As the Dean of Barry University School of Podiatric Medicine and recent appointee to the Florida Board of Podiatric Medicine, Dr. Robert Snyder has had an impressive career both in the academic and medical field that spans over 47 years. Among the many positions he has held is that of world-renown educator in wound care management and limb salvage. It’s no surprise then that Dr. Snyder is passionate about preparing his students to be the next generation of innovators in clinical research when it comes to the field of podiatry.
The Dr. Robert and Sandra Snyder Wound Management and Research Endowment Fund, which he and his wife founded last year, is aimed at third and fourth year students at Barry University with the aim to show students the importance of clinical research in education and to advance the field by fostering new methodologies and ideas within the scope of podiatric medicine. According to Dr. Snyder the goal of the fund is to, “prepare students of high caliber and interest in limb preservation and research to advance in new podiatry techniques that could really improve patients’ lives.”
In order to apply for the endowment, students write an essay, explaining why they are interested in receiving the award and also propose a research question or project they would like to pursue. The fund has rigid criteria, but for good reason. The endowment fund awards $5000 to students, who then have the opportunity to choose and attend a professional conference that relates to wound management and limb preservation. “Typically students don’t have funds to go to these conferences to see leaders in the field. We want to enable students to go and experience this,” says Dr. Snyder.
The first recipient of the endowment was Beverly Clayton, DPM candidate, Class of 2023, Barry University School of Podiatric Medicine. Upon accepting the award, Beverly had many choices of professional conferences to attend, but much to Dr. Snyder’s excitement, she chose to attend this years’ DFCon: Interdisciplinary Diabetic Foot Conference, the annual conference of the American Limb Preservation Society. There, she will be able to network and hear from world-renowned clinician scientists working on both tried and true methods and cutting-edge technology.
As for the future, Dr. Snyder believes his fund will last as long as there are students who are interested in limb preservation. It is his goal to pave the way for Barry University podiatry students to be leaders and innovators in the field. With 37 million people with diabetes in the United States and 35% of those individuals at risk of developing foot ulcers that could potentially lead to amputation, Dr. Snyder says that, “there is no profession better trained to treat those individuals than podiatry.” We agree with this statement and applaud the work that Dr. Snyder is doing to not only save limbs and lives in the present, but also in the coming generations with his founding of the Dr. Robert and Sandra Snyder Wound Management and Research Endowment Fund.