Janalynn Miller, nurse practitioner for Parkview Physicians Group — Wound Care, was given an Aurora Award from biotechnology firm Kerecis. Photo from Parkview Health.

News Release

KENDALLVILLE — Iceland-based firm Kerecis has named nurse practitioner Janalynn Miller an Aurora Award winner. Miller, an employee of Parkview Physicians Group — Wound Care, was invited to present at Reykjavik, Iceland’s Northern Lights Workshop Thursday, Feb. 6-Saturday, Feb. 8.

Kerecis, a biotechnology firm that specializes in fish skin grafts, selected Miller after she submitted a case study on an immunocompromised patient with a chest wound exposing lung and rib bone. With six fish skin grafts over a period between Wednesday, Oct. 2 and Wednesday, Nov. 20, Miller was able to shrink the wound by 50%.

Fish skin, specifically North Atlantic Cod, has a similar structure to human skin and can serve as the foundation for cell regrowth. Additionally, such grafts require little processing compared to human or pig grafts because there is no fish-human virus transmissibility.

“(The patient) is a perfect example of the amazing results with the use of Kerecis in a patient who has all the odds against him,” Miller wrote in her case study conclusion. She also credited the entire wound care team at Parkview Noble Hospital.

The Aurora Awards Competition had 85 cases submitted this year, which were judged by a panel of clinicians. Three were selected grand prize winners, some advanced to a review panel of surgeons and others — such as Miller — were awarded the Aurora Case Award.