We are a leading center for research related to the spine. Our current studies consist of outcomes research after spinal surgery, studies involving fusion techniques and instrumentation systems, studies on recombinant molecular growth factors and their relationship to tissue healing and tissue engineering, the etiology of disc degeneration and its reversal by tissue engineering, finite element modeling of the vertebrae and prediction of failure, and studies of apoptosis of the intervertebral disc. Our research is multi-disciplinary and involves a close collaboration with our basic science faculty and our bioengineering & molecular biology laboratories.