NOTE1: This project is being offered by an off-campus mentor and is open only to Caltech students. The project will be conducted at the University of Southern California Health Science Campus/Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles, California. NOTE2: This is a unique opportunity for students to gain exposure to the medical field and contribute to research with implications towards improving our understanding of aging in the human spine. Students who contribute to this study and perform well will be included in all publications generated from these data. Back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Traditional models on lumbar spine disease have focused on the disc degeneration, however the paraspinal musculature remains a poorly understood mediator of pain and disability. This project aims to characterize functional, radiographic, and genetic features of paraspinal muscle in patients undergoing lumbar spine surgery.
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