The Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute, which Clark directs, pursues this goal through basic and clinical research related to musculoskeletal and neurological health, with its two main areas of focus being pain disorders and healthy aging.

Regarding the first area, Clark says that by studying what happens in the central nervous system and the muscles as we age, researchers have found that while some weakness comes from loss of muscle mass, some can be ascribed to changes in how well the brain signals the muscles to do work or in how well the muscles act on that signal.