Christopher Kaeding, MD, Interim Chair
Orthopaedics comprises 18 full-time faculty, 65 auxiliary staff and nine adjunct faculty. Department Divisions include Foot and Ankle, General Orthopaedics, Musculoskeletal Oncology, Spine, Podiatry, Sports Medicine, Total Joint Replacement, Trauma, Upper Extremity and Hand, and Research. Each Division is responsible for teaching, research and patient care. Each faculty member contributes by: providing orthopedic patient care; instructing medical students, residents in Orthopaedics and/or Podiatry, and fellows in orthopedic subspecialties; researching orthopedic problems to identify causes, treatment and methods of prevention; and providing public service in education, treatment and recovery options.
Ongoing Research Programs
Basic science research focuses on engineering aspects of musculoskeletal conditions. The Orthopaedic BioMaterials Laboratory investigates the development and application of engineering materials to hard-tissue problems and the biomechanics of implantable fixation devices, while the Ergonomics Laboratory explores the causes and prevention of spinal and industrial injuries. Both research thrusts involve colleagues in the colleges of Dentistry, Engineering, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. Clinical research has expanded to include studies in sports medicine, musculoskeletal trauma and spine. With the continuing expansion of clinical faculty, both in Orthopaedics and associated departments, new avenues of research are being developed.
- Steve Lavender, PhD, seeks to quantify and model the biomechanics of the lumbar spine during push-pull industrial tasks to better understand the etiology of low back pain and
thus offer insight for preventing it.
- Alan Litsky, MD, ScD, leads a biomaterials research program that develops and tests new materials for orthopedic, dental and veterinary applications. A novel technique to determine the source of polyethylene-wear debris in total joint arthroplasties is being developed and quantified.
- Ajit Chaudhari, PhD, has established a laboratory to use motion analysis techniques to analyze the causes of sports medicine injuries and measure the effectiveness of treating
them. Joel Mayerson, MD, is a pioneer in the application of expandable total femoral implants designed to keep up with the growth of pediatric bone-tumor patients.
- Christopher Kaeding, MD, is a co-investigator in the first National Institutes of Health-funded ($1.3 million) multicenter prospective study of functional outcomes following
anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Kaeding participates in clinical trials and clinical outcomes in ACL reconstruction.
- Laura Pheiffer, MD, directs several projects quantifying the biomechanics of fracture fixation devices. She also participates in large-scale multicenter trials as part of the newly
formed Orthopaedic Trauma Research Consortium. Tom Ellis, MD, joined the faculty in 2007 and is establishing a database to track long-term functional outcomes in
femoroacetabular-impingement patients treated with hip arthroscopy.