Winter 2022 Newsletter from the Orthopaedic Foundation

Dear Respected Friends, Family and Colleagues,

Happy holidays from the Orthopaedic Foundation! We hope this season’s Newsletter finds you in good health and good spirits. As we reflect back on 2022, we would like to share with you some highlights from the past year. We hope you enjoy!

The Foundation’s Interns: “Where Are They Now?”

The Foundation would like to open this season’s Newsletter with some updates from its past interns and research assistants! We wish you all the best in your future endeavors!

Danielle Dunham, Nursing Student

Danielle was a Lab Technician at our BioSkills Lab in 2019 and 2020. Danielle now lives in North Carolina and is in her first year at the School of Nursing at Northeastern University.?

DeShawn Fairbairn, DPT, Physical Therapist

We first met DeShawn as he shadowed physicians at our BioSkills Lab in 2017. DeShawn described his time with us as a “fantastic opportunity to learn more about the musculoskeletal and nervous systems.” He attended the Foundation’s Gala that year and spoke to the crowd. He graduated with his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Tufts University earlier this month.

Brenda Milla, PhD Candidate

Brenda joined the Foundation as a Clinical Research Intern in our Research Department from the Summer of 2015 to Spring of 2018. She is now a fourth-year PhD candidate in Physiology and Neurobiology at the University of Connecticut. She presented her research at the Neuroscience 2022 Conference, this past November in San Diego. Her work is focused on respiratory dysfunction in an epilepsy mouse model. Brenda will be applying to medical school next year.

Woodson Petit-Frere, PT, DPT, MD

Dr. Petit-Frere was one of the Research Department’s Summer Interns in 2013. He is currently in his cardiology fellowship at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. He is currently applying for a second fellowship in interventional cardiology.

Iris Reichman, Nursing Student

Iris was also a Lab Technician at our BioSkills Lab from 2014 to 2016. She is entering her last semester of nursing school this Spring at Goodwin College and will be graduating in April 2023 with her ADN in Nursing. She is currently a Surgical Technologist II at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.

Sandip Tarpada, MD

Dr. Tarpada was one of the Research Department’s Summer Interns in 2018. He is currently in his third year of residency at Jacobi Medical Center in Bronx, NY. He will be starting a trauma fellowship at the R. Adams Cowley Shock and Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center in August 2023.

Eric West, MD

Dr. West was one of the Research Department’s Interns in 2017. He is now in his third year of orthopaedic residency at the Campbell Clinic in Memphis, TN. He is currently considering a fellowship in either sports medicine or trauma.

Congratulations and best of luck to all of our former Interns!

Research Corner

As 2022 comes to a close and we reflect back on the accomplishments of the research team, we would like to express our gratitude for your generous support. We have been fruitful in producing cutting-edge research to advance the science of orthopaedic care.

Our work has been highlighted this year in premier orthopaedic journals including Journal of Arthroplasty; Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery; Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy; Arthroplasty Today; American Journal of Sports Medicine; Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons; Journal of the American Academy of PAs. We are involved in several multicenter randomized controlled clinical trials on novel treatments for knee cartilage defects and are grateful to partner with Board Member, Dr. George Lewis, on a National Institutes of Health grant for sustained acoustic medicine for osteoarthritis of the knee.

As we look to the New Year, we will continue to strive to be a leading voice in orthopaedic and sports medicine-related research to help YOU Stay in the Game… for Life!??

18th Annual Gala

The Foundation just concluded its 18th Annual Gala on December 1st, 2022! This year’s Gala was an incredible success, and the Foundation would like to thank you, our incredible supporters, for making this year so successful. We couldn’t do what we do without you.

Inaugural Fellows Meeting

The Inaugural Meeting of the Plancher Fellows Society was held September 19th, 2022, prior to this year’s annual meeting of the Orthopaedic Summit: Evolving Techniques in Boston, MA. The Orthopaedic Foundation, together with Plancher Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine (POSM), invited its past and current Fellows to gather for the first annual meeting of the Plancher Fellows Society. The program is family-oriented and is focused on bringing together POSM’s past, current and future Fellows, to build a network of connections and form long-lasting professional and personal relationships. This year, the program was supported generously by grants from both the Orthopaedic Foundation and Biorez, a ConMed Company.

Manhattan Medical Immersion Camp

The Manhattan Medical Immersion Camp will be returning for the Summer of 2023!

The program hosts students of varying ages from across the world in our BioSkills Lab in Manhattan to learn about different fields of medicine, practice a variety of medical and surgical procedures, and spend time in a professional lab setting with practicing surgeons, healthcare practitioners, medical students and members of the industry.

This one-of-a-kind program is accepting applications through May 31st, 2023. For more information about the program, visit www.ofals.org/camp. We are so excited to continue to spark imagination and inspire new generations of surgeons and medical professionals!

Roundtable Discussion

Q: What are the most common hand injuries you see from home projects?

A: “As a hand surgeon, I come across a wide variety of patients with injuries that happen in the home. Since the beginning of the pandemic, DIY projects have been a common reason for at-home injuries.?I have seen many unfortunate accidents take place, including broken wrists from falling off ladders and roofs; broken fingers from wayward hammers; cut fingers from table saws, chainsaws, hedge trimmers, and lawn mowers; foreign body puncture wounds from nail guns and staple guns; infections from lacerations that were treated with super glue; and even carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis from repetitive activity and power tool use. As much as we can all learn from Home Depot classes and YouTube videos, they do not always focus on teaching us how not to hurt ourselves. Before starting any DIY projects, make sure to first plan out your project carefully, prepare a safe working environment, securing things such as ladders, ensure you have the correct tools in proper working order, and always have a first-aid kit on hand. If you do sustain a hand injury, call your local hand surgeon to help you get back to your activities.”

Many thanks to Dr. Michael Mangonon, DO, a hand and microvascular surgeon at Atlanta Hand Specialist in Atlanta, GA, for this newsletter’s Roundtable Discussion! Dr. Mangonon worked at Plancher Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine and served on the medical advisory board of the Foundation for many years.

Finally, there is still time to donate for the 2022 tax year. Click here to help us continue our journey of educating our future generation of medical doctors, healthcare practitioners, and researchers as we pave the way for you to live a happier and bone-healthy lifestyle.

We hope you enjoyed this Newsletter! The Foundation wishes you and your families a happy and healthy holiday season, and we wish you a Happy New Year!

Warm regards,?

Janine Bahar??

Executive Director

Orthopaedic Foundation?

Ph: 203-869-2002

www.ofals.org