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Sandeep Mannava, MD, PhD

Graduate School

PhD, Wake Forest Graduate School of Arts & Sciences (Neuroscience)

Medical School

State University of New York at Syracuse – Upstate Medical University

Undergraduate

Cornell University

Research Focus

Dr. Mannava comes to the Physician Scientist Program at the Wake Forest University Department of Orthopaedic Surgery with a strong background in biophysics and physiology. He has extensive experience in electrophysiological and pharmacological experimental techniques, and he has an interest in mathematical modeling of biological systems.

Since arriving at Wake Forest, he has helped facilitate the establishment of a collaborative basic science shoulder research program, which spans several departments at Wake Forest University. His research efforts have led to Dr. Mannava successfully completing a PhD in Neuroscience, while concurrently serving as a resident in the Wake Forest Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Physician Scientist Training Program.

Research Interests: neuropharmacology of botulinum neurotoxin A; skeletal muscle electrophysiology (EMG) and muscle force testing; mathematical modeling; the biology of aging; soft tissue orthopaedic biomechanics and tensioning; tissue engineering approaches to nerve regeneration.

Brief Research Summary: Rotator cuff tears are a common cause of upper-extremity disability, particularly in elderly patients over 50 years of age. For chronic, full-thickness, rotator cuff tears, repair surgery can be technically challenging due to large gap distances and increased stiffness of the muscle-tendon unit. In contrast, acute rotator cuff tears are associated with lower repair tensions, less fibro-fatty infiltration of the muscle, and better functional outcomes. Our research group utilizes animal models to understand rotator cuff muscle function in the acute and chronic tear setting and these results can be translated into clinical recommendations using computational modeling. Through the use of electrophysiological and innovative surgical techniques, we are able to study the role of aging, tenotomy, and suprascapular neuropathy on in vivo skeletal muscle dysfunction. We are combining this knowledge with the novel use of the neuropharmacological agent botulinum neurotoxin A to understand the role of the nervous system on muscle tone, and using these data for the purposes of mathematical modeling. Through these experimental studies, our group is optimistic that we can improve the clinical neurophysiological understanding and care of rotator cuff dysfunction.

Shoulder Research Logo Currently, the Shoulder Research Group within the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Wake Forest School of Medicine has active collaborations with the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM), Wake Forest-Virginia Tech School of Biomedical Engineering, the WFU Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, and the WFU Center for Biomolecular Imaging. Through this team approach, we hope to translate our basic science research findings into clinical recommendations that will ultimately benefit our patients.