A new faculty member has joined the DCRI’s musculoskeletal group.
Christine Goertz, DC, PhD, joined the DCRI on October 1 as Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and the Director of System Development and Coordination for Spine Health at Duke Health. She comes to Durham from Oskaloosa, Iowa, where she served as the CEO of The Spine Institute for Quality. She is also the former vice chancellor of research and health policy at the Palmer College of Chiropractic.
Goertz received her DC degree from Northwestern Health Sciences University and her PhD in health services research from University of Minnesota with a focus in policy and administration.
“It is my great pleasure to be joining the Duke faculty at DCRI,” Goertz said. “I can’t think of a better environment or a more outstanding team of collaborators to work with in order to address evidence gaps in spine care delivery.”
Goertz has a strong and diverse publication record that includes papers in JAMA, JAMA Network Open, Spine, Journal of Hypertension, Military Medicine, and Value Health. She is currently the principal investigator of a pragmatic trial funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health that is studying dosing affects for chronic lower back pain in veterans. In addition, Goertz was recently named the new chair for the Governing Board of the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) by the US Comptroller General.
“I am extremely excited to welcome Dr. Goertz to the faculty here at Duke,” said Steven George, PhD, PT, director of musculoskeletal research at the DCRI. “Christine is a perfect fit for the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and our musculoskeletal therapeutic area given her strong track record in innovative clinical and health services research, including large-scale, pragmatic trials studying non-pharmacological treatments. In her role she will work towards creating an evidence base to support effective care pathways for individuals with spine pain at Duke and beyond.”