Upon arriving in Iowa, the group were greeted by the unparalleled Midwest hospitality… and a lot of snow! The 30-degree (Celsius) temperature drop was quite the shock to the system, but the warm welcome from Prof Don Anderson, the University of Iowa host, who collected the fellows from the airport and drove them back to Iowa City more than made up for it.
On the first full day of the Iowa visit, the fellows met with Prof Anderson for breakfast on the campus. Given the heavy snowfall over night, the campus tour was enjoyed from the comfort of a university vehicle, rather than on-foot. Then the group heard presentations from Dr Mitch Coleman (on their modelling of PTOA), and Dr Amelia Hurley-Novatny (on behalf of the Li lab). Three of the fellows then got the opportunity to present their research to the mixed group of PhD students, postdocs, and academics. Then there was the opportunity to tour the Iowa Institute of Biomedical Imaging, which houses various research only MRI scanners. Harriet was especially jealous of their access to 7T MRI scanners!
The afternoon originally had a visit to the robotics lab planned, but unfortunately the academic couldn’t make it on campus due to the snow. So instead, it was organised for the fellows to visit Dr Brian Wolf in sports medicine, who is part of the MOON consortium, looking at long term outcomes in ACL reconstruction.
A few of the fellows then used the slightly earlier than planned finish as an opportunity to go for a run in the snowstorm… thankfully no one needed to go back and see Dr Wolf immediately after the first introduction! The day was rounded off with dinner with Prof Anderson, his wife, and Dr Bopha Chrea (a foot and ankle surgeon) and her husband.
Day 2 in Iowa started with a meeting with the Orthopaedics department chair, Prof Larry Marsh, where everything from his time in the UK in the 80s, to the fellow’s time at ORS, to the current funding landscape was discussed. The fellows then toured the Center for Procedural Skills and Simulation, with Dr Steven Long, who showed them the arthroscopy & surgical skills lab, where residents get fluoroscopy training, the cadaver labs, and the clinical skills labs. Residents get access to these simulation labs throughout their training, and spend a whole month upskilling there in their first year of residency.
The fellows then visited the Bone Healing Research Lab and Orthopedic Histopathology Service Center. Doug Frederick’s facility had a whole range of facilities, but a particular highlight for the fellows was observing the researchers attempting to train a sheep to walk on a treadmill for a future motion capture study.
Following lunch with Prof Anderson and Dr Jess Goetz, the group were guided around the new North Liberty Orthopaedic hospital, which will open in April 2025, by Dr Mary Greve. The fact the facility is not yet in use meant the fellows had the opportunity to see behind the scenes in the operating theatres, as well as see all the imaging facilities, and research labs. These amazing facilities had the orthopaedic surgeons amongst the fellows green with envy! The day was rounded off with presentations from PhD students and postdocs in the biomedical engineering research group on some of their ongoing experimental and computational research. Then, before they knew it, it was time to head back to the airport ready to visit their next centre in Chicago!
British Orthopaedic Research Society 