Practical Research for Effective Patient Care

OREF grant recipient employs engineering skills for orthopaedics

Lisa Applegate

For Catherine G. Ambrose, PhD, an Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF) Prospective Clinical Grant recipient, nothing about her work is theoretical.

Catherine G. Ambrose, PhD

“In engineering, your goal is to try to create a product or process that will help someone with a very specific problem,” said Dr. Ambrose, director of the Biomechanics Lab and associate professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center. “In our case, the problems are related to patient care.”

Fortunately for orthopaedic patients, Dr. Ambrose has dedicated much of her time to finding a more practical and efficient way to treat osteomyelitis. About 12,000 cases of the infection are treated annually, and the risk of complications—even amputation and death—is high. Plus, it can be difficult to identify the specific bacteria causing the infection.

“A lot of patients have chronic infections that no amount of antibiotic treatment is clearing up,” Dr. Ambrose said. “If we had a clear picture of what kind of bacteria were in these wounds, it would be a lot easier to eradicate them.”

Tracking bacterial culprits
With support from an OREF Prospective Clinical Grant, Dr. Ambrose began working with a team of investigators to analyze tissue samples from patients treated for implant infections, septic arthritis, or deep infections. The team identifies the various bacterial species present using a specific gene, 16S DNA, which is common to all bacteria but not found in mammalian cells.

Dr. Ambrose (far right) in the laboratory with members of her research team (from left): research assistant Karen Gomez; microbiologist Heidi Kaplan, PhD; and research nurse Thea Troetscher, RN. Not pictured: Terry A. Clyburn, MD, and research assistant Shidrokh Ardestani.

The orthopaedic infections tend to be polymicrobial, said Dr. Ambrose, so the team is searching for possible patterns that would provide insight into how these infections progress. Such insights would not have been possible without the OREF grant, she said, which allowed the team to expand the number of patients involved in the study.

Expanding discoveries
Now, Dr. Ambrose and her team plan to apply for funding from the National Institutes of Health. Their proposal will combine data from the OREF-funded study with research data they’ve gathered on biofilms associated with implant-related infections and drug delivery systems to treat infections.

Dr. Ambrose finds particular satisfaction in helping orthopaedic patients because she was born with developmental dysplasia of the hip. She has endured several orthopaedic surgeries, and several members of her family also have this hereditary condition. “We spend a lot of time in orthopaedic offices,” she said.

Connecting to patients
Dr. Ambrose is passionate about translational research, not only for her own family, but for all patients. But the only way to connect lab work to orthopaedic surgeons in the operating room and patients in need of treatment, she said, is through significant financial support such as a grant from OREF.

When she speaks about her OREF-supported research to other scientists or surgeons, Dr. Ambrose reminds them that supporting current research will enhance the lives of future patients. “They will be treated more efficiently and more rapidly because the treating physicians will know exactly which bacteria are in their wounds.”

Lisa Applegate is a contributing writer for OREF and can be reached at communications@oref.org.

2013 Annual Meeting News
Tuesday through Friday, February 19 – 23, 2013.
http://www.aaos.org/news/acadnews/2013/AAOS16_3_21.asp