and dozens of book chapters.
Early years
Armstrong was raised with his younger brother, Darrin B. Armstrong, a schoolteacher, in Santa Maria, CaliforniaSanta Maria, California
Santa Maria is a city in Santa Barbara County, on the Central Coast of California. The 2010 census population was 100,062, putting it ahead of Santa Barbara for the first time and making it the largest city in the county...
. His father, Leo N. Armstrong, was a noted podiatrist in California and figures large in many of Armstrong’s anecdotes, lectures, and writings. As a child, he traveled worldwide with his family and a core group of physicians, mostly podiatrists. This influenced his later career as an ambassador for diabetic foot care and podiatry.{Podiatry
Podiatry
Podiatry is a branch of medicine devoted to the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle, and lower leg. The term podiatry came into use first in the early 20th century United States, where it now denotes a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine , a specialist who is qualified by their...
}
After attending the Dunn School
Dunn School, Los Olivos
Dunn School is a co-educational college preparatory boarding and day school located on 55 acres outside of Los Olivos, California. It was founded in 1957, by Tony Dunn under the name "The Valley School." Dunn has gone by its current name since 1960...
in Los Olivos, California, Armstrong attended Occidental College
Occidental College
Occidental College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887, Occidental College, or "Oxy" as it is called by students and alumni, is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges on the West Coast...
in Los Angeles and later the California College of Podiatric Medicine, where he graduated with honors{CSPM}. It was during his college years that he met his future wife, Tania C. Armstrong, on a family trip to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. It is in honor of this that their first child Alexandria A. Armstrong, later received her name.
Armstrong performed his residency at the Kern Hospital for Special Surgery in Detroit, where much of his interest in the diabetic foot emerged{Diabetic Foot}. Additionally, it was where he became aware of the works of two influential clinician-researchers, Andrew JM Boulton, of the University of Manchester, and Paul Wilson Brand, of the Hansen's Disease Center in Carville, Louisiana.
The San Antonio Years
Following his surgical training in Detroit, Armstrong was prepared to return to Santa Maria to work in his father’s practice. Days before graduation, he was handed a letter inviting him to apply for a fellowship at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San AntonioUniversity of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is an institute of health science education and research, located in the South Texas Medical Center....
{University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio}. His visit and subsequent acceptance into the program brought him into close proximity of the next two important members of his development, Lawrence A. Lavery, then a junior faculty member, and Professor Lawrence B. Harkless
Lawrence B. Harkless
Lawrence B. Harkless, DPM FACFAS, is Founding Dean and Professor of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery at the College of Podiatric Medicine, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, California, USA. He is a retired Professor, Department of Orthopaedics and former Louis T...
, Armstrong’s chief.
Armstrong’s relationship with Lavery was, by all accounts, strong from the beginning. Lavery and Armstrong wrote an astonishing 28 manuscripts in the first nine months of his fellowship. Many of those became important foundational works in epidemiology, classification and treatment of the diabetic foot. Since that time, Armstrong and Lavery, nicknamed “the Lennon and McCartney of the Diabetic Foot”, have written more than 150 manuscripts, books and book chapters including the American Diabetes Association
American Diabetes Association
The American Diabetes Association is a United States-based association working to fight the consequences of diabetes, and to help those affected by diabetes...
s Clinical Care of the Diabetic Foot (ISBN 1-58040-223-2){Clinical Care of the Diabetic Foot}. The two researchers credit Harkless for providing the environment for this to occur, as there had previously never existed a full-time academic podiatry faculty of this kind in an American medical school.
Following Lavery’s departure to develop a private nationwide diabetic foot program, Armstrong remained prolific, but soon grew interested in new challenges.
Tucson: First Tour
Armstrong subsequently received an invitation from Dr. Brent P. Nixon to start his own research service at the Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System in Tucson Arizona. This program, which is still in existence under the direction of Katherine Neiderer, is responsible for producing many key works in the area of diabetes care and amputation prevention. Some of the most notable were the ability to accurately monitor activity and the refinement of offloading the diabetic foot wound. Additionally, Armstrong began a close transatlantic working relationship with Professor Andrew JM Boulton in Manchester. This mentorship led to a period of intense activity and a PhD from the University of ManchesterUniversity of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
College of Medicine as well as a Master of Science in Tissue Repair of Wound Healing at Professor Keith Harding’s University of Wales College of Medicine
University of Wales College of Medicine
The University of Wales College of Medicine was a medical school based in the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, that formed a part of the University of Wales...
.
It was also during this time that Armstrong was reacquainted with George Andros, a prominent vascular surgeon. This renewed friendship led to the development of the Diabetic Foot Global Conference, (DFCon).DFCon This meeting, the largest annual diabetic foot gathering in the world, hosts delegates from 50 countries and all 50 U.S. states in more than 10 medical and surgical disciplines.
During his cross-country move from Tucson to Chicago, Armstrong's father and greatest influence died. This led to an increasing determination by Armstrong to further advance the profession that had literally nurtured him.
Rosalind Franklin University, Scholl College and the “CLEAR Years”
Following his tour in Tucson, Armstrong accepted an offer to serve as Professor of Surgery and Associate Dean at Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and ScienceRosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science is a private graduate school located in North Chicago, Illinois. Rosalind Franklin is a multi-disciplinary university that seeks to prepare its students to meet the nation's health care needs. The interprofessional education approach used at...
. He founded the Center for Lower Extremity Ambulatory Research (CLEAR), which rapidly became the most productive podiatric research group in the world. This program produced or recruited several key members of the field including Stephanie C. Wu, James Wrobel, Lee C. Rogers, Nicholas J. Bevilacqua, Bijan Najafi, Manish Bharara and Vickie Driver. This group produced many key works in the literature, becoming amongst the first podiatrists to be published in JAMA
Journal of the American Medical Association
The Journal of the American Medical Association is a weekly, peer-reviewed, medical journal, published by the American Medical Association. Beginning in July 2011, the editor in chief will be Howard C. Bauchner, vice chairman of pediatrics at Boston University’s School of Medicine, replacing ...
and the Lancet. Armstrong also became the first tenured podiatrist in the history of Rosalind Franklin University and the Scholl College.
Two Chefs in the Kitchen Make SALSA: The University of Arizona
Armstrong, responding to his love of the Desert Southwest, the rampant diabetic epidemic there, and his long-standing friendship with renowned vascular surgeon Professor Joseph Mills, was recruited again to Tucson and the University of Arizona. It was there he founded, with Mills, the Southern Arizona Limb Salvage Alliance (SALSA) {SALSA}. This program serves as a model for interdisciplinary care, worldwide. It was also here that Armstrong and Mills coined the term the “Toe and Flow” team. This implies the “irreducible minimum” requirements for a foot specialist and a vascular specialist in order to run a successful amputation prevention service. As with Rosalind Franklin University, at the University of Arizona, he became the first ever podiatrist to be appointed as a tenured professor.Recognition of the Disease and of the Investigator
During the course of his career, Armstrong has been acknowledged with awards by numerous organizations. In response to his hundreds of lectures in more than 40 nations, worldwide, Dr. Armstrong was selected as one of the first six International Wound Care Ambassadors. He was honored with the inaugural Georgetown Distinguished Award for Diabetic Limb Salvage. In 2010, he was the youngest ever recipient of the Roger Pecoraro Award and Lectureship from the American Diabetes AssociationAmerican Diabetes Association
The American Diabetes Association is a United States-based association working to fight the consequences of diabetes, and to help those affected by diabetes...
, widely viewed as a lifetime achievement award in the field of the diabetic foot. That same year, he was also named the 2010 Honorary Fellow of the American College of Certified Wound Specialists as well as the inaugural recipient of the William S. Baer Award for Advances in Biosurgery/Biotherapy by the International Conference on Biotherapy. He frequently offers that these awards are more "recognitions of the importance of the problem" and of "the acknowledgement of the profession in the care of people at risk."
Dr. Armstrong is past Chair of Scientific Sessions for the ADA’s Foot Care Council, and a past member of the National Board of Directors of the American Diabetes Association. He sits on the Infectious Diseases Society of America
Infectious Diseases Society of America
The Infectious Diseases Society of America is a medical association representing physicians, scientists and other health care professionals who specialize in infectious diseases. As of 2010, IDSA had approximately 9,000 members...
’s Diabetic Foot Infection Advisory Committee. In 2011, he was appointed Chair of the World Diabetic Foot Commission of the FIP, representing clinicians from more than 30 nations. Dr. Armstrong has also been conferred the title of Visiting Professor at the University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
College of Medicine, the University of Cardiff College of Medicine and the Complutense University of Madrid
Complutense University of Madrid
The Complutense University of Madrid is a university in Madrid, and one of the oldest universities in the world. It is located on a sprawling campus that occupies the entirety of the Ciudad Universitaria district of Madrid, with annexes in the district of Somosaguas in the neighboring city of...
.
In 2006, Armstrong was awarded the Father of the Year Award by the National Father's Day Council and the Chicago Area American Diabetes Association. He lives in Tucson with his wife Tania and three daughters Alexandria, Natalie and Nina.