DARF Residents & Student Researchers

DARF Resident and Student Researchers

Within DARF’s mission is a dedication to continued orthopedic education which can be seen

in the many relationships it nourishes with collaborating surgeons, medical students, residents,

and our new fellowship. Through these collaborations and new minds, DARF has been able to explore

a variety of new research topics, many of which have been presented and nationally and internationally

or published in peer-reviewed journals. DARF financially supports its student researchers

in presenting their work and encourages them to continue supporting orthopedic research.

Stephen Gregorius, MD

Orthopedic Surgeon, Fellow Adult Reconstruction, University of Utah 2015

Stephen completed his orthopedic residency from Loma Linda in 2011. During that time, Stephen volunteered his time at the DARF Center exploring wear of metal-on-metal retrievals. Stephen went on to advance his clinical and research knowledge in a fellowship at University of Utah.

Personius JT, Clarke IC, Gregorius SF, Donaldson TK, editors, Wear of Large diameter MOM Total Hip Arthroplasty Retrievals Compared to Small Diameter MOM Bearings. Soceity of Tribology and Lubrication Engineers (STLE); 2010, Las Vegas, NV. TK Donaldson: Anterior Supine Approach to the Hip. Bristol, England December 2011.

Wendy Wong, MD

Orthopedic Surgeon, Fellow Adult Reconstruction Stanford University 2015

Wendy completed her orthopedic residency from Loma Linda in 2014. During that time, Wendy volunteered her time at the DARF Center exploring wear on metal-on-polyethylene retrievals and total knee alignment. Wendy went on to advance her clinical and research knowledge in a fellowship at Stanford University and continues to work closely with the DARF Center.

Wong, W., Donaldson, H., Burgett, M., Wongworawat, M., Clarke, I.C., Donaldson, T.K. Radiographic Assessment of Total Knee Arthroplasty using Conventional Instrumentation. Orthopedic Research Society. New Orleans, LA, 2014.
Wong, W., Clarke, I.C., Donaldson, T.K., Burgett, M. Surface roughness of retrieved femoral heads in CoCr-Polyethylene Hip Bearings – A retrieval assessment with 11-17 years follow-up. Reconstructive Review 2013; March: 45-48.
Wong, W., Burgett, M., Clarke, I.C., Donaldson, T.K. Surface roughness of femoral heads from metal-on-polyethylene total hip arthroplasty retreieved at over 10 years. Orthopedic Research Society. San Antonio, TX, 2013.

Joseph Elsissy, MD

Loma Linda University, Orthopedic Resident 2020

Joseph studied biology at UC Riverside and went on to graduate from David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA in 2015. During his medical education, Joseph volunteered his time at the DARF Center exploring wear patterns on hip resurfacing implants. Joseph has now started his orthopedic residency at LLU and continues to work closely with the DARF Center.

· Elsissy, J., John, A., Smith, E., Donaldson, T., Burgett-Moreno, M., & Clarke, I. MOM Resurfacing Wear Patterns and the Effect of Limited ROM. Bone Joint J 2016, 98-B: (SUPP 1) 117.

· Elsissy, J., John, A., Smith, E., Donaldson, T., Burgett-Moreno, M., Clarke, I.C. MOM Resurfacing Wear Patterns and the Effect of Limited Range of Motion. International Society for Technology in Arthroplasty 17th Annual Congress. Kyoto, Japan, 2014.

Elsissy, J.G., Burgett, M., Sufficool, D., Clarke, I.C., Donaldson, T.K. Wear pattern comparison between RSA and THA retrievals reveal in-vivo subluxation. Orthopedic Research Society. San Antonio, TX, 2013.

Diana Nguyen

Midwestern University

Prior to attending the DO program at Midwestern, Diana volunteered her time at the DARF Center exploring ‘dongas’ and other surface defects in worn hip retrievals.

Nguyen, D., Burgett, M., Halim, T., Donaldson, T.K., and Clarke, I.C. Debris Impact Zones in Metal-on-Metal Bearings: A New ‘Donga’ Insight. Bone Joint J 2013, 95-B: (SUPP 34) 137.
Nguyen, D., Burgett, M., Halim, T., Donaldson, T.K., and Clarke, I.C. Subluxation of Metal-on-Metal Bearings—Evidence of 2-body wear on CoCr Femoral Heads. Bone Joint J 2013, 95-B: (SUPP 34) 451.
Nguyen, D., Burgett, M., Halim, T., Donaldson, T.K., and Clarke, I.C. Debris Impact Zones in Metal-on-Metal Bearings: A New ‘Donga’ Insight. ISTA 16th Annual Congress 2013.
Nguyen, D., Burgett, M., Halim, T., Donaldson, T.K., and Clarke, I.C. Subluxation of Metal-on-Metal Bearings—Evidence of 2-body wear on CoCr Femoral Heads. ISTA 16th Annual Congress 2013.

Erla Medina, MD

Instituto Nacional de Rehabilitacion. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Erla studied Knee and Hip Arthroplasty under Dr. Thomas Donaldson at Empire Orthopedic Center for 6 weeks in 2012. She assisted in several retrieval projects at DARF while attending clinic and assisting/observing in surgery with Dr. Donaldson.

• Burgett-Moreno, M., Medina, E., Burton, P., Donaldson, T., & Clarke, I. Large Diameter MOM with Metal Toxicity Leading to Revision. Bone Joint J 2016, 98-B: (SUPP 1) 116.

• Burton, P., Medina, E., Burgett-Moreno, M., Donaldson, T.K., Clarke, I.C. Biomechanical Alignment of Main Wear-Pattern on MOM Total Hip Replacement. Reconstructive Review 2015; July: 19-23.

Medina, E., Burgett-Moreno, M., Burton, P., Donaldson, T.K., and Clarke, I.C. Large Diameter MOM With Metal Toxicity Leading to Revision. ISTA 17th Annual Congress 2014.

Peter Kally, BS Neuroscience

David Geffen School of Medicine UCLA 2016

Peter studied neuroscience at UC Riverside and went on to David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA. During his medical education, Peter volunteered his time at the DARF Center exploring surface roughness on multiple retrieved implants.

William Leon, BS Biochemistry

UCR School of Medicine 2018

During his medical education, Will volunteered his time at the DARF Center exploring 3rd body debris wear effects with metal-on-polyethylene.

Leon, W., Burgett-Moreno, M., Donaldson, T.K., Clarke, I.C. Profiling 3rd-body Abrasion by Metal Debris on Polyethylene-A Simulator Study. Orthopedic Research Society. Orlando, FL, 2016.
Leon, W., Burgett-Moreno, M., Donaldson, T.K., Clarke, I.C. Profiling HA and PMMA Particle Abrasion on Polyethylene-A Simulator Study. Orthopedic Research Society. Orlando, FL, 2016.

Travis Scudday, MD

Loma Linda University, Orthopedic Resident 2017

During Travis’ orthopedic residency at Loma Linda University, Travis volunteered his time at the DARF Center exploring ceramic-on-metal retrievals.

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From ORS 2016

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