Our clinical research team is comprised of 3 Research Patient Coordinators (Geneva, Gail, and Hadia) and 2 research patient assistants (Kelly and Karla). This team expands by 2-4 every summer when undergraduate and medical students join the team for summer internships.
The research team conducts 3 types of clinical research. 1.) Patient-oriented research, which studies mechanisms of human disease and therapies or interventions for disease. 2.) Epidemiological research, investigates the distribution of disease, and the factors that affect health and health related decisions; and 3.) Outcomes and health services research, these studies evaluate and identify the most efficacious and efficient treatments of a disease or disorder.
Of the three types of clinical research conducted a majority is focused on optimizing the outcomes of surgical treatment for joint disorders of the hip and knee. The primary areas of focus are: 1) determining the cause of hip osteoarthritis, 2) analyzing the effectiveness of hip preservation procedures and 3) optimizing hip replacement procedures in young patients. Our ultimate goal is to better understanding and develop more efficacious treatment modalities for pre-arthritic, early arthritic and arthritic disorders in young patients.
Our clinical research program encompasses a variety of study types. The majority of our patients participate in clinical outcomes research. To do this, an outcomes questionnaire is administered to the research participant before they have surgery on their hip. This allows us to evaluate this patient’s pain, function, overall health and quality of life. After the patient has recovered from surgery, we administer the same questionnaire at each annual visit collecting and analyzing this information over a long period of time (often a decade or more). This allows us to analyze the impact of surgery on pain, function and quality of life after hip surgery. When information (or data) is collected on a large population of people (called cohorts) it allows us to analyze and determine factors that are associated with successful and unsuccessful treatments. In the future this information can be used to improve the surgical care of other patients.
Dr. Clohisy and his research team have publications and review articles on hip disease diagnosis, hip disease clinical presentation, radiographic evaluation of the hip, surgical techniques, surgical outcomes, and causes of hip osteoarthritis. For a more in-depth look at a few representative publications please see the attached files below. For an abbreviated curriculum vita (CV) please go to the section About Dr. Clohisy. A full CV is available under the For Physicians section.
Clinical research is not for profit and does not generate money from services. Funding comes from various sources including intramural and extramural grants, industry grants, orthopaedic society grants and donations to our “Curing Hip Disease Fund”. Though many studies are supported by grant awards, The “Curing Hip Disease Fund” is essential to support our ongoing mission of excellence in patient care and clinical research. Individual donations from grateful patients, family members and philanthropists have made this fund a fundamental component of our ongoing research support.
We are fully committed to the concept that innovative, high quality research of today will lead to improved patient care and improved quality of life in the future.
We are fully committed to the concept that innovative, high quality research of today will lead to improved patient care and improved quality of life in the future. If you would like to make a donation to help support our research, please click here to print of a donation form and mail it to:
Debbie Long
660 S. Euclid Ave
WP – 11300, CB 8233
St. Louis, MO 63110
Another way you can help, if you are or soon to be a patient, participation in our research would be greatly appreciated. You can contact Geneva Baca, Research Patient Coordinator and Team Leader at 314-747-2579 for questions regarding research.