About Me
I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and director of the Orthopedic Engineering Research Laboratory at the Atrium Health Musculoskeletal Institute. My research focuses on the onset and progression of intervertebral disc degeneration and its role in low back pain, a leading cause of disability worldwide.
Disc degeneration occurs typically with age, even in asymptomatic individuals. Currently, we lack tools to distinguish age-related changes from pathologic findings related to low back pain. A central goal of my research is to discover factors that differentiate pathologic tissue changes linked to pain from physiologic changes associated with healthy aging. To do this, we use advanced imaging tools including quantitative MRI and spectroscopy — providing non-invasive, highly sensitive virtual biopsies of tissue biochemical composition — to study disc aging and phenotypes associated with pain. A complementary arm of my research program conducts benchtop experiments in human and animal tissues to uncover mechanisms driving biomarker behavior, including links to systemic aging processes, to connect clinical measurements with underlying biological processes.
As Director of the Orthopedic Engineering Research Laboratory, I also oversee broad research in orthopedic biomechanics and biomaterials in collaboration with clinical faculty and trainees.