Senior LecturerProfessional interests
- Minimally invasive spine surgery, techniques, outcomes and limitations
- Patient and system focused training pathways for specialists
- Optimising neurological recovery and rehabilitation following spinal injury
- Spinopelvic alignment, hip arthroplasty and lumbar fusion
- The relative roles of surgical and non surgical care in spinal disorders
Research interests
Richard's research interests are broad, spanning spine and general orthopaedic topics as well as basic sciences, specialist training and health economics.
His MD is focussed on acute C2 fractures in elderly patients and the complex interplay of age and frailty in surgical decision-making.
Richard's recent fellowship in Ireland, England and wider Europe saw him gain skills and understanding of state-of-the-art techniques and enabling technologies in spine surgery including robotics, intraoperative navigation, endoscopic spine techniques, and augmented reality.
Basic science research and teaching including anatomy, biomechanics, infective, neoplastic and the natural history of surgical disease are essential core topics in Richard's professional and academic work.
Understanding complex biomechanical environments such as the stiff and degenerate spine using the mechanical modelling technique finite element analysis (FEA) is a point of interest and collaboration with clinical and biomechanical research in Dublin, Ireland, where Richard recently completed his fellowship.
In educational research, the challenge of seamlessly incorporating all levels of training into efficient and effective healthcare is an area in which Richard hopes to grow interest and projects.
Current projects
- Monitoring rates of, treating and rehabilitating patients involved in sports related spinal injuries
- Dephi consensus study on management of acute C2 fractures in elderly patients
- Pedicle screw placement and considerations of adjacent segment disease
- Clarifying the importance of the stiff spine in thoracolumbar trauma using finite element analysis
Publications
McNamee, C., Magee, B., Storey, R. N., McDonnell, J. M., Darwish, S., & Butler, J. S. (2026). Adjacent segment degeneration after superior facet joint violation of the lumbar spine. North American Spine Society Journal, 25, 100843. doi: 10.1016/j.xnsj.2025.100843 Journal - Research Article
McCartney, C., Moore, D., McDonnell, J., Storey, R., Kepler, C., Darwish, S., & Butler, J. (2026). A call to arms: The absence of standardized return to play guidelines for professional rugby union players after cervical spine surgery [Instructional Review]. Bone & Joint Journal, 108-B(3), 289-293. doi: 10.1302/0301-620X.108B3.BJJ-2025-0636.R1 Journal - Research Article
Storey, R. N., & Baker, J. F. (2024). Feasibility of C2 lamina screw placement in a New Zealand cohort: Computed tomography analysis according to ethnicity and gender. International Journal of Spine Surgery, 18(5), 471-476. doi: 10.14444/8600 Journal - Research Article
Nunnerley, J., Dunn, J., Singhal, R., Schouten, R., Lin, P., Patel, A., Storey, R., & Dalzell, K. (2018, September). Impact of a direct admission policy to specialised centers for patients with traumatic spinal cord injuries: The New Zealand experience. Poster session presented at the 57th International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) and 25th Australia New Zealand Spinal Cord Society (ANZSCoS) Combined Annual Scientific Meeting, Sydney, Australia. Conference Contribution - Poster Presentation (not in published proceedings)
Storey, R., Frampton, C., Kieser, D., & Hooper, G. (2018). Does orthopaedic training compromise the outcome in knee joint arthroplasty? Journal of Surgical Education, 75(5), 1292-1298. doi: 10.1016/j.jsurg.2018.02.011 Journal - Research Article