Research in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Riyaz Jinnah, MD, FRCS is the Director of Research in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. Under the direction of Dr. Jinnah, orthopaedic research is coordinated by Beth Paterson Smith, PhD, and is facilitated by members of the research staff, research faculty, and Research Advisory Panel. Research within the department is divided into three main areas: 1) clinical retrospective/prospective studies, 2) biomedical engineering/tissue engineering, and 3) basic research. Dr. Smith supervises and directs the day-to-day operations of the Orthopaedic Research Laboratory by assisting faculty members and residents in planning and completing grant applications, developing experimental protocols and research models to address research questions, organizing data collection strategies, and providing appropriate statistical analysis. Personnel (residents, medical students, and graduate students) involved in various research areas work under the direction of the various orthopaedic faculty members with Dr. Smith serving as a facilitator to expedite the completion of the various research initiatives.
Research Faculty
Michael Callahan, PhD: Dr. Callahan’s primary research interests are nerve/muscle function and skeletal muscle blood flow in aging and NIDDM. Ongoing research projects include effects of various botulinum toxins on muscle function and molecular expression of nerve/muscle related proteins. Other projects include exercise capacity and strength in aged animals receiving statin and PPAR agonists. He has extensive experience in experimental surgical techniques and development of novel rodent models. He serves as a basic science mentor to residents and assists faculty with the development of basic science protocols. Dr. Callahan is responsible for the Microsurgery Course for Hand Fellows and Orthopaedic and Plastic Surgery Residents. He also directs the Mouse and Rat Surgery Course that has trained over 150 scientists in rodent surgical techniques.
Thomas L. Smith, PhD: Tom Smith, PhD serves as a basic science mentor to the residents in translational studies in Orthopaedic Surgery. He provides advice on experimental design, execution and interpretation of results, as well as selection of experimental model to address the scientific hypotheses the residents and fellows wish to address. In addition, he serves as a liaison with other scientists and departments within the university to facilitate and fulfill the resident and fellows’ research goals. Dr. Smith also offers instruction in microsurgical techniques and experimental animal surgery. He has broad experiences in survival surgery techniques in rodents, rabbits, and dogs and can assist the resident and fellows in development of these surgical skills. Special expertise in nerve/muscle physiology, and control of the circulation of the hands and feet also is available.