Ron's first area of research aims to elucidate the role of vertebral structures, namely, cancellous bone and vertebral cortex, in effecting the mechanism of failure and consequently the post-failure response of thoracolumbar vertebra to complex loading scenarios. In collaboration with the Department of Radiology at BIDMC and the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., his group is evaluating, under the auspices of an NIH R01 grant, the use of Quantitative CT image-based structural analysis program to classify whether vertebrae with metastasis defects are at risk of premature failure. 

The second area of research involves development of novel MR techniques for evaluating the effect of age and degeneration on the mechanical competence of human discs. This work, in collaboration with the Department of Radiology at BIDMC and the Surgical Planning Laboratory at Brigham and Women's Hospital, incorporates the use of Tensor diffusion imaging and novel analysis techniques to provide detailed interrogation of the mechanical properties of the disc. The outcome of this work will allow better classification of disc as candidate for clinical treatment and may offer the possibility of developing novel, non-invasive methods to aid and evaluate the efficacy of new approaches and tissue based treatments for disc disease.