Duke Doctor of Physical Therapy faculty members, Amy Pastva, PT, MA, PhD, and Corey Simon, DPT, PhD, have been appointed as members of the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI). They will serve as faculty in DCRI’s Musculoskeletal and Surgical Sciences (MASS) Therapeutic Area.
Steven George, PhD, PT, FAPTA is the Therapeutic Area Lead for MASS. He is an associated Doctor of Physical Therapy faculty member and Laszlo Ormandy Distinguished Professor and vice-chair of Research for the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.
DCRI unites the clinical expertise and academic leadership of a premier teaching hospital with the capabilities of a full-service contract research organization. Dr. Pastva and Dr. Simon will help transform practice and improve patient outcomes in the musculoskeletal and surgical sciences, joining a unit with rich experience in both traditional and pragmatic clinical trials, observational studies, and secondary analyses .
"Having Dr. Pastva and Dr. Simon appointed as members of the DCRI is evidence of the strong research impact Duke DPT faculty are making in the University community and nationwide” said W. Todd, Cade, PT, PhD, division chief of the Doctor of Physical Therapy Division.
- Dr. Pastva is a professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and serves as director of research for the DPT program.She also holds faculty appointments in the departments of cell biology, medicine, and population health sciences. She is an expert in physical rehabilitation, exercise physiology, and cellular and molecular physiology, making her a strong research partner on projects that involve physical activity and exercise interventions, especially for medically complex and/or older adults with multiple chronic conditions and serious illnesses such as heart failure, stroke, respiratory failure, and cancer. A senior fellow in the Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, her work across pragmatic and explanatory multisite clinical trials has been funded by international entities, the National Institutes of Health, and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.
- Corey Simon is an assistant professor in the Duke Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, senior fellow in the Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, and on the faculty in the Duke Center for Geriatric Surgery. The overarching goal of Dr. Simon’s research is to develop multimodal bio-behavioral interventions to ameliorate the global disability crisis among older adults with persistent pain conditions. His principal work as a NIA K76 Beeson Scholar investigates the extent to which stress and pain interface to create intrusive thoughts; and in turn, facilitate maladaptive coping behavior like physical activity avoidance. Additionally, Dr. Simon is a co-investigator on a NIA mechanistic study of motor control and pain in older adults; and a NCCIH pragmatic cluster-randomized trial embedded in eight VA health systems to improve pain management for Veterans with low back pain.
DCRI reorganized in 2016 and created the MASS Therapeutic Area under the leadership of Dr. George. Faculty have experience in physical therapy, chiropractic, urology, epidemiology, general surgery, emergency medicine, transplant surgery, physiology, and orthopaedic surgery.
DCRI is the world’s largest academic clinical research organization and conducts innovative research to deliver on its mission of sharing knowledge that improves health around the world. Clinician scientists lead projects grounded in patient care which helps to inform their research and staff support these efforts with deep expertise in operationalizing global studies.