Clinical Research Laboratories

University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview

Biomechanics/Tissue Mechanics Lab – University Campus
Director:  Jack Lewis, Ph.D.

This laboratory has a fifteen-year history in the research on post-traumatic osteoarthritis, cartilage injury repair, and ligament reconstruction. Current areas of focus are on cartilage mechanics and osteoarthritis. Techniques used include tissue mechanical testing and electron microscopy. The laboratory is funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Catherine Mills Davis Chair in Biomechanical Engineering and Orthopaedic Surgery.

Cancer Research Lab/Bone Tumor Biology Lab – University Campus
Director:  Denis Clohisy, M.D.
Associate:  Jennifer Westendorf, Ph.D.

These laboratories focus on the osteoclast as well as bone formation. The laboratories are funded by multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Roby C. Thompson, Jr. Chair in Musculoskeletal Oncology. Current areas of investigation include bone cancer metastatic growth, mechanisms of pain generation, and transcriptional regulations during osteoblast differentiation. Additional focus on RankL is under rapid development.

Biomechanics Lab – Riverside Campus
Directors:  Fred Wentorf, Robert LaPrade, M.D.,Ph.D., David Polly, M.D., Peter Cole, M.D.

This brand new facility, which includes mechanical testing devices and a unit dedicated to finite element analysis, focuses on basic biomechanics of ligament reconstruction, spinal fixation, disc replacement, and methods of internal fixation. The laboratory is funded by the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation and industry-related grants.

Clinical Outcomes Research Center – University Campus
Co-Directors:  Marc F. Swiontkowski, M.D. Robert Kane, M.D.,Ph.D.

This medical school-wide resource is dedicated to aid the faculty, fellows, and residents in conducting high quality clinical research. The form of the research can be in a clinical trial design or a quasi-experimental prospective functional outcome design. The center is staffed by research methodologists, survey design and study design experts, and statisticians. The activities are funded by the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, independent foundations, and affiliations with local hospitals and medical groups.

Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare

Gait Lab
Directors:  Thomas Novacheck, M.D.,  Michael Schwartz, Ph.D.

This internationally known gait lab focuses on the use of gait analysis in the analysis of multiple conditions affecting children with neuromuscular disease. The laboratory also concentrates on the impact of joint replacement, joint reconstruction, and post-traumatic deformity impact in adults.

Hennepin County Medical Center

BioMechanics Lab
Director:  Joan Bechtold, Ph.D.

This laboratory, funded by the National Institutes of Health and Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation, focuses on the biomechanics of internal fixation, as well as the impact of infection on bone healing and the mechanics of aseptic loosing in joint replacement.