Title: Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School
Institute: Harvard Medical School/Boston Children’s Hospital
Profile: I obtained a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Delaware (1987), then a Masters in Materials Science from Stanford (1990), followed by an MD from the University of Pennsylvania (1994). I then completed a residency in orthopedic surgery at the Harvard Combined Orthopedic Residency Program. I completed fellowships in research and sports medicine before joining the staff at Boston Children’s Hospital in 2003. I retired from clinical practice in 2019 and now pursue research full time.
Specific Area of Interest: Improving the treatment of joint injuries, including injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
What are you currently working on? We are working on translating the implant developed for ACL repair in our lab at Boston Children’s Hospital to the clinic.
What has been the biggest challenge/issue for you lately in your research? Finding funding for the work required to translate from good results in an animal study to FDA approval.
What project(s) are you looking forward to in the near future? Retirement. Just kidding. I’m looking forward to studying more about the physiologic response to injury for other tissues within the joint.
What advice would you give investigators who are just starting out in the field? Pick a question you are interested in and find ways to work on it – even if no one else thinks it is interesting or practical.
Is there anything in your career/research that, if you had it to do over, you would change? I wish I had learned more about the FDA process earlier on in my career.
What is your most memorable moment in your career? The day we saw the first post-operative MRI for a patient who had had our new ACL implant. The MRI showed the ligament had healed.
