Shyni Varghese, PhD, Laszlo Ormandy Distinguished Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, will transition into the role of our vice chair of research in Duke's Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. She was Duke's first MedX investigator with a joint appointment in engineering (departments of Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Materials Science).
Our current vice chair of research, Steven Z. George, PT, PhD, FAPTA, will transition out of this role and into his appointment as editor-in-chief of the American Physical Therapy Association’s (APTA) flagship publication, the Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journal (PTJ).
Dr. Varghese, a leader in biomaterials and stem cells, actively developed her research at Duke in three significant areas: musculoskeletal tissue repair, aging, and organ-on-a-chip technology. Dr. Varghese ranked first in funding for a Principal Investigator according to the 2022 NIH Blue Ridge rankings.
“I am truly humbled and excited about this opportunity. I look forward to working with both the leadership and the clinical and research faculty to advance our department’s research portfolio and translate it to patient care,” said Dr. Varghese.
Duke’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery is working to grow our research programs and collaborate with existing and developing programs throughout Duke University’s research community.
Dr. Varghese will work with colleagues Louis DeFrate, ScD, Laszlo Ormandy, Distinguished Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Vice Chair Biomechanics, Movement, and Imaging Research; Matthew Hilton, PhD, Associate Chair of Research; Steven Olson, MD, Clinical Research Unit Director; Adam Goode, PT, DPT, PhD, Vice Chair of Clinical Research and Epidemiology and the Director of the Musculoskeletal Epidemiology Research Center, and Chad Cook, PT, PhD, MBA, FAPTA, Director of Clinical Research Facilitation, to lead and support the development of work that crosses shared interests among the research and clinical faculty.