Program lead: Paul Marasco
The Neuromuscular Disease Research Program focuses on disorders, degeneration and injury of the nervous system and the musculoskeletal system, and how deficits in one impact operation of the other. Our group explores relationships between the nervous system, muscles, and bones, including sensorimotor control, movement patterns, coordination, dexterity, and pain. Through better understanding of these relationships, we seek to develop interventions and improve diagnosis in a variety of conditions such as Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, concussion, limb loss, diabetes, and cartilage and ligament injuries. We analyze healthy and impaired populations using motion analysis, ultrasound imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, electromyography, electroencephalography, and psychophysical techniques to understand how various conditions affect movement, control, and sensory feedback. Computational modeling helps characterize pathology as well as the influence of surgical and rehabilitation interventions. In addition, we incorporate technologies, such as robotic devices and deep brain stimulation, into treatments and quantify resulting benefits to patient health and quality of life.
Program lead: Megan Jack
The Peripheral Nerve Research Program focuses on a wide spectrum of pathology affecting the peripheral nervous system. Through laboratory and human subjects research, we seek to identify demographic, disease-related, and surgical factors associated with short- and longer-term outcomes following peripheral nerve injury and other pathologies of the peripheral nerve. Our aim is to enhance patient care and outcomes by improving our clinical understanding and optimizing surgical treatments of peripheral nerve injuries, peripheral nerve pain syndromes, spinal cord injury, stroke, and peripheral nerve tumors.
Program lead: Jianguo Cheng
Our research focuses on musculoskeletal pain, emphasizing interventional therapies for myofascial and joint pain in clinical settings. We investigate innovative treatments, including neuroablation, image-guided therapies, and regenerative medicine techniques including stem cell therapy. By analyzing clinical outcomes, we aim to enhance pain management strategies, improve patient quality of life, and provide evidence-based recommendations for practitioners. Our work bridges the gap between emerging therapies and practical, effective clinical applications, striving to offer relief for chronic pain sufferers and advance the field of pain medicine.
Collaborators: Xiaojuan Li, Daniel Rotroff, Jijun Xu
Program leads: Thomas Mroz, Michael Steinmetz
The Spine Surgery Clinical Outcomes Research Program focuses on leveraging big data from the electronic medical record (EMR) of patients at Cleveland Clinic to better understand outcomes following spine surgery. Through both cadaveric biomechanics' models, computational models and retrospective and prospective clinical studies, we seek to identify demographic, disease-related, biological and surgical factors associated with short- and longer-term outcomes following spine surgery particularly focusing on patient reported outcomes for quality of life, pain, and disability. We have also developed advanced imaging metrics to quantify baseline pathology, structural healing, and postoperative success along with treatments to improve fusion quality, post-operative outcomes, patient satisfaction, and patient safety. Our aim is to enhance patient outcomes by improving clinical decision-making, patient selection, proactive management of social and disease-related factors and optimizing surgical methods that maximize surgical success.
Collaborators: Edward Benzel, Deborah Benzil, Ajit Krishnaney, Iain Kalfas, Jason Savage, Douglas Orr, Dominic Pelle, Richard Schlenk, Ghaith Habboub, Kush Goyal, Megan Jack, Mohamed Macki, Moayad Alabdulkarim, William Clifton, Jeremy Amps