Department Vice Chair
Associate Staff, Biomedical Engineering
Director, Musculoskeletal Research Center
Email: [email protected]
Location: Cleveland Clinic Main Campus
Our lab is investigating different ways to improve healing and long-term outcomes for patients who have had rotator cuff surgery. We are also interested in how the extracellular matrix, the mesh-like substance that provides structure to tissues, might be used to enhance healing after surgery.
Kathleen A. Derwin, PhD, is Vice Chair and Associate Staff in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Cleveland Clinic's Lerner Research Institute and in Orthopedic Surgery at Cleveland Clinic. She is also Director of the Musculoskeletal Research Center. She is Assistant Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University and in the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at Cleveland State University.
Dr. Derwin received her BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass. She completed an MS in bioengineering and her medical degree at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.
Appointed
1998
Education & Fellowships
Medical Education - University of Michigan
Biomedical Engineering
Ann Arbor, MI USA
1998
Graduate School - University of Michigan
Mechanical Engineering
Ann Arbor, MI USA
1991
Undergraduate - University of Massachusetts
Mechanical Engineering
Amherst, MA USA
1989
Our research program focuses on identifying the factors that influence healing and clinical outcomes after rotator cuff repair—including demographic, disease, and surgical issues, as well as local biologic factors such as stem and progenitor cell characteristics and inflammatory biomarkers. Our aim is the modification of key factors, either pre-operatively or through surgical treatment, which will lead to better clinical decision-making, patient selection and improved outcomes.
We also investigate extracellular matrix scaffold technologies as a surgical treatment strategy for enhancing healing after rotator cuff repair. We utilize traditional MRI, together with novel CT-based imaging of radiopaque markers, to measure tendon retraction and understand the relationship between structural healing of the tendon and clinical outcomes. Further, we are developing imaging biomarkers to quantify local bone marrow "quality" and guide decision-making about tissue-healing potential and the need for cell-based therapies.
View publications for Kathleen Derwin, PhD
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US Patent | Patent Title | Issue Date | First-Named Inventor |
---|---|---|---|
8,080,260 | Molecular Enhancement of Extracellular Matrix and Methods of Use | 12/20/2011 | Kathleen Derwin, PhD |
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