Scottish Rite for Children is passionate about preparing the next generation of pediatric orthopedic surgeons for a productive career in an academic setting. Medical students, like Gregory Moore, B.S., know first-hand what that means. Moore, a 4^th year medical student at Weill Cornell Medical College, started as a Medical Student Research Fellow in May 2021, but his connection with the organization started long before that.
 
More than ten years earlier, Moore began volunteering in the Center for Excellence in Spine, where he continues his work today. As a college student, he connected with patients on the inpatient unit as an evening volunteer. With years of experience in various roles at Scottish Rite, he describes the culture as “truly unique and incredibly welcoming.”
 
“When I started as an intern this year, I hadn’t worked with some of my spine research colleagues in 10 years, but we picked right up where we left off!” Some of the activities he performs independently in his roles as medical student research fellow include retrospective reviews of patient charts, X-rays and other imaging. He also analyzes data, creates tables and figures, writes short summaries, called abstracts, for presentations at national conferences and writes manuscripts for submission to peer-reviewed journals.

I love the incredible array of spinal pathology, from congenital to neuromuscular to idiopathic. The treatment options are similarly varied and constantly evolving - from bracing to casting to surgery. My research spans several topics and embodies the fact that pediatric spinal deformity is uniquely positioned at the intersection of neurology, pulmonology and orthopedics. Scoliosis surgery has as much to do with respecting the nerves and restoring chest volume as it does with correcting the bony deformity. Watch Moore describe his experience at Scottish Rite in this video.
 
Moore has learned about the value of multi-center and international cooperation for pediatric orthopedics. In his role, has had the opportunity to participate in projects on behalf of Scottish Rite members of prestigious research groups including the Harms Study Group (HSG) and the Fox Pediatric Spinal Deformity Study.
 
A message from Moore to medical students interested in clinical research experience.
 
“I would definitely recommend volunteering clinically or as a research assistant. I am the first physician in my family. My experiences as a clinical volunteer and the mentorship of the doctors and research staff inspired me to pursue medicine and orthopedics back in high school and college. Additionally, volunteering in research helped me understand that research and clinical care are inextricably intertwined – the continual process of evaluating and re-evaluating past care and outcomes is critical to informing where we should go next and how best to treat patients entrusted to our care.”
 
Visit our Careers page to see what opportunities are available for students now.