“Some of our larger-scale trials can take five to 10 years. And some questions can linger, guiding an entire career of research. Every researcher seems to have that type of curiosity.”
—Zacariah Shannon, D.C.
SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS Dr. Shannon wants to be part of the effort to answer chiropractic’s lingering questions while growing as a researcher.
Dr. Shannon speaks
from his PCCR office; his wall is filled with diplomas, his desk with spreadsheets and articles waiting to be read. “Research doesn’t end,” he laughs. “You publish an article, but you’ve already got another project in the trial stage.” Dr. Shannon’s determination and drive for answers have already been rewarded. Last year, he won the Early Research Career Research Award at the World Federation of Chiropractic Biennial Congress. Te award recognized Dr. Shannon’s paper reviewing the impact of
chiropractic care on military personnel. “It meant a lot to have the work recognized,” says Dr. Shannon. “I depended on data from a previous Palmer trial, so it is another example of how we are building a body of knowledge — no work in research is truly individual.” Collaboration has been essential to the growth and success of Palmer’s
research center. Tis means collaboration between researchers as well as between institutions. PCCR was the driving force behind the creation of the Inter-Institutional Network for Chiropractic Research, which also includes Yale University Section of Biomedical Informatics and Data Science and the Osher Center for Integrative Health (jointly based at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital). “It’s hard for me to think of good research being conducted by a single
person,” says Robert Vining, D.C.,
D.H.Sc., associate dean of clinical research. “Our partnering institutions are extremely important. Tose collaborations allow us to participate in research conducted by our collaborators at other institutions and access researchers with different experiences and areas of expertise that are complementary to our own.” Dr. Vining’s research has a focus on translation or practical implementation.
Tis means that one of his goals is to create tools and knowledge that are accessible and helpful to providers. “Tere isn’t much point in learning something through scientific research if you’re not able to share it with others,” he says. Some research can yield niche information that is difficult to interpret.
Dr. Vining, for example, has been engaged in work designed to use clinical guidelines, best practices, and care standards to develop ways of measuring key components of chiropractic care for the ultimate benefit of patients. In early
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