Dr. Cole’s honor is for his work to advance osteochondral allograft transplantation to treat cartilage and bone defects in the knee, the news release said. Among those who had the procedure in recent years include Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball.
Osteochondral allograft transplantation uses donor cartilage and bone to help restore joints to its normal architecture, the release said. It is ideal for younger patients with limited areas of damage and is an option for active patients who aren’t candidates for a knee replacement.
“Being selected as the recipient of the OREF Clinical Research Award is one of the biggest honors in our field and something we at Rush are incredibly proud of,” Dr. Cole said in a Feb. 8 email to Becker’s. “The subject matter was contributed to over nearly three decades and embodies collaborative work with hundreds of talented individuals including clinicians, PhDs, and students interested in improving our treatment for patients with articular cartilage disease that leads to pain and loss of function with solutions that historically have variable outcomes. The essence of this work is how translational basic science and clinical research can contribute to improvements in a commonly used procedure, an osteochondral allograft, as a joint preservation technique to restore function and reduce pain in patients who historically had very few options with localized knee arthritis.”