OHSU

Michael Freeman, PhD, MPH, DC

Affiliate Professor


Dr. Michael Freeman is a Forensic Epidemiologist specializing in the application of probability and epidemiologic data to forensic venues. He serves as Affiliate Professor of Epidemiology at Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine, Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, where he teaches a course in Forensic and Trauma Epidemiology. Dr. Freeman is also an Adjunct Associate Professor of Forensic Medicine and Epidemiology at the Institute of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Aarhus, Denmark. He holds a Ph.D. in public health with a focus in epidemiology from Oregon State University, as well as a Masters in Public Health (MPH) degree in biostatistics and epidemiology, also from OSU.


Dr. Freeman has more than 100 published scientific papers, books, and book chapters on forensic applications of epidemiology, crash-related injuries and death, crash reconstruction, medical diagnostics, chronic pain mechanisms, regenerative joint therapy utilizing stem cell therapy, and a variety of other areas of interest. He has served in US, Canadian, European and Australian courts as an expert in a variety of fields including injury and death litigation, product liability, toxic tort litigation, tobacco litigation, medical negligence, as well as both prosecution and defense expert in a number of homicide cases.


Major Areas of research:

Forensic epidemiology, traffic crash-related injury and death, Bayesian inference in forensic medicine, injury biomechanics and causation, adult autologous stem cell therapy
 

Specialty Areas

Forensic Epidemiology and Trauma Epidemiology


Experience and Interests

Dr. Freeman is a Forensic Epidemiologist, and teaches Forensic and Trauma Epidemiology at OHSU every Winter quarter. The course addresses how concepts and data from epidemiology are used to arrive at probabilistic conclusions suitable for presentation in a court of law. Dr. Freeman works in the field of Forensic Epidemiology, and consults on criminal and civil cases in State and Federal venues across the United States and abroad.

 

Selected Publications

  • Freeman MD, Kohles SS. Application of the Hill Criteria to the Causal Association of Post-Traumatic Headache and Assault. Egypt J For Sci (in press)
  • Freeman MD, Kohles SS. Application of the Bradford-Hill Criteria for Assessing Specific Causation in Post-Traumatic Headache. Brain Inj Prof (in press)
  • Freeman MD, Kohles SS. An Evaluation of Applied Biomechanics as an adjunct to systematic specific causation in forensic medicine. Wien Med Wochenschr (in press)
  • Uhrenholt L, Freeman MD, Jurik AG, Jensen LJ, Gregersen M, Boel LW, Kohles SS, Thomsen AH. Esophageal injury in fatal rear-impact collisions. Forensic Sci Int 2010 Oct 5. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 20932695.
  • Freeman MD. A Bayesian assessment of unexplained fracture as a forensic test of child abuse; quantification of uncertainty using the Error Odds approach. Acta Medicinae Legalis et Socialis 2010:179-84.
  • Centeno CJ, Schultz J, Cheever M, Robinson B, Freeman MD, Marasco W. Safety of autologous MSC transplantation: an in vivo MRI study of transplanted MSCs culture-expanded using a novel, platelet-lysate technique. Cur Stem Cell Res & Ther 2010;5:81-93.
  • Dagenais S, Gay RE, Tricco A, Mayer, JM, Freeman MD. North American Spine Society Contemporary Concepts in Spine Care: Spinal Manipulation Therapy for Acute Low Back Pain Spine J 2010 Oct;10(10):918-40.
  • Uhrenholt L, Schumacher B, Freeman MD. Road traffic fatalities in Aarhus Police District in 2000-2004 - medical investigations and legal consequences. Ugeskr Laeger. 2010 Sep 27;172(39):2683-2687.
  • Freeman MD, Woodham M, Woodham A. The role of the lumbar multifidus in chronic low back pain; a review. PM R 2010 Feb;2(2):142-6.
  • Freeman MD, Centeno CJ, Kohles SS. A systematic approach to clinical determinations of causation in symptomatic spinal disc injury following motor vehicle crash trauma. PM R 2009;1(10):951-6.
  • Freeman MD, Rosa S, Harshfield D, Smith F, Bennett R, Centeno CJ, Kornel E, Nystrom A, Heffez D, Kohles SS. A case-control study of cerebellar tonsillar ectopia and head/neck (whiplash) trauma. Brain Injury 2010;24(7-8):988-94.
  • Freeman MD, Kohles SS. Applications and limitation of forensic biomechanics; a Bayesian perspective. J Forensic Legal Med 2010;17:67-77.
  • Freeman MD, Nystrom A, Centeno C, Hand M. Chronic whiplash and central sensitization; do a trigger points play an important role in pain modulation? J Brachial Plex Peripher Nerve Inj 2009 Apr 23;4:2.
  • Freeman MD, Hand ML, Rossignol AM. Applied Forensic Epidemiology: A Bayesian evaluation of forensic evidence in a vehicular homicide investigation. J Forensic Legal Med 2009 Feb;16(2):83-92. Epub 2008 Oct 21
  • Centeno CJ, Busse D, Kisiday J, Keohan C, Freeman M, Karli D Regeneration of meniscus cartilage in a knee treated with percutaneously implanted autologous mesenchymal stem cells. Med Hypothese. 2008 Dec;71(6):900-8.
  • Centeno CJ, Schultz J, Freeman M. Sclerotherapy of Baker's cyst with imaging confirmation of resolution. Pain Physician 2008 Mar-Apr;11(2):257-61.
  • Centeno CJ, Busse D, Kisiday J, Keohan C, Freeman M, Karli D. Increased knee cartilage volume in degenerative joint disease using percutaneously implanted, autologous mesenchymal stem cells. Pain Physician 2008 May;11(3):343-53.
  • Freeman MD, Centeno CJ. A fatal case of secondary gain; a cautionary tale. Amer J Case Reports 2008;9:97-103.
  • Centeno CJ, Elkins W, Freeman M, Elliott J, Sterling M, Katz E. Total Cervical Translation as a Function of Impact Vector as Measured by Flexion-Extension Radiography Pain Physician 2007 Sep;10(5):667-71.
  • Freeman MD, Rossignol AC, Hand M. Forensic Epidemiology: A systematic approach to probabilistic determinations in disputed matters. J Forensic Legal Med 2008;15(5):281-90.
  • Centeno CJ, Kisiday J, Freeman MD, Shultz JR. Partial regeneration of the human hip via autologous bone marrow nucleated cell transfer: a case study. Pain Physician 2006;9:135-7.
  • Nordhoff L, Freeman MD, Siegmund GP. Human Subject Crash Testing: Innovations and Advances. Society of Automotive Engineers, Detroit MI 2007
  • Freeman MD, Centeno CJ, Kornel E. Acute cervical spine trauma. British Medical Journal, BMJ in Practice.  Available online at https://online.epocrates.com/noFrame/showPage.do?method=diseases&MonographId=944
  • Hunter OK, Freeman MD. Cervical Sprain and Strain. eMedicine from WebMD. Updated July 15, 2009. Available at: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/306176-overview.
  • Kohles SS, Freeman MD. Mathematical Models Characterizing the Probability of Trigger Event, Ambient-Risk, and Coincidental Influences on Inductive and Abductive Conclusions of Specific Causation. Annals of Epidemiology 2010;20(9):713-4.
  • Centeno MD, Freeman MD, Schultz J, Cheever M, Faulkner S, Hanson R, Kohles S. Clinical Percutaneous Implantation of Autologous, Culture-Expanded MSCs into Peripheral Joints. Orthopedic Research Society, 2011 Annual Meeting in Long Beach, California, January 13-16.
  • Kohles SS, Freeman MD. Mathematical Models Characterizing the Probability of Trigger Event, Ambient-Risk, and Coincidental Influences on Inductive and Abductive Conclusions of Specific Causation. Proceedings of American College of Epidemiology Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA. September 2010. P64, Annals of Epidemiology
  • Nystrom A, Freeman MD. Central sensitization is a reversible response to focal soft-tissue neck pain in chronic whiplash. 2010 American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons Annual Meeting March 9-13, 2010, New Orleans, LA.
  • Freeman MD. The Error Odds method of objectively assessing bioengineering based claims of causation; a Bayesian approach to test validity quantification (Special joint session of Jurisprudence and Engineering Sciences) Proceedings of 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences Feb 2010, Seattle, Washington.
  • Nystrom A, Freeman MD. Central sensitization is an immediately reversible phenomenon in chronic pain after whiplash. A double blind, placebo controlled study. XXVIII European Society for Regional Anaesthesia Annual Congress Salzburg, Austria, September 9-12, 2009
  • Freeman MD, Rosa S, Harshfield D, Smith F, Bennett RM, Centeno CJ, Kornel E, Nystrom A, Heffez D, Kohles SS. A case-control study of cerebellar tonsillar ectopia and cervical spine trauma. European Congress of Radiology, March 4-8, 2010, Vienna, Austria.
  • Uhrenholt L, Freeman MD. The Role of Microscopic Post-Mortem Study in Explaining Traffic-Crash Related Neck Injury; A Review. Proceedings of 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. Feb 2010, Seattle, Washington.
  • Freeman MD, Uhrenholt L, Newgard C. The effect of restraint use on skull vault fractures in rollover crashes. Proceedings of 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences Feb 2010, Seattle, Washington.
  • Freeman MD, Uhrenholt L, Newgard C. Head injuries in lower speed collinear collisions; an analysis of the National Automotive Sampling System database. Proceedings of 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences Feb 2010, Seattle, Washington.
  • Freeman MD, Rosa S, Harshfield D, Smith F, Bennett RM, Centeno CJ, Kornel E, Nystrom A, Heffez D, Kohles SS. A case-control study of cerebellar tonsillar ectopia and cervical spine trauma. XXI Congress of the International Academy of Legal Medicine May 2009 Lisbon, Portugal
  • Freeman MD. The Error Odds assessment of accuracy for tests in forensic medicine; a simple application of Bayes’ Law. XXI Congress of the International Academy of Legal Medicine May 2009 Lisbon, Portugal
  • Uhrenholt L, Schumacher B, Freeman MD. A cross-sectional study of road traffic fatalities and vehicular homicide investigation practices in Denmark for 2000-2004. Proceedings of 61st Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. Feb 2009, Denver, Colorado.
  • Freeman MD, Centeno CJ. Etiologic and demographic characteristics of traffic crash-related disc injuries. Spine J doi:10.1016/j.spinee.2008.06.373.
  • Freeman MD. Bayesian analysis of predictive characteristics in suicidal versus homicidal hanging deaths: A case study in forensic epidemiology. Proceedings of 59th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences February 19-24, 2007, San Antonio, Texas 2007;13:304.
  • Freeman MD. Clinical Practice Guidelines versus Systematic Reviews; which serves as the best basis for evidence based spine medicine? Invited commentary. Spine J 2010 Jun;10(6):512-3.
  • Freeman MD, Centeno CJ, Katz E. MR imaging of whiplash injury in the upper cervical spine; controversy or confounding? Spine J 2009 Sep;9(9):789-90. Epub 2009 Jun 17
  • Centeno CJ, Freeman M. Re: Are smooth pursuit eye movements altered in chronic whiplash-associated disorders? A cross-sectional study. Clin Rehabil 2008 Apr;22(4):377-8.
  • Centeno CJ, Freeman MD.  Editorial Submission on Kongsted, A., et al., Are smooth pursuit eye movements altered in chronic whiplash associated disorders? A cross-sectional study. Clin Rehabil 2007;21(11):1038-49.
Michael Freeman, PhD, MPH, DC

 Forensic Epidemiologist

1234 SW 18th Ave
Suite 102
Portland, OR 97205

T 971-255-1008
F 971-255-1046
C 503-871-0715

Email Dr. Freeman