Fulfilling a C.O.R.E. Need in Osteopathic Medical Research
New Student-Driven Group at TouroCOM Harlem Aims to Improve Research Access
Research in osteopathic medicine enhances patient care by improving diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions such as musculoskeletal disorders, chronic pain and stress-related illnesses.
Equally important, research mentorship allows osteopathic medical students to gain invaluable guidance from experienced faculty. Recognizing the need for greater access to research opportunities, third-year TouroCOM Harlem students Lauren Velasquez and Daniel Hahn, and second-year TouroCOM student Allison Walker-Elders developed the Center of Osteopathic Research Excellence, or C.O.R.E., a student-driven osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) research program to position TouroCOM as a national leader in OMM research.
“Although OMM is a beneficial technique for many patients with musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction, more research is needed to fully understand the science behind this effective therapy. By establishing C.O.R.E., TouroCOM students will feel empowered to further add to the current research being done to highlight the key role of OMM in cost-effective, hands-on patient care,” said TouroCOM Executive Dean Dr. Kenneth Steier.
Launched in 2024, C.O.R.E. began with twenty students participating in evidence-based research to improve their clinical skills. C.O.R.E. challenges students to think critically about osteopathic research, while also giving them the opportunity to present key research at major conferences and enhance their residency applications.
Additionally, C.O.R.E. offers a summer research internship opportunity that enables rising second-year TouroCOM students to fully immerse themselves in the research process from inception, including drafting research protocols and conducting background literature reviews. Third-year students will serve as mentors to the two second year students turned interns as they work together on research timelines, study objectives, and data collection. Once the school year begins, CORE will work with a cohort of nearly twenty second-year students to collect data and work on vital research projects.
TouroCOM is funding C.O.R.E. with an initial budget of $4,000 to host two research interns this summer, who will be charged with supporting the incoming project director in the development of a research protocol. The program will receive another $2,000 and additional funding in the future for necessary supplies.
“There’s so much research being done at TouroCOM, but we felt it was necessary to create a formal program so students could have access to enhanced support when working on these projects. The pilot program really took off this year, and we had three research posters accepted for presentation at the American Academy of Osteopathy (AAO) Convocation 2025, one of the biggest osteopathic medical events in the country,” said Velasquez.
Innovative Research Showcased
The three student research projects presented at the AAO Convocation focused on several issues, including using a calibration method to ensure results from multiple researchers are accurate and reliable and gender sensitivity in osteopathic medicine.
TouroCOM students Daniel Hahn, Michael Krakowski, Saranda Kadriovski, Michael Pierides, and Lauren Velasquez won first place in the Original Student Research Category for their project, “A Novel Calibration Methodology for Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine Research.”
“Calibration was used to standardize how different researchers use their hands to feel and assess key factors in OMM and our findings spotlight its effectiveness. Since OMM research relies on practitioners’ accuracy for data collection and treatment analysis, implementing calibration is essential to improve study validity in multi-researcher designs,” said TouroCOM student and researcher Michael Krakowski.
“The Gender Sensitivity in Osteopathy Medicine” research conducted by students Lauren Velasquez, Allison Walker-Elders, Hadas Feygin, Daniel Hahn, and David Lee, paired 20 student researchers with fellow students for pelvic examinations. They then rated their comfort and proficiency in accurately diagnosing them on a Likert scale, which were compared based on researcher-participant gender pairings.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the ongoing support we’ve received from TouroCOM’s Dr. Mikhail Volokitin and Dr. Ambreen Wajid, who have been instrumental in ensuring students work on OMM research and in creating C.O.R.E. Without their support, mentorship and leadership, we wouldn’t have been able to accomplish our goals for the program,” said Hahn.
