News Archive

ORS held its annual meeting during February 4 – 8, 2022, in Tampa, and Lou DeFrate and Amy McNulty and their labs had a combined 14 paper presentations, posters, and workshops! And they were able to cheer the Blue Devils to victory over the Tarheels! Congratulations to all.      

Despite the Omicron variant and COVID, the American Physical Therapy Association Combined Sections Meeting was still a great time. Though we missed many people and presentations due to the winter storm, and it was much chillier than we were expecting in San Antonio, Duke DPT had a great showing. Here are some highlights:

Please join in welcoming Dr. Jon Dickens to Duke Orthopaedics as a member of the Sports division. Jon grew up as the son of a military family and while both of his parents are from North Carolina, he was born in Alabama and lived in Maryland, Virginia, Alabama (twice), and Indianapolis before attending Davidson College on an ROTC scholarship.   

We are delighted to introduce the newest member of the Duke Orthopaedics family–David Livingstone Kerr V. Born Tuesday, January 18, weighing 6.9 lbs and 20” long, Mom, Dad (David (PGY-4), and baby are doing great and he can’t wait to meet everyone soon!

Congratulations to Rob Lark, MD, on being selected to participate in the 2022 Duke Clinical Leadership Program. Founded by the Chancellor for Health Affairs in 2010 to expand leadership capacity in DukeHealth, the program provides an opportunity to deepen awareness of healthcare operations and develop leadership skills.​

Congratulations to Chad Cook, PT, MBA, PhD, Daniel Rohn DSc,  John J. Fraser DPT PhD, Jeff Sorensen MSAT, Tina A. Greenlee PhD, and Tarang  Jain PT DPT PhD. Their article titled “Delayed Rehabilitation Is Associated With Recurrence and Higher Medical Care Use After Ankle Sprain Injuries in the United States Military Health System,” which appeared in the December 2021 issue of JOSPT, has been selected by JOSPT’s award committee to receive the 2021 JOSPT Guy G. Simoneau Excellence in Research Award.​

When the job announcement first popped up in Barb Hooper’s email inbox, she didn’t bother to open it. She was an associate professor at Colorado State, and as director of the Center for Occupational Therapy Education her focus was on the educational component of occupational therapy. The email announcement was for a position to develop a new occupational therapy program at Duke, and Hooper presumed she wouldn’t be quite what they were looking for. 

We are excited to welcome Dr. Joe Chakkalakal to the department as an Associate Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Cell Biology. Originally from Toronto, Dr. Chakkalakal was raised in Markham Ontario, Canada. Staying close to home, Joe attended York University where he received a BSc in Kinesiology and Health Sciences, and while there, he met his wife Lee who graduated from the same program. 

After a day of building a school with her Army unit in Guatemala, 18-year-old Madison Culler was not just tired – she was also in pain. She didn’t know it yet, but a combination of repetitive movements, physical strain, and an underlying hip condition had torn the cartilage in her right hip. She tried rest and physical therapy, but they didn’t help. Then her physical therapist recommended she learn more about hip preservation surgery at Duke Health. Less than a year after surgery, the college student and ROTC cadet passed her Army physical exams and is back to training with her unit.