Research and Grants

An important resource for students, faculty and staff, the Office of Research provides support and guidance for research activities, such as statistical consulting, an intramural grant program, and a searchable database of extramural grant opportunities.

Publications

Amanda Brooks, PhD, Director of the Office of Research and Scholarly Activity, and Benjamin Brooks, PhD, Assistant MSBS Program Director, have received FDA approval to begin human clinical trials of their invention, EP Granules with Tobramycin™. This is a synthetic calcium-salt resorbable bone void filler that is designed to provide eight-week delivery of an antibiotic in a local targeted region, while allowing growth of new bone. It is designed to fill a major void in our current treatment of orthopedic infections.

Dr. Amanda Brooks also co-authored "Probing Clinical Relevance: Establishing the Efficacy of C. Novyi Against a Panel of 2D Cultured Pancreatic Cancer Cells," which was published in Biomedical Sciences Instrumentation. The study explores the impact of cancer cell lines co-cultured with Wild -Type C. novyi to establish efficacy of this oncolytic bacteria in a monolayer culture.

Joshua Clason, OMS IV, Margaret Liederbach, OMS IV, Nathan Balkman, OMS IV, Edwin Davis, OMS IV, Isain Zapata, PhD, Assistant Professor of Research and Statistics, and Nena Mason, PhD, Associate Professor of Physiology, Anatomy, and Ultrasound, were published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery for their research entitled, "The Feasibility of Ultrasound-Guided Knee Arthrocentesis Training Using Formalin-Embalmed Cadavers." The study assessed the feasibility and efficacy of using formalin-embalmed human cadavers in the instruction of ultrasound-guided knee arthrocentesis to medical trainees.

Christian Clodfelder, OMS III, Spencer Cooper, OMS III, Jeffrey Edwards, OMS III, Joshua Kraemer, OMS III, Rebecca Ryznar, PhD, Associate Professor of Molecular Biology, and Anthony J. Laporta, MD, FACS, Director of Military Medicine Program, published an article in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine titled "Delays in care for Myocardial Infarction and Ischemic Stroke Patients during the COVID-19 Pandemic." The study examined the outcomes of patients who were treated emergently for myocardial infarctions and ischemic strokes during the pandemic compared to the year previous, finding that although emergency department volume was significantly lower during the early stages of the pandemic, mortality from cardiac events increased despite similar ejection fractions at discharge.

David Forstein, DO, FACOG, President, Chief Executive Officer, and Provost, published an article titled "Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Selection of Obstetrician-Gynecologists," in Obstetrics & Gynecology. The article concluded that the biases and structural racism embedded in the evaluation of medical students, screening of residency applicants, and structuring of interview processes must be examined. "This is the time to boldly move toward a more equitable selection of the physicians that our patients need to achieve health equity."

Eric Haskell, MPAS '21, and Darcy Solanyk, PAC, MS, Associate Program Director for PA Program, published "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Prevalence in Recreational and Professional Alpine Sports" in The Avalanche Review. Previous studies have shown increased rates of PTSD in groups that experience life-threatening experiences. This retrospective study utilized an online self-assessment survey to determine the prevalence of traumatic experiences in individuals who partake in high-risk alpine activities and look at the prevalence of associated PTSD.

Colson J. Healy, DO '21, Matthew D. Brockway, DO '21, and Benjamin B. Wilde, DO, Vice Chair of the Department of Primary Care Medicine, published research entitled, "Osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) use among osteopathic physicians in the United States," in the Journal of Osteopathic Medicine. Research results pointed to impactful barriers to OMT use including lack of time, lack of reimbursement, lack of institutional/practice support, and lack of confidence/proficiency. Factors positively correlated with OMT use included female gender, being full owner of a practice, and practicing in an office-based setting.

Mike Jorgensen, PhD, Director of Gross Anatomy, was published in the International Journal of Morphology for his research entitled "An accessory muscle of the posterior crural compartment of clinical significance: a cadaveric case report." The report identifies an anomalous accessory muscle of the posterior compartment of the leg (Compartimentum posterius cruris) detected during cadaveric dissection and discusses its clinical significance.

Jordan Jones, OMS II, created a meta-analysis on hypotensive events in colonoscopy with Propofol (Diprivan) and Midazolam (Versed) sedation for a multi-national research project entitled "Hypotension during propofol sedation for colonoscopy – an exploratory analysis." The project was published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia.

Michael Lowe, OMS IV, and Abigail Meckley, OMS IV, published an article, "The Value of POCUS in Medical School Education," on the POCUS Certification Academy blog. The article looks at the various benefits of POCUS, including the development of a clinical skill prior to residency and the wide availability of ultrasound in clinical settings. You can read the article at www.pocus.org/ the-value-of-pocus-in-medical-school-education/.

Nena Mason, PhD, Associate Professor of Physiology, Anatomy, and Ultrasound, has a manuscript titled, "Independent Learning of the Sonographic FAST Exam Technique Using a Tables-Based Training Module" that was recently accepted for publication in the American Journal of Disaster Medicine. The study evaluates the effectiveness of a new tablet-based digital training module as a method, allowing medical trainees to independently learn to perform the focused assessment with sonography in trauma.

Mark Payton, PhD, Chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences, published research entitled, "Influence of temperature and photoperiod on the fecundity of Habrobracon hebetor Say (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and on the paralysis of host larvae, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)," in Insects. The result of several studies suggests that H. hebetor can paralyze host larvae of P. interpunctella more efficiently and deposit more eggs at temperatures within the range of 20 to 30 degrees.

Rasa Rafie, OMS IV, published research entitled, "A Systematic Review and MetaAnalysis of Intraperitoneal Bupivacaine in Laparoscopic Gynecologic Surgery," in the Journal of Pain Research. The research concluded that Bupivacaine significantly reduced the visual analog pain score for pain compared with that of the placebo at 6 and 24 hours postoperatively.

Kevin Seely, OMS II, Cody Kotelko, OMS IV, Hannah Douglas, DO '21, Brandon Bealer, DO '21, and Dr. Amanda Brooks published "The Human Gut Microbiota: A Key Mediator of Osteoporosis and Osteogenesis," in the International Journal of Molecular Science. Their review considered the human gut microbiota composition and its role in osteoclastogenesis and the bone healing process, specifically in the case of osteoporosis.

Meredith Ware, OMS II, published research entitled "Pancreatic Fat Relates to Fasting Insulin & Postprandial Lipids but Not Polycystic Ovary Syndrome in Adolescents with Obesity," in Obesity. For the research, she analyzed pancreatic fat from MRI data, then compared pancreatic fat to liver fat in adolescent girls with obesity. They found that pancreatic fat was not related to polycystic ovary syndrome, but it was related to worse fasting insulin and postprandial lipids.

Isain Zapata, PhD, Assistant Professor of Research and Statistics, was published in Brain Function and Structure for his research entitled, "Neurodevelopmental scaling is a major driver of brain–behavior differences in temperament across dog breeds." The result of the study suggests that the established link between dog body size and behavior is due at least in part to disproportionate enlargement of later-developing regions in larger brained dogs. The study discusses how this may explain the known correlation of increasing reactivity with decreasing body size in dogs.

Presentations

Michael Kreiser, OMS III, presented his abstract "Prehospital Point-of-Care Ultrasound Use by Paramedics during Cardiac Arrest," at the Special Operations Medical Scientific Assembly 2021.

Paige Nahod, OMS II, Samantha Santora, OMS II, and Brian D. Schwartz, PhD, MLIS, Director of Library Services, presented "Getting Women Up to the Virtual Chalkboard" at the Women in Medicine Symposium. Regan Stiegmann, DO '14, Co-Director of the Digital Health Track, recorded segments which were presented along with the research. The presentation was about utilizing the lessons learned by women in their pursuit of science and medicine and breaking glass ceilings to further empower women to take a more active role in digital medicine.

Andrea Done, OMS III, Mary Saidov, OMS III, Shannon Sturgeon, OMS III, and Tyler Yates, OMS III, won Honorable Mention for Excellence in Presentation at the American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists 2021 Advances in Women's Health Conference Poster Competition for their research titled, "Postpartum Hemorrhage Simulation for Second- and Third-Year Medical Students Across Two Geographically Separate Campuses."

Amanda Fahrenbruck, OMS IV, presented "COVID-19 Reveals a Diagnosis of Erdheim-Chester Disease," winning third place at the American College of Osteopathic Internists Medical Student Case Presentation Poster Competition. Her co-author on the poster was Johnny Cheng, DO, Regional Director of Clinical Education.

Avery Roe, OMS II, Adelene Morrow, OMS II, Austin Martinez, OMS II, Hyein Kil, OMS II, and Jenna Buckleitner, OMS II, presented, "Analysis, Implications, and Future Directions in the Treatment of Minority Patients in Healthcare" to Baylor College of Medicine's Center of Excellence in Health Equity, Training, and Research, overseen by their Office of Institutional Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity. Jacqueline Powell, PhD, Associate Professor of Physiology, served as Principle Investigator for the abstract.