During any given day I am working to submit a manuscript for work that is completed (10 currently in process), dealing with the day-to-day problem-solving and logistics involved in data collection for current projects (right now 6 clinical trials), and writing, at least in my head, the next grant application for NIH or HRSA or the DoD (2 large projects and one pilot study).

Today is a classic example. I had separate conversations with co-authors on three different manuscripts. One is presenting results from a pilot study designed to evaluate upper cervical manipulation in people that are pre-hypertensive or have stage I hypertension.  The next is presenting results from a large biomechanical outcomes study for people with chronic low back pain. The third article is related to the development of standards for evaluating patient reported outcome performance measures.

I, then, attended a steering committee meeting, which the PCCR holds weekly for all of our planned and ongoing clinical trials. This meeting was for a study investigating whether or not the delivery of a chiropractic adjustment in a certain way, as estimated by thrust contact force and spinal segment load, are related to patient-centered outcomes in patients with chronic low back pain. The main topic of conversation was how to make sure that we meet our recruitment goals. Finally, I talked with potential collaborators at a large, well-known university on the east coast about a potential joint project that will likely be submitted to NIH in late 2013. As a scientist, one learns to be comfortable sharing an office crowded with the ghost of research past, the ghost of research present, and ghost of research future…

Submitted by Christine Goertz, DC, PhD 

Dr. Goertz is the Vice-Chancellor for Research and Health Policy at Palmer College of Chiropractic since 2006 and a member of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Board of Governors. She received her Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) degree from Northwestern Health Sciences University and her Ph.D. in Health Services Research, Policy and Administration from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Goertz has more than 20 years of experience as a scientist and in science administration, including three years as a Program Officer at the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), National Institutes of Health (NIH), where she managed a $50 million portfolio.