Visiting Professor
Foot & Ankle
My research covers a broad spectrum of radiographic, biomechanical, cellular, and clinical studies with a focus on the foot and ankle in children and adults. Many of these studies tend to have an emphasis on deformity correction and the management of arthritis for example the use of radiographs, Weight Bearing CT, and MRI on the evaluation and clinical decision-making for flatfoot and cavus foot deformities. Cellular research will focus on foot and ankle arthritis. Post-traumatic arthritis has been associated with poorer outcomes than those of osteoarthritis in total ankle replacement and stiffness is a more common feature of post-traumatic arthritis than osteoarthritis. I hypothesize that the expression of the fibroblast is different in post-traumatic arthritis than those ankles with other etiologies and the cellular function of all ankles will be evaluated with the following cell markers: stromal cells such as fibroblasts, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and cathepsins, and receptor activator of nuclear factor β (RANKL). Multiple retrospective and prospective projects will be initiated to study common clinical problems including flatfoot, arthritis of the big toe, the ankle, and the etiology of Achilles tendinitis.
We know that orthotic arch supports do not change the shape of the foot in either the growing or mature foot, but these have a role in management of symptoms. It is not understood however what the relationship is between the various types of arch supports and their impact on the radiographic changes to indicate changes in the configuration of the foot in the child and adult. We propose using weight-bearing CT (WBCT) to investigate the effect of orthotic arch support on the foot arch.