Such successes in research at MWU/CCOM (previously called the Chicago College of Osteopathy [CCO]) did not happen overnight. Osteopathic research has had a long history in Chicago starting with the creation of a research institute in 1913. As described by Berchtold, “The Chicago Osteopathic Association and the Illinois Osteopathic Association purchased a large private home,” which was “presented to the Research Institute as a gift to help celebrate the 85th birthday of Andrew Taylor Still, founder of osteopathy. It was, fittingly, named the A.T. Still Research Institute [ATSRI].”
1(p51) The ATSRI “became closely allied with the work of the [CCO]. It was staffed primarily by faculty members from CCO,” including 9 DOs.
1(p51) Renowned osteopathic researcher Louisa Burns, DO, moved to Chicago in 1914 to join the ATSRI.
1(p52) Unfortunately, by 1918 the ATSRI was in serious financial trouble exacerbated by the death of its business manager and the resignation of the chair of the Institute's Board of Trustees.
1(p71) The original funding pledges were not fully consummated, and the beautiful mansion was “about the least adaptable place on earth for research laboratories.”
1(p72) The mansion was sold for a small profit and the research was transferred to the Pacific branch of the Institute at Los Angeles.
1(p72)
Despite the collapse of the ATSRI, a research emphasis continued at the CCO. Prominent in this effort was Albert Kelso, PhD, who in 1946 was one of the first PhDs hired to teach at the CCO. According to the MWU/CCOM Archivist Dan Grooms, over the course of his career, Kelso presented the American Academy of Osteopathy 1971 and 1981 Louisa Burns Memorial Lectures, the latter entitled “Planning, Developing and Conducting Osteopathic Clinical Research”; he developed laboratory facilities at MWU/CCOM, encouraging students and faculty to develop research as part of their careers; and he was the first recipient of the Gutensohn-Denslow Award from the American Osteopathic Association (email communication, May 3, 2018).
Another prominent MWU/CCOM researcher was Kenneth A. Suarez, PhD, professor of pharmacology, who joined the faculty in 1972. He expanded research interest across the osteopathic medical profession (Grooms, email communication, May 3, 2018).
However, the premier osteopathic researcher at MWU/CCOM was Robert A. Kappler, DO. Dr Kappler was a 1958 graduate of the CCO, following in the footsteps of his father, Oscar Kappler, DO, a 1930 CCO graduate. R. Kappler was a prolific researcher and author, with nearly 70 publications and book chapters to his credit published from 1971 to 2003. His most noted work was as coauthor of the 1999
New England Journal of Medicine article comparing osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) with standard care for patients with low back pain.
2 He received every award in the osteopathic medical profession, including being named the AOA Educator of the Year in 2004. In one of his lasting legacies, R. Kappler developed the MWU/CCOM osteopathic medicine fellows program and started their clinic project, both of which are still running today (Grooms, email communication, May 3, 2018).