RESEARCH
WORKING TOWARDS A PAIN FREE FUTURE
Osteoarthritis is a joint disease that involves articular cartilage breakdown, loss of joint function with pain, and severe disability.
Currently, there are more than 4.4 million people in Canada living with osteoarthritis.
With millions of people affected globally, osteoarthritis of the knee joint is a huge health care burden.
Further, knee ligament and cartilage injury in younger populations can result in the development of osteoarthritis over time. Despite successful reconstructive surgery, osteoarthritis still develops within 10-15 years in most individuals. This situation can severely impact one’s quality of life, employment opportunities, and overall health.
Within 30 years, one in four Canadians is expected to have osteoarthritis.
The objective of this research is to determine changes associated with damage, contribute to the understanding of inflammation development, and provide foundational evidence for care related to possibly preventing chronic conditions, most notably osteoarthritis.
By advancing methods of treatment, early osteoarthritis sufferers can effectively carry on with day-to-day activities, as well as avoid more invasive and expensive surgical methods, such as joint replacements.
research projects
PRE-CLINICAL
MODELS
Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis Animal Studies
- Molecular Response of Rabbit Menisci to Surgically Induced Hemarthrosis and a Single Intra-Articular Dexamethasone Treatment
- Featured manuscript in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research Virtual Issue: Focus on Canada as one of the “twelve highly cited articles by Canadian authors”.
- Three-Dimensional In Vivo Kinematics and Finite Helical Axis Variables of the Ovine Stifle Joint Following Partial Anterior Cruciate Ligament Transection
- Alterations in Joint Angular Velocity Following Traumatic Knee Injury in Ovine Models
- Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis Development and Progression in an Ovine Model of Partial Anterior Cruciate Ligament Transection and Effect of Repeated Intra-Articular Methylprednisolone Acetate Injections on Early Disease
- An Explicit Method for Analysis of Three-Dimensional Linear and Angular Velocity of a Joint, with Specific Application to the Knee Joint
- Use of Pre-Clinical Surgically Induced Models to Understand Biomechanical and Biological Consequences of Post-Traumitic Osteoarthritis Development
- Location and Gene-Specific Effects of Methylprednisolone Acetate on Mitigating IL1B-Induced Inflammation in Mature Ovine Explant Knee Tissue
- Single Intra-Articular Dexamethasone Injection Immediately Post-Surgery in a Rabbit Model Mitigates Early Inflammatory Responses and Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis-Like Alterations
- Characterization of Proteoglycan 4 and Hyaluronan Composition and Lubrication Function of Ovine Synovial Fluid Following Knee Surgery
Osteoarthritis
Management
JointEffort + GLA:D Study
- A Comparison Between a Standardized (GLA:DTM Canada) and an Individualized (JointEffort) Exercise Program on Functional Mobility, Quality of Life, Pain Management, and Inflammatory Biomarkers in Knee Osteoarthritis Patients (Project Lead)
- Funding: McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health Encore Catalyst Operating Grant (2017-2019)
Vivametrica Study
- Application of Wearable Technology and Vivametrica Analytics to Support Outcomes of Knee Total Joint Arthroplasty in Alberta (Project Co-Lead)
- Funding: Alberta Innovates Accelerating Innovations into Care Grant (2017-2019)
Patient-Oriented
Research
Metastatic Bone Disease Study
- The Development a Parallel Patient- and Surgeon-Focused Questionnaire Designed to Elucidate the Gaps in Surgeon vs. Patient Expectations Contributing to Health-Related Quality of Life Outcomes in the Surgical Management of Metastatic Bone Disease (Project Co-Lead)
- Funding: Canadian Institute of Health Research Patient-Oriented Research Collaboration Grant (2018-2019), Cancer Strategic Clinical Network Cancer Control Alberta Seed Grant (2018-2019) & Mach-Gaensslen Foundation of Canada Student Grant (2017)
Arthroplasty Interview Tool
- Evaluation of The Development of a Readiness Interview Tool to Empower Patients to Modify Risk Factors Prior to Total Joint Arthroplasty (Project Co-Lead)