We will recruit a team of interested and relevant clinicians/clinical investigators who will provide a rich resource for the basic research community, to aid with asking translationally relevant questions and ensure translatability of findings. Ultimately, this “clinical researcher resource” program is aimed at making sure that clinical researchers and basic researchers can understand each other’s vocabulary, and use it to enrich their research and make it more relevant to musculoskeletal pain, and thus ultimately expedite translation of discoveries.

Clinical researchers affilliated with C-COMP and their expertise are listed below. They will be happy to connect with Members in order to discuss translational relevance of the proposed research. Check back for more information or contact us. 

  • Joel A Block, MD (Rush): Osteoarthritis – Biomechanics
  • John W Burns, PhD (Rush): Biopsychosocial conceptualizations of chronic pain
  • Carol A Courtney, PT, PhD (NU): Effects of knee joint injury and osteoarthritis on pain processing and joint function
  • Josh J Jacobs, MD (Rush): Total knee arthroplasty
  • Yvonne C Lee, MD, MMsc (NU): Pain experience in individuals with systemic rheumatic conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis
  • Fransiska Malfait, MD PhD (Ghent Univ, Belgium): Heritable connective tissue disorders, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome- Genetic counseling 
  • Theodore Pincus, MD (Rush): Outcome measures in rheumatic Diseases; patient questionnaires
  • Dino Samartzis, PhD (Rush): Spine imaging and pain
  • Tom Schnitzer, MD (NU): Bone biology; musculoskeletal pain; clinical trials 
  • Najia Shakoor, MD (Rush): Somatosensory function, biomechanical interventions for osteoarthritis
  • Ana M Valdes, PhD (Nottingham Univ, UK): Genetic epidemiologist; Research in genetic determinants of OA and pain
  • Markus Wimmer, PhD (Rush): Tribology and biomechanics (expertise in joint replacement materials and human gait)