Professor, Director of the J.B. Snow Biomechanics Laboratory
Wake Forest University
Dr. Stephen Messier is the Principal Investigator for TOPS. He is Professor and Director of the J.B Snow Biomechanics Laboratory at Wake Forest University. He has been at Wake Forest for 42 years and has 32 years of experience in clinical trials research specifically related to knee osteoarthritis (OA). He has received the lifetime achievement award from the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (2022), the Borelli Award from the American Society of Biomechanics (2020) for outstanding career accomplishment through exemplary research in biomechanics, and the career achievement award from the American College of Sports Medicine Biomechanics Group (2009). He has published over 125 original manuscripts including 20 over the past 5 years. He and his OA research team are well known for their work on the effects of exercise and weight loss on gait, strength, function, and pain in knee OA.