Her research on musculoskeletal injury nets recognition
Dr. Frances T. Sheehan-Gavelli, a principal investigator and research engineer in the NIH Rehabilitation Medicine Department, is the co-recipient of the 2021 Orthopedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF) Clinical Research Award for outstanding clinical research related to musculoskeletal disease or injury.
She is grateful for the recognition of her collaborative efforts with the primary awardee, Dr. Barry Boden, an orthopedic surgeon, researcher and NIH consultant.
For more than a decade, Drs. Gavelli and Boden have combined their engineering and clinical knowledge through research, collaboration and producing groundbreaking papers on knee injuries including anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL) and kneecap pain.
The OREF Clinical Research Award is the most prestigious award for orthopedic clinical research and acknowledges the vital role that research plays in orthopedics.
Nominees must provide a manuscript demonstrating a large body of cohesive scientific work, reflecting years of research with high significance and impact.
The award-winning manuscript, Epidemiology, Mechanisms and Prevention of Sports Injuries incorporated 20 years of Dr. Boden's surgical and preventive research on ACL ruptures and catastrophic sports injuries and Dr. Gavelli's analysis of the structure, function, motion and mechanical aspects of musculoskeletal injury and pathology.