The DFSG executive committee was inspired by Ernst Chantelau to focus not only on treatment and prevention of recurrent diabetic foot ulcers but on prevention of the very first ulcer.

Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is known to be a severe complication of Diabetes. Recurrence rate is high, leading to additional costs to health care providers and patients. 

Many efforts to reduce primary and recurrence rates have been seen, however, there are very few studies focusing on the prevention of the very first ulcer with the aim of preventing the DFU and its sequelae entirely. 

Furthermore, due to the difficulties in stratification of low-risk from moderate or high-risk patients, and the need to protect the foot, studies are often limited. Therefore there are very few proven DFU primary prevention programs and in turn there is paucity of information for their economic benefit. 

The DFSG decided to initiate a group of young academics/clinicians/scientists to work on the field of “Prevention of the First Ulcer” with the aim to define patients at risk and to evaluate the ulcer incidence in high-risk, middle and low risk group. 

The Board of DFSG agreed to call for applicants and support the project by connecting the young scientist with group of multi-disciplinary mentors with a profound understanding of the diabetic foot and to bring the group together a few times to meet eye to eye for maximum commitment and inspiration. 

In June 2018 five out of nearly 40 applicants have been selected, and the first meeting of the young scientist and their mentors took place at the DFSG meeting 2018 in Berlin

Since than the group meet with their mentors Bus, Edmonds, Jeffcoate and Trocha 2 to 4 times a year, wrote 3 grant applications, established and uses a cross european data base,  had oral  and poster presentations on national and international conferences and published data.