SPINE SURGERY - CHARITABLE GIVING

Mission

The mission of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and the Division of Spine Surgery is to support the Johns Hopkins University’s tripartite mission of preeminence in patient care, education, and research. Gifts from our donors (people like you) allow us to make significant discoveries in the laboratory and to apply the results in the clinic.

Some people give money to Hopkins out of gratitude. Giving is their way of saying thank-you for the care they have received. Others give because they are frustrated that a cure or treatment regimen has not yet been identified.

Whatever the reason, your gift, large or small, could support a specific initiative, enable us to purchase a piece of highly specialized equipment, or help a researcher create the next breakthrough. Gifts of any amount are welcomed.

RESEARCH PROJECTS &
RESOURCES FOR THE FUTURE

Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery and Techniques
Rationale:
All patients would like a quick and easy recovery following spine surgery. Our research seeks to refine surgical techniques, to develop safer and better methods of pain control, and to follow relevant outcomes (what happens to patients) after minimally invasive spine surgery.
Specific Needs:
$250,000 for personnel and supplies

Management of Vertebral Compression Fractures
Rationale:
There is considerable debate regarding whether kyphoplasty or vertebroplasty is the optimal method to manage vertebral compression fractures. Our research seeks to design and implement a definitive study to compare the issues related to patient safety, pain control, and return to function after kyphoplasty or vertebroplasty.
Specific Needs:
$500,000 for personnel and supplies

Spine Infection
Rationale:
Your gift can help support our research program to determine optimal ways to detect, treat, and prevent infections associated with surgical spine treatment.
Specific Needs:
$250,000 for personnel and supplies

Spine Outcomes Research Database
Rationale:
We seek to establish and maintain a database about what happens to patients after spine surgery. The database is crucial to improving our knowledge of the natural history, pathologic features, and the treatment of disc degeneration, spinal osteoporosis, and spinal deformity.

The benefits of the database will include:

Specific Needs:
$60,000 for database manager
$10,000 per year for statistical expertise
$10,000 initial cost of software development

Spine Radiographic Imaging Database
Rationale:
We seek to establish and maintain an imaging database about what happens to patients after spine surgery. The database is crucial to improving our knowledge of radiographic features and response to treatment of disc degeneration, spinal osteoporosis, and spinal deformity.

The benefits of the database will include:

Specific Needs:
$50,000 for laboratory equipment
$50,000 per year for research technologist
$15,000 initial cost of software development

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT

Associate Professorship in Clinical Outcomes Research
Rationale:
The establishment of an associate professorship will allow a mid-level faculty member to have financial support during the formative years of scientific development. This measure of support would allow the faculty member to concentrate on specific aims of his or her project.

Many faculty members expend inordinate amounts of time competing for grant funding which significantly detracts from research objectives.

Annual income from this research professorship will pay a significant amount of a mid-level faculty member’s salary. The faculty member would hold this professorship for a maximum of six years or until he or she attained the rank of full professor.

Specific Needs:
$2.5 million gift to endow the associate professorship

Assistant Professorship in Clinical Outcomes Research
Rationale:
The establishment of an assistant professorship will allow a new faculty member sufficient time to begin his or her research career. The faculty member would be able to spend significantly more time performing his or her research.

Annual income from this research professorship will pay a significant amount of a new faculty member’s salary. The faculty member would hold this professorship for a maximum of six years or until he or she attained the rank of associate professor.

Specific Needs:
$2.5 million gift to endow the assistant professorship

RESEARCH PERSONNEL
Postdoctoral Fellow Clinical Research Training Grants
Rationale:
In order to train competent scientists in the field of orthopaedic spine care, these grants would allow the selection of individuals to spend approximately 2 years learning relevant methods and techniques to design and conduct clinical research and developing an independent research career.

Specific Needs:
$240,000 per gift to provide 2 years of funding for training

Research Coordinator
Rationale:
The research coordinator is vital to the success of any clinical research endeavor. A research coordinator manages the day-to-day workings of a clinical research study and is skilled in a wide variety of interview and assessment techniques. The focus of this individual’s work will be to assist the faculty members and clinical research fellows in the development and implementation of clinical research projects. This will include collection of data sufficient for manuscripts which will serve as preliminary data for grant submissions to the NIH and its affiliates.

Specific Needs:
$60,000 for one year of support

Summer Student Training
Rationale:
Our center provides a unique opportunity for summer students (college, graduate, or medical) to develop skills in clinical research and to learn how to answer basic questions related to the orthopaedic spine. Often, this experience is instrumental in stimulating a continued career in scientific investigation.

Specific Needs:
$5,000 per student for training and supplies for one summer

RESEARCH EQUIPMENT
Laboratory Equipment for Current Projects
Rationale:
Maintaining a modern, state-of-the-art clinical research center devoted to orthopaedic spine research involves having up-to-date equipment.

Our center is well-equipped with basic computer technology, reference libraries, and interview and analytic software; however, technology is continually changing. The use of state-of-the-art technology will allow us to increase our pace of discovery as well as to address more sophisticated questions.

The following list would bring our work to the forefront of clinical research of orthopaedic spine:
Specific Needs:

$12,000 Gait Assessment Device
Degenerative spine conditions affect an individual’s ability to walk and can lead to rapid declines in functional ability. In order to accurately monitor the natural history of a disease and the effectiveness of therapy, it is necessary to have an objective assessment of an individual’s gait.

$25,000 Dedicated Radiographic Imaging Server
The ability to store radiographic imaging data in a readily accessible environment enables researchers and clinicians to have instant access to longitudinal radiographic data. Having a dedicated radiographic imaging server will ensure that this access is provided in a stable and secure manner. This system would require:

$25,000 Vidar DiagnosticPRO^TM Scanner
The DiagnositicPRO^TM film digitizer has an MTBF of more than 50,000 hours, superior image quality, exceptional consistency, and increased speed. In addition to a higher level of image quality and more consistency, the DiagnosticPRO Advantage has been designed for increased speed. It digitizes films two times faster than previous models and will digitize up to 25 mixed-sized films in a batch mode, increasing productivity and improving efficiency.

If you would like to send a donation directly to our department, please send your check or money order to:

Spine Outcomes Research Center
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
601 North Caroline Street, #5244
Baltimore, MD, 21287

Thank you so much for helping us to continue to be THE BEST!

Return to the Spine Surgery page.