New funding from the National Institutes of Health is allowing two chiropractors to join an interdisciplinary team in a groundbreaking study already underway called “Chiropractic Care for Veterans: A Pragmatic Randomized Trial Addressing Dose Effects for cLBP.”
The goal of the funding is to provide in-depth research experiences for chiropractors. This funding is the first of its kind at a chiropractic college. Opportunities like this have the potential to grow the number of chiropractic researchers to continue important patient-centered work.
“This funding is intended to begin a pipeline of clinician-scientists who’ll gain valuable experience through mentored-research fellowships in the PCCR and beyond,” said Cynthia R. Long, Ph.D., co-principal investigator, and director of the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research. “We’re committed to developing the next generation of chiropractic researchers and this funding is an important step toward that goal.”
The chiropractors will be mentored by investigators at the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research and the Yale Center for Medical Informatics. In these roles, they’ll actively participate in the planning phase of a large, pragmatic clinical trial studying optimal patterns of chiropractic use. Participants in this trial will be veterans in four VA clinics across the U.S. with chronic low-back pain.
“I’m excited for the opportunity to continue working with this incredible research team,” said Zacariah Shannon, D.C., M.S., post-doctoral research scholar and Palmer College of Chiropractic graduate. “I’ve been working on various projects with them since graduating with an M.S. in Clinical Research last year. I look forward to immersing myself further in studying this important population while beginning coursework in a Ph.D. in Epidemiology program. Within this project, we’ll develop tools to help chiropractors in daily practice assist their patients and so much more.
