Secondary Appointments

Kristin R. Archer, PhD, DPT, is Professor and Vice Chair of Research, Orthopaedic Surgery and Professor, in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Archer is also the Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Musculoskeletal Research and Director of Research for the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Vanderbilt. She holds a doctoral degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a masters and doctorate in physical therapy from the University of Colorado.

Dr. Archer conducts independent research into outcomes after orthopedic surgery and her program focuses on the implementation of rehabilitation interventions through comparative effectiveness research. Research interests also include the development of tools to predict outcomes after surgery and assess pain and patient psychosocial characteristics as well as management strategies to reduce opioid use in patients with chronic pain.

Dr. Archer has been funded by the NIH, DoD, PCORI, and National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, as well as various foundations for research studies totaling over 7 million dollars. She is a site PI and member of the Executive Committee, for the Major Extremity Trauma and Rehabilitation Research Consortium, which is funded by the DoD. Dr. Archer is also the Director for the Quality and Outcomes Database, which is a national clinical registry for neurosurgical procedures and practice patterns. She was a research fellow of the NIH and a Visiting Scientist at the University of Pittsburgh.

Dr. Archer is the author of over 130 peer reviewed papers and has received awards from the North American Spine Society and American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Currently, she is on the editorial board of Physical Therapy and BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, the U.S. representative for the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine, and serves as a grant reviewer for DoD, PCORI, and Foundation for Physical Therapy.

Dr. Colin Armstrong is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.  He is an adjunct faculty member at Meharry Medical College and teaches in the Vanderbilt Health Coach Training Program.  He is Health Psychologist in his 25th year serving in that role at the Vanderbilt Dayani Center for Health and Wellness.  His work focuses on mind-body wellness (e.g., treatment adherence, stress / anxiety management), with a particular focus on treating individuals suffering from cardiac and voice disorders (e.g., dysphonia). 

Dr. Armstrong received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with specialization in Health Psychology / Behavioral Medicine from the SDSU / UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, a program offered jointly by a Department of Psychology (SDSU) and a School of Medicine (UCSD).  He completed his internship and postdoctoral training in Health Psychology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He is published in such journals as The American Journal of Health Promotion, The Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation, Perception and Motor Skills, The Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, Annals of Behavioral Medicine, Psychology and Health, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, and Global Advances in Health and Medicine. He has also co-authored a book chapter on motivation and treatment adherence.

In addition to clinical work, Dr. Armstrong has provided workshops and seminars for such corporate clients as General Motors, The Tennessean, Alive Hospice, Baker Donelson, Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI), AT&T, Teledyne, Marriott Corporation, Nashville Electric Service (NES), Logan's Roadhouse, Central Parking, Louisiana Pacific (LP), Whirlpool, Caterpillar, Genesco, Gaylord Entertainment, Ingram Entertainment, The GAP, Hertz, Deloitte & Touche, Blue Cross / Blue Shield, and the CMT & MTV Networks.  He has also provided seminars for a good number of community organizations (e.g., Leadership Nashville, AARP, YMCA, YWCA, Rotary International, American Cancer Society, The Girl Scouts, American Heart Association, ALS Association, American Lung Association) and government agencies (e.g., Metro Nashville Police Training Academy, Metro Nashville Public Schools, Metro Nashville Airport Authority, the Federal Reserve Bank, the IRS, and the National Security Agency). 

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Dr. Bachmann is a cardiologist and Assistant Professor of Medicine with a joint appointment in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). He obtained his MD at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, followed by a Medicine residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Cardiovascular Disease fellowship at University of Texas-Southwestern Medical Center.

Dr. Bachmann was subsequently a Research Associate with Professor Michael Porter at the Institute of Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School (HBS). A specialist in cardiac rehabilitation, Dr. Bachmann is the Medical Director of the Vanderbilt Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Program where he uses data science methods to study national cardiac rehabilitation utilization patterns. He has also studied operational interventions to increase cardiac rehabilitation enrollment, including a group enrollment and open gym system.

Dr. Bachmann has a longstanding interest in implementing patient-reported outcomes measures in routine clinical practice. His work has been funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and has been published in Circulation and Journal of the American College of Cardiology. He received the American College of Cardiology Presidential Career Development Award in 2019.

Dr. Rogelio Coronado is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He is an active member of the Vanderbilt Center for Musculoskeletal Research and Center for Health Services Research. His primary research interests are on 1.) the role of psychological factors on prognosis and treatment response, 2.) integration of behavioral strategies within clinical care for musculoskeletal pain conditions, and 3.) mechanisms and treatment effect modifiers of pain interventions.

Dr. Coronado is a collaborating investigator on several large comparative effectiveness trials funded by the NIH and PCORI. He has published 46 peer-reviewed papers and received funding as PI from the Academy of Orthopedic Physical Therapy, Cervical Spine Research Society, and Foundation for Physical Therapy. He is currently supported by a Vanderbilt Faculty Research Scholars award. Dr. Coronado received his doctoral degree from the University of Florida and his master’s in physical therapy from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.

Dr. Goldfarb directs the Center for Intelligent Mechatronics, which specializes in the development and assessment of robotic technology to improve the quality of life and/or quality of care for people with physical disabilities. The Center’s research includes the development and assessment of robotic lower limb prostheses that offer improved gait biomechanics across a wide range of activities to transtibial and transfemoral amputees; the development and assessment of multigrasp hand prostheses that offer enhanced dexterity to upper extremity amputees; the development and assessment of lower limb exoskeletons to provide legged mobility to individuals with paraplegia; and the development of lower limb exoskeletons as a therapeutic intervention to provide overground gait retraining for individuals with lower limb hemiparesis following stroke.

Mallory Hacker is assistant professor of neurology and physical medicine & rehabilitation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Hacker earned her PhD in Cell & Developmental Biology and Master of Science in Clinical   Investigation (MSCI) at Vanderbilt. She served as visiting assistant professor at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in 2016 and completed the American Neurological Association’s Translational  and Clinical Research Course for Clinician Scientists (2014) and the NINDS Clinical Trials Methodology Course (2016). She has received funding from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), the     Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, the American Parkinson Disease Association, and the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation. Dr. Hacker’s research investigates the prevalence of spasticity in long-term care settings and ways to improve screening, diagnosis and treatment and her work is published in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association and Neurology.

Dr. McKernan is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, having joined the faculty in 2014.  Clinically, Dr. McKernan specializes in treating the intersection between co-occurring chronic health conditions and mental health.  She has particular interests in working with trauma and chronic illness, and has additional expertise in clinical hypnosis.  

Currently, Dr. McKernan works as a clinician at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine (OCIM) and Department of Urologic Surgery. Dr. McKernan is currently funded by the National Institute of Health to develop innovative psychosocial treatments for specific pain populations served at VUMC. Recognizing that pain is a highly unique experience to the individual, the lab and its collaborators are working to administer psychosocial interventions for urologic populations, specifically interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome. 

The lab's focus is to inform treatment and intervention delivery through applying patient-informed approaches to care, understanding unique patient-level factors that influence pain, expanding treatments to a wider audience, and using data science to inform intervention efforts. 

Dr. McKernan has a highly collaborative research lab, and you can follow her work by visiting mckernanlab.com or following updates on twitter through @LCMPhD or @themckernanlab

Web Article:

Machine Learning Helps Identify Suicide Risks and Protective Factors for Fibromyalgia Patients

Kathleen Wolff, APRN, BC-FNP, BC-ADM is a Nurse Practitioner at the Vanderbilt Center for Integrative Health and Instructor in Nursing at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing.  Kathleen has practiced as a nurse practitioner for over 25 years with a focus on diabetes and other chronic diseases that are best managed with behavioral and lifestyle change.  She has lectured widely, published many articles and a book on that topic. Kathleen’s undergraduate educational background was focused on the arts and music.  As a nurse, she practiced as an RN in intensive care initially but soon returned to school and received her graduate degree from Vanderbilt University School of Nursing.  Her lifelong interest in Mind Body Medicine eventually led her to the Center for Integrative Health. Kathleen’s personal interest in meditation, healthy lifestyle and a more natural approach to healing and wellness combined with many years in a traditional medical setting, influence her practice at VCIH.

Dr. Zelik co-directs the Center for Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology (CREATE) at Vanderbilt University. CREATE aims to improve health, mobility and independence for individuals with disabilities, and to enhance human capabilities beyond biological limits, by engineering, measuring, optimizing and understanding technologies that physically augment human performance. Dr. Zelik’s research team employs experimental and computational methods to study human biomechanics and how biomechanical principles can translate into improvements in assistive devices (prostheses, exoskeletons, exosuits, smart clothing and wearables).

Dr. Zelik received his B.S. and M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis, then his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan. Following this, Dr. Zelik was a postdoctoral researcher and Whitaker International Scholar at the Santa Lucia Foundation Rehabilitation Hospital in Rome, Italy. He joined the Mechanical Engineering faculty at Vanderbilt University in 2014, and holds secondary appointments in the departments of Biomedical Engineering and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation.

Dr. Zelik received the International Society of Biomechanics Promising Scientist Award and the American Society of Biomechanics Young Scientist Award in 2017, and a Nashville Emerging Leader Award in 2018. He has published >30 peer-reviewed journal papers on biomechanics and assistive technology. His work has been funded by NIH, NSF, NIOSH, NIDILRR, industry and private foundations. He is also Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of HeroWear LLC, a Vanderbilt spin-off company that develops industrial exosuits.

Chongbin Zhu is a practitioner of Traditional Acupuncture/Chinese Medicine. He is also a neuroscientist and pharmacologist, serving as a research faculty member at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Chongbin is experienced in the treatment of chronic pain as well as many other conditions. His approach to patients is to focus on the whole self - mind, body and spirit. Trained in integrative Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and western medicine, Chongbin graduated with a Medical Degree from Anhui College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in China. In addition, he received his Ph.D. in acupuncture and neuroscience at Fudan University Medical Center. In his career, Chongbin has studied the effect and mechanisms of acupuncture, and has authored over 30 published articles. Chongbin has practiced acupuncture in Nashville since 2001.