Tim Schleimer is a PhD student at the Department of Nursery, Midwifery and Therapy Sciences at the Bochum University of Applied Sciences (Germany) and is affiliated with the Musculoskeletal Health Research Group, led by Prof. Daniel Belavy (main supervisor). Tim completed his bachelor’s degree in physiotherapy in the Netherlands, and in 2024, he completed his master’s degree in physiotherapy science at Bochum University. Tim’s PhD project focuses on the management of knee osteoarthritis, with particular emphasis on facilitating the clinical decision-making among multiple treatment options.
Tim is co-affiliated with the Musculoskeletal Research Group at the Parker Institute, offering him the opportunity to collaborate with leading experts in the field of osteoarthritis research. The section plays a pivotal role in advancing the understanding of the effectiveness and appropriateness of conservative treatments for osteoarthritis using rigorous methods of clinical epidemiology, significantly enhancing the impact and relevance of Tim’s research.
The PhD project will involve assessing the quality of existing multiple-treatment comparisons (network meta-analysis, NMA), identifying credible patient-level moderators of treatment effects, and achieving consensus on treatment definitions. These steps will lay the groundwork for preparing and conducting a rigorous NMA to inform decision-making in the management of knee osteoarthritis. Further, a survey study will be employed to estimate the “smallest worthwhile effect” of knee replacement surgery compared to conservative treatment, establishing patient-centred thresholds for the meaningful interpretation of clinical trial results.