Orthopaedic Institute for Children’s Rachel Thompson, M.D., Honored by the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine
Rachel Thompson, M.D., associate director of the UCLA/Orthopaedic Institute for Children Center of Cerebral Palsy, has been honored with the prestigious Promising Career Award by the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM). The award is presented annually to an academy member within four years of completion of training and is based upon abstract submissions current with the annual meeting, held recently in Montreal.
Dr. Thompson joined OIC earlier this year as part of an expansion of the center’s cerebral palsy program on its downtown Los Angeles campus to complement its center housed at UCLA in West L.A. In addition to her role as associate director of the center, Dr. Thompson is also an assistant clinical professor in the Department of Orthopaedics at UCLA. Her clinical and research interests are in cerebral palsy and adolescent hip disease and in using gait analysis to improve surgical decision making and clinical outcomes. She is currently studying alternative treatment for stiff-knee gait surgery in patients with cerebral palsy and evaluating the effects of utilizing a co-surgeon in neuromuscular spine and lower extremity surgery.
Immediately before coming to OIC, Dr. Thompson concluded a fellowship in neuromuscular orthopaedics at A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children at the University of Delaware. She also served a fellowship in pediatric orthopaedics and scoliosis at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children at the University of Texas in Dallas. Dr. Thompson attended medical school at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and completed her residency in orthopaedic surgery at Northwestern University in Chicago. In addition to her membership in AACPDM, Dr. Thompson is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, and Health Volunteers Overseas.
The UCLA/OIC Center for Cerebral Palsy is the only interdisciplinary clinic in Southern California that evaluates and treats people with cerebral palsy throughout their lifespan. The center includes a comprehensive outpatient clinic and the Kameron Gait and Motion Analysis Laboratory, which provides an in-depth understanding of a patient’s movement patterns. The center is also heavily involved in research in the field of cerebral palsy and in educating both consumers and professionals as to the most up-to-date assessment and treatment approaches.
AACPDM is an academy of over 1,100 health professionals dedicated to providing multidisciplinary scientific education and promoting excellence in research and services for the benefit of people with and at risk for cerebral palsy and other childhood-onset disabilities. Included in its membership are pediatricians, neurologists, surgeons, rehabilitators, therapists, nurses, special educators, engineers and scientists.
About Orthopaedic Institute for Children
Orthopaedic Institute for Children (OIC) was founded in 1911 as Los Angeles Orthopaedic Hospital. Focused solely on musculoskeletal conditions in children, OIC receives 60,000 patient visits each year. In alliance with UCLA Health and with the support of the OIC Foundation, we advance pediatric orthopaedics worldwide through outstanding patient care, medical education and research. Our locations in downtown Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Westwood and Calexico treat the full spectrum of pediatric orthopaedic disorders and injuries. For more information, visit us at ortho-institute.org.
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Orthopaedic Institute for Children
Teezal Gaji, 213-742-1501
TGaji@mednet.ucla.edu
