Research Affiliates

Physicians at Emory Orthopaedics & Spine Center in Atlanta are among a select group of physicians around the country to offer Stem Cell therapy and other regenerative medical therapies for the relief of osteoarthritis (OA) pain and chronic tendonitis. Patients may benefit from a unique non-surgical procedure using the patient’s own stem cells and growth factors that may help repair damaged tissue, reduce pain and promote healing. During the procedure, the physician takes bone marrow cells from the back of a patient’s hip and following minimal on-site processing of these cells, they are then injected into the patient’s joint or tendon. Since the cells are from the patient’s own body there is no risk of rejection.

Dr. Gottschalk is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in hand and upper extremity injuries.  Dr. Gottschalk received an academic scholarship to attend the Business Honors Program at the University of Texas at Austin. After graduating from UT Austin, he then went to complete medical school at the University of Texas Health Science at San Antonio. Upon completion of medical school, Dr. Gottschalk completed his Orthopaedic Surgery Internship and Residency at Emory University. While in his training, Dr. Gottschalk received multiple accolades and awards for his outstanding research and was elected as a resident leader to the esteemed American Orthopaedic Association. After the completion of his Orthopaedic Surgical Training, Dr. Gottschalk was selected to the prestigious Emanuel Kaplan Hand and Upper Extremity Fellowship at the NYU Hospital For Joint Diseases. He was selected as the Hand and Upper Extremity administrative fellow and served on the resident council for quality and safety. During his training at the Hospital for Joint Diseases, Dr. Gottschalk helped treat work related injuries to the NYPD, NYFD, and hotel trade union. His clinical interests include pathologies ranging from the fingertip to the shoulder. Dr. Gottschalk is the Director of Clinical Outcomes Based Research for the Department of Orthopaedics and will be involved with the iREACH program in SPARC.

Dr. Wagner is an orthopedic surgeon whose clinical interests include pathologies from the shoulder through the hand. He completed his undergraduate education at University of California, Davis, where he lettered for 3 years in basketball and majored in biochemistry and molecular biology. He then completed medical school at the University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine. Following medical school, he completed his orthopaedic surgery residency training at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota (Ranked #2 in by US News and World Report). After residency, Dr. Wagner was selected to train in the top ranked Hand and Microvascular Surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Following this year, Dr. Wagner was selected to the train in the prestigious Harvard’s International Shoulder and Elbow Fellowship at Massachusetts General, and Brigham and Women’s Hospitals in Boston, Massachusetts. As part of the international component of the Harvard fellowship, Dr. Wagner trained with world leaders in shoulder arthroplasty and arthroscopy in Nice, France, and in Annecy, France. He has published over 130 peer-reviewed journal articles, delivered over 200 presentations national and international meetings, authored over 10 book chapters, serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Hand Surgery GO as well as multiple committees at the American Society of Surgery for the Hand (ASSH). Dr. Wagner will be involved with the RESTORE program at SPARC.