Dr. Knothe and his colleagues from the Orthopaedic Research Center Mechanobiology Laboratory work closely together to research and develop treatments and prophylactic measures for bone diseases such as osteoporosis and osteonecrosis as well as for reconstruction procedures associated with osteoarthritis, tumor resection and trauma.
As Principal Investigator of the NASA John Glenn Bioengineering Consortium supported project, Dr. Knothe leads a multidisciplinary and multiinstitutional team (Case Western Reserve University, NASA Glenn Research Center and The Cleveland Clinic Foundation) to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of bone loss in space. This team is developing a countermeasure for disuse osteopenia that may be highly applicable for bone loss on earth, e.g. osteoporosis.
In close collaboration with his colleague Dr.Melissa Knothe Tate, he has developed technologies to improve bony integration in orthopaedic procedures involving implants, e.g. joint replacement. In addition, this research team is working with Leica Microsystems to develop new intraoperative imaging and diagnostic methods; these may be applicable for future treatment modalities in orthopaedic as well as general surgery.
In addition to developing new technologies and devices for improvement of patient care, Dr. Knothe actively develops new surgical procedures for promotion of bone regeneration in defects caused by trauma or resection after disease. Orthopaedic residents carry out these projects during their dedicated research year, an important step in their path to become clinician scientists.
