Price Transparency
Get to Know Our Staff: Tiffany Thompson, Clinical Research

Get to Know Our Staff: Tiffany Thompson, Clinical Research

by | Jun 26, 2025 | Research & Innovation, Spotlight

What is your job title/your role at Scottish Rite?
I am a research coordinator for the spine team. I assist the spine doctors, fellows, residents and students with their research.

What is the most fulfilling part of your job?
I know that what I am doing is making a difference in the lives of the families we care for today and in the future.

What makes Scottish Rite a special place to you?
The atmosphere! I never had a job where you feel how much management truly cares for their employees. They go out of their way to make sure everyone feels included and appreciated.

What made you choose a career in health care?
I always had a special place in my heart for children, and I always pictured myself in a role that helps people. Previously, I worked in wildlife and environmental science. When the opportunity to make a career change arose, I was ready for it!

What is something unique you get to do in your position?
I get to interact with patients and their families. This may not sound unique, but I was not expecting this coming into my role.

What’s your favorite thing to do outside of work?
Spending time with my friends and family.

Where are you from and what brought you to DFW?
I am originally from Dallas and have stayed here because I want to stay close to my family.

If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
Poland. My family is from there, and I have always wanted to see where we came from.

If you had to pick one meal to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?
My husband’s barbecue chicken.

What movie do you think everyone should watch at least once?
“Sweet Home Alabama”

What was the first concert you attended?
I went to a Fourth of July bash and saw Vanilla Ice.

If you were to have a movie based on your life, which actress/actor would you choose to play your character?
Alexandra Daddario

What is some advice you would give your younger self OR what’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?
Do not settle on one career path. You should have an open mind and accept any opportunity that comes your way. You never know when the best one will come about.

Pointe Readiness: How Does a Dance Instructor Know When a Young Dancer Should Start?

Pointe Readiness: How Does a Dance Instructor Know When a Young Dancer Should Start?

by | Jun 13, 2025 | Research & Innovation, Sports Medicine

A young ballet dancer who is committed to the art will eagerly await the opportunity to join more experienced dancers en pointe. Many factors should be considered before making the transition to training in pointe shoes. Parents and instructors should take this decision seriously and guide young dancers. However, Scottish Rite for Children’s researchers suggest not all instructors are familiar with common objective tests that can be used to aid in this decision.

The Scottish Rite Movement Science team surveyed 31 ballet instructors representing 15 states and one other country. The instructors reported using the following factors to decide when a ballet dancer was ready to transition:

  • Strength (100%)
  • Dance technique (94%)
  • Age (87%)
  • Years of ballet experience (71%)

In a 2024 study, published in the Journal of Dance Medicine, lead biomechanist in the Scottish Rite for Children Movement Science Lab Ashley Erdman, B.S., M.B.A., and other researchers found that, while strength, dance technique and age were the top considerations for evaluating readiness, approximately 40% of instructors did not evaluate flexibility or movement quality prior to progressing to pointe. Overall, their knowledge of existing criteria was low.

The instructors acknowledged they were not familiar with accepted criteria, such as range of motion, endurance and balance performance thresholds. They were also not familiar with strategies or tests to assess these factors.

Performing en pointe is difficult if the dancer does not have the flexibility, strength, experience and control that are needed in an elevated position. Erdman states there are published and accepted criteria for pointe readiness that could be used and encourages parents to talk with dance instructors early in the decision-making process.

Watch this video to learn how to assess your ballerina’s strength and stability when considering a transition to pointe work.

CORA Prepares the Next Generation of Medical Experts

CORA Prepares the Next Generation of Medical Experts

by | Apr 29, 2025 | Research & Innovation, Scoliosis & Spine

Research equips Scottish Rite for Children clinicians to continuously provide the best care possible to every patient. Each year, Clinical Orthopedic Research Assistants (CORAs) are chosen to assist Scottish Rite’s team of experts in addressing a wide range of clinical needs, as well as innovating treatment options.

The CORA program serves as a patient-driven, hands-on experience for aspiring medical students. This program was created in 2022 to provide opportunities to students who aim to enhance their medical knowledge before entering medical school.

CORA staff assists Scottish Rite experts in performing clinical research tasks and collaborating on research projects. Each CORA staff member specializes in a specific area of study and works with the experts in that department, where they gain a well-rounded experience in their field of interest. CORA areas of study include Spine, Foot, Hip, Rheumatology, Neurology, Sports Medicine and Movement Science. They receive ample clinical interaction, research experience and mentorship within their field of interest, as well as other fields of their choosing.

Amareesa Robinson, a current CORA staff member, works with Scottish Rite’s spine experts. As a former Scottish Rite patient who had scoliosis, she is experiencing a full-circle moment by researching and collaborating with the spine team. She works closely with Assistant Chief of Staff Karl E. Rathjen, M.D., studying the use of tissue expanders to manage spinal deformities.

“What I love about researching spine conditions is the depth and complexity in the diagnoses and treatment methods,” Amareesa says. “Dr. Rathjen has served as a vital part of my experience and has taught me not only about research but also much about what goes into caring for patients with unique and complex conditions.”

As Amareesa’s CORA time wraps up, she is looking forward to a future in medicine. She was accepted into McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. “My time at Scottish Rite has shaped the kind of physician I want to become,” Amareesa says. “I know I still have much to learn, but Scottish Rite has shown me the type of career I want to build.”

If you are interested in a career in medicine and plan to take a year or two off after college before applying to medical school, learn more about becoming a CORA at Scottish Rite careers. Applications for June 2026 positions are being accepted through spring of 2025 and can be found here. 

Get to Know Our Staff: Ila Oxendine, Research

Get to Know Our Staff: Ila Oxendine, Research

by | Apr 16, 2025 | Research & Innovation, Spotlight, Uncategorized

What is your job title/your role at Scottish Rite?
I am a cell and tissue core coordinator, and I maintain the operations of cell culture facilities at the hospital. I also work with research labs that perform various experiments and procedures. Currently, the Cellular Path Lab is enthusiastically engaging in the world of histology procedures.

What is the most fulfilling part of your job?
In research, learning is a never-ending process that is always engaging to me.

What makes Scottish Rite a special place to you?
To me, Scottish Rite is a special place because of the unwavering support from my colleagues. Their kindness, thoughtfulness and camaraderie has always been a source of strength to me over the past 15 years. Together, we have navigated the joys and challenges of life. I could not have reached this point or achieved this much without their support and love. I am profoundly grateful to have such caring souls by my side.

What made you choose a career in health care?
I chose health care to have the opportunity to help people. In my case, I get to do that one experiment at a time.

What is something unique you get to do in your position?
I care for cells that grow in little dishes. These cells will be used in future experiments to answer questions and potentially lead to more questions about the cell’s life.

What’s your favorite thing to do outside of work?
I have many favorite things! I love my two fur babies, which is my dog named AnnaRose and my cat named Panda. I am very thankful for them. Also, I enjoy volunteering at Dallas Animal Services and Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity.

Do you have any hidden talents?
Some people may disagree, but my talent is making people laugh in my own way.

Where are you from, and what brought you to DFW?
I was already in the DFW area, because I am indigenous to the land. I am full-blooded Native American. My mother is from the Arapaho Tribe of Oklahoma, and my father is from the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.

If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
First off, I need to do my travel! On my bucket list, I want to visit the Galapagos Islands, because it’s a unique place with plants and animals found nowhere else in the world.

If you had to pick one meal to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I would eat plain oatmeal with quinoa, hempseeds, flax meal, walnuts, pecans and a dollop of no palm oil peanut butter. I would also include fresh fruit with a strong coffee made from Kona beans. Then, I would finish my meal with a pound cake that I bake.

What movie do you think everyone should watch at least once?
“John Wick” because you should never mess with someone’s dog.

Favorite DFW hidden gem?
Cedar Ridge Preserve. I love all trails.

If you were to have a movie based on your life, which actress/actor would you choose to play your character?
Meryl Streep. She has a very expressive face, and she is very talented.

What is some advice you would give your younger self, OR what’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?
There are two questions that you should ask yourself that have served me well. Is it worth the fight? If so, can you win? To me, my answer will be yes and yes!

NBC 5: Go Move Helps Patients with Cerebral Palsy

NBC 5: Go Move Helps Patients with Cerebral Palsy

by | Apr 8, 2025 | Press Coverage, Research & Innovation

A new website developed by Scottish Rite for Children’s senior clinical scientist Angela Shierk, Ph.D., O.T.R., is helping patients with cerebral palsy reach their goals. Cerebral Palsy is the most common motor disability in children and causes issues with movement, balance and posture. Go Move is a virtual occupational therapy tool that allows patients to perform exercises from the comfort of their home, set specific goals and track their progress.

Evvie is a Scottish Rite patient, who is using Go Move to improve her mobility by leaps and bounds. The 17-year-old credits her daily exercises with helping her achieve key milestones, such as washing her hair or tying her shoes.

Go Move is part of an international research project with partners in Turkey, Poland and Mexico. This technology is making vital care accessible to children who need it, and our team is eager to continue developing the program to help children not only in DFW, but also around the world.

Watch the full story from NBC 5.

Dallas Morning News: Team at Scottish Rite for Children Awarded Grant From National Institutes of Health For Rare Disease Research

Dallas Morning News: Team at Scottish Rite for Children Awarded Grant From National Institutes of Health For Rare Disease Research

by | Mar 27, 2025 | Press Coverage, Research & Innovation

Researchers at Scottish Rite for Children and UT Southwestern Medical Center recieved a $420,000 grant to test a gene therapy they believe may lead to a breakthrough treatment for a disease that causes children to lose nerve and motor control by the age of 5.

The two-year project, led by principal investigator Jonathan J. Rios, Ph.D., and funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, aims to develop and test a new treatment for Childhood-Onset Striatonigral Degeneration (SNDC). SNDC is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder affecting children, leading to loss of nerve and muscle function. Currently, there are no treatments to slow, reverse or stop the progression of this condition.

“The funding provided by this award ensures we can complete the research needed to move this potential new therapy closer to treating children with this devastating condition,” said Rios, who is the director of Molecular Genetics at Scottish Rite, as well as an associate professor in the Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development and the Departments of Pediatrics and Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW).

SNDC is caused by genetic mutations that affect a child’s neurological functions. Over time, children with the condition experience muscle spasms, trouble with balance and posture and tremors. Children with SNDC may lose the ability to speak or move on their own. The condition is rare and affects an estimated one to nine in 1,000,000 people. Without treatment, the symptoms of SNDC can be debilitating, and in some cases fatal. The gene therapy being studied at Scottish Rite would be the first treatment for SNDC if eventually approved by the FDA.

“Many parents of children with rare diseases struggle with finding hope for a cure,” says Robert L. Walker, president/CEO of Scottish Rite. “Scottish Rite is committed to giving these children and their families the support they need through our research discoveries.”

Read the full article shared by the Dallas Morning News.