Mentor Areas
Zarina S. Ali, MD is interested in understanding the biomechanics of nerve injury and developing translational repair strategies for improving functional outcomes following nerve injury. By combining biomechanics and neuroanatomy, the lab seeks to understand the forces associated with nerve injury and dysfunction. Applications of the lab's current work are in the areas of understanding and treating traumatic brachial plexus injuries, compressive neuropathies, and spinal cord injuries. Clinical research is focused on neurosurgical patient outcomes-oriented projects.
Description:
Despite surgical, technological, medical, and anesthetic improvements, patient outcomes following elective neurosurgical procedures can be associated with high morbidity and prolonged in-patient hospitalization. Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols are multimodal care pathways designed to optimize patient outcomes by addressing pre-, peri-, and post-operative factors. Despite significant data suggesting improved patient outcomes with the adoption of these care pathways, up to this point, development and implementation has been limited in the neurosurgical population. We have designed a Neurosurgical ERAS protocol and are assessing the efficacy of implementation of this protocol on the improvement of clinical and patient reported outcomes and patient satisfaction scores in an elective spine and peripheral nerve surgery population. Results of this study will guide further efforts to limit post-operative morbidity in patients undergoing elective spinal surgery as well as to cut unnecessary costs and highlight the impact of ERAS care pathways in improving patient reported outcomes and satisfaction.
Preferred Qualifications
The student should be familiar with database management and statistical analysis.
Details:
Preferred Student Year
First-year, Second-Year, Junior, Senior
Academic Term
Fall, Spring, Summer
I prefer to have students start during the above term(s).Volunteer
Yes
Yes indicates that faculty are open to volunteers.Paid
No
Yes indicates that faculty are open to paying students they engage in their research, regardless of their work-study eligibility.Work Study
Yes
Yes indicates that faculty are open to hiring work-study-eligible students.