Matthew Smuck, MD, has won the Henry Farfan Award from the North American Spine Society.
The award recognizes contributions in spine-related research, according to a Sept. 30 news release. Dr. Smuck is a 16-year member of NASS and an orthopedic surgery professor at Stanford (Calif.) University.
His research has focused on improving outcomes and influencing treatment trends for lower back pain and wearable technology's applications for monitoring, treating and preventing disability from musculoskeletal disease.
"I am honored to receive this year's Henry Farfan Award from NASS, and I think it highlights the importance of interdisciplinary basic science research," he said in an email to Becker's. "Given my physical medicine and rehabilitation training, I was fortunately able to recognize very early the potential for wearable sensors to transform the way spine clinicians and researchers measure functional outcomes. By combining my clinical insights with expertise in kinesiology, bioengineering, data science and bioinformatics, my lab has demonstrated the impact of this technology."
Dr. Smuck is the founder and director of the Stanford University Wearable Health Lab and has written more than 100 peer-reviewed publications.