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In This Issue:
Generating Enthusiasm for Research
Reginald “Reg” Wilcox, III, PT, DPT, has genuine enthusiasm and innate inquisitiveness about his work, and it's rubbing off in BWH's Rehabilitation Services. Wilcox, clinical supervisor of physical therapy in Rehabilitation Services since 2001, is one of the leading advocates for academic research in his department.
“He's become an inspirational leader for our department and he owns the lion's share of the credit for generating enthusiasm for our research agenda,” said Linda Arslanian, PT, DPT, MS, director, Rehabilitation Services.
Last month, Wilcox, 33, delivered the first Estrellita and Yousuf Karsh Annual Rehabilitation Research Lecture, the department's first endowed research lecture. Estrellita Karsh established a fund to support rehabilitation research after a positive experience receiving therapy at BWH. Estrellita and her late husband, the celebrated photographer Yousuf Karsh, are longtime benefactors of BWH, and his famous photographs, “Healers of our Age,” adorn the Nesson Pike and the Bretholtz Family Center.
“We had set up a research committee through the IRB process, but we didn't have any budgeted positions for research,” Wilcox said. The Karsh Fund certainly provides a boost for the department's research efforts, he added. “This is a phenomenal opportunity for our department,” he said.
In addition to Wilcox's lecture, Rehabilitation Services researchers are seeing an increase in published papers and case write-ups. “BWH is an academic institution where groundbreaking research is a matter of course in so many departments. Now our department is ready to take that next step,” said Wilcox.
BWH associate orthopedic surgeon Peter J. Millett, MD, MSC, said Wilcox demonstrates scientific curiosity through his research and utilizes a thorough knowledge and a conscientious and responsive clinical technique with all his patients. “It's the ultimate combination,” Millett said. “He's conducted some great research which has influenced the way we practice.”