Henry Mankin
By Elizabeth Hofheinz
Dr. Henry Mankin, Edith M. Ashley Professor Emeritus, Department of Orthopaedics, Harvard Medical School, has created an extraordinary teaching system that helps trainees learn about pathophysiology, work in the lab, and learn about biology. A tumor specialist, Dr. Mankin has a computerized system for tumors with 19,000 cases.

Russell Waren
By Elizabeth Hofheinz
He cut his orthopedic teeth in the military and was one of the first two fellows who trained with Dr. Charlie Neer at Columbia. Dr. Russell Warren, team physician for the New York Giants, also excels in the stupendous lab at HSS.

Scott Kozin
By Elizabeth Hofheinz
Dr. Scott Kozin, a pediatric upper extremity surgeon at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, helps both children in need and their parents. When not performing a tendon transfer or teaching fellows, he is working on brachial plexus birth palsy.

Brian Cole
By Elizabeth Hofheinz
Top doc for the Bulls and Co-Team Physician for the White Sox, Dr. Brian Cole, Professor in the Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Anatomy & Cell Biology at Rush University Medical Center, is committed to rigorous research and cartilage issues.

Alexander Vaccaro
By Elizabeth Hofheinz
A spine guru, Dr. Alex Vaccaro wears many hats. One of these is partner at the Rothman Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Learn what his work has yielded in the area of spinal cord regeneration and the importance of the timing of operations.

William Clancy, Jr., Ph.D. (Hon)
By Elizabeth Hofheinz
Dr. William Clancy, an orthopedic surgeon at the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center at St. Vincent’s Birmingham in Birmingham, Alabama, is the creator of the world’s most commonly used technique for ACL reconstruction surgery. He was recently honored with the 2008 Robert E. Leach Mr. Sports Medicine award.

Mark Cohen
By Elizabeth Hofheinz
He can manipulate tiny needles with the help of a microscope and can pick up the pieces when a White Sox or Bulls player needs him. Dr. Mark Cohen, Professor and Director of Hand and Elbow Surgery at Rush University Medical Center, details his career path and his unusual challenges.

Michael Bolesta
By Elizabeth Hofheinz
Dr. Michael Bolesta, an Associate Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, is an ordained deacon. A caring physician, Dr. Bolesta also contributes to the field through his research; currently, he is investigating a bone substitute.

Todd Albert
By Elizabeth Hofheinz
Dr. Todd Albert, Richard H. Rothman Professor and Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedics at Thomas Jefferson University Medical College in Philadelphia, is developing a noninvasive early diagnostic measure to determine, "Will this particular disc degenerate?" He also thinks a lot about the future of the field.

Hans Christoph Pape
By Elizabeth Hofheinz
An expert in damage control orthopedics, Dr. Hans Christoph Pape years ago determined that seriously injured patients should first be stabilized with organ and system functions restored—then have their orthopedic injuries addressed. His work has even made its way to the battlefield.

C. Lowry Barnes
By Elizabeth Hofheinz
Creating normal knee kinematics in a prosthetic knee and developing an implant where the head is harder than the socket—Dr. C. Lowry Barnes is the knee and hip expert at Arkansas Specialty Orthopaedics extraordinaire.

Mitchell Sheinkop
By Elizabeth Hofheinz
Dr. Mitchell Sheinkop, Professor Emeritus at Rush University Medical Center and Director of Joint Replacement at the Neurologic and Orthopedic Hospital of Chicago, performed the first-ever total knee replacement in Morocco and has appeared on the front page of Al Jazeera newspaper. What a life.

Gerald Williams, Jr.
By Elizabeth Hofheinz
A design surgeon on a number of medical devices, Dr. Gerald Williams, Jr., Chief of the University of Pennsylvania's Shoulder and Elbow Service, is devoted to advancing the field through patient care and research. Read here about his work to create and repair rotator cuff tears and look at the effect of postoperative activity level on the ability of tendons to heal…and more.

Michael Schafer
By Elizabeth Hofheinz
Led into medicine by two harrowing bouts with polio, Dr. Michael Schafer, Ryerson Professor and Chair of Orthopedics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, has devoted his life to treating patients, conducting research, and ensuring that future generations of surgeons are compassionate caregivers. Read here about the winner of the 2008 William W. Tipton Jr., M.D. Leadership Award.

Mark Myerson
By Elizabeth Hofheinz
Dr. Mark Myerson, Director of the Institute for Foot and Ankle Reconstruction at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, is open to the lessons of the past, and to those from other countries. He has firsthand knowledge of the disease, the deformities, the way orthopedic surgeons in other countries live, and the instrumentation they have available to them. Dr. Myerson knows there is much to be appreciated here in the U.S.

Pioneer Raises $15 Million for NuBac IDE Study
Pioneer Surgical is getting a helping hand from the State of Michigan. The Upper Peninsula device company has raised $15 million in new investments to pay for an FDA pivotal study for its NuBac nucleus replacement device.

FDA Holiday Present for ReGen Biologics
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah and Happy New Year ReGen Biologics shareholders. We’ll also throw in a Happy Kwanzaa and Solstice for good measure. ReGen needs all the friends it can get.

Synovial Celebration: MabThera Inhibits Joint Destruction in RA
Hope flowing from the lab…MabThera. Roche is announcing today that MabThera (rituximab) has been shown to significantly inhibit structural damage to joints in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have not been treated with methotrexate (MTX), the current standard of care for RA treatment.

Canadians Receive $1.3 Million for Engineering
Taking a bite out of arthritis, osteoporosis, etc…Dr. Douglas Hamilton, a dental researcher with the University of Western Ontario, has received substantial funding from The Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) to engineer stronger bone and cartilage tissue to treat patients with traumatic injuries or bone disease.

Congressional Healthcare Reform: Irresistible Forces and Immovable Objects
Those who believe that Congress will move quickly and dramatically during the first days of the Obama Administration on comprehensive national healthcare reform got a cold shower on December 19.

Study: Pycnogenol® Reduces Marker in OA
Another reason to make a pilgrimage to France…Horphag Research Ltd. is announcing that the third osteoarthritis (OA) study this year is showing that Pycnogenol® lowers the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP).

Daschle Will Lead Health Care Reform for Obama
Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota will be the country's new health care czar. He’ll be health care czar who has written that “doctors and patients might resent any encroachment on their ability to choose certain treatments, even if they are expensive or ineffective compared to the alternatives.”

Medtronic’s Excellent China Spine Adventure
Medtronic's toe in China just got a little wetter. The company announced on December 18th that it had completed its equity investment in China's Weigao Group Medical Polymer Company Limited.

Baring the Medical Soul: Disclosure Summit
The first annual summit on disclosure, transparency and aggregate spend for drug, device and biotech companies will be held March 5 and 6, 2009 at the Renaissance Washington D.C. Hotel…and now they are announcing the keynote faculty, agenda and Disclosure Training Program.

Centinel Spine Continues Transformation
Centinel Spine, the descendant of Raymedica, continues to morph into its new form. On December 16, Centinel Spine announced that the company was on track to see increased revenue by early 2009 due to having secured exclusive distribution rights to market STALIF TT™ (Stand Alone Lumbar Interbody Fusion) products for the entire globe.

Orthofix Defends Itself and Dumps Debt
As Orthofix fights off a hedge fund threatening to board its corporate ship, the company announced that it was going to dump some ballast by paying off some debt early.

New AAOS Guideline for Knee OA
Before you cut…AAOS is announcing the release of an evidence-based clinical practice guideline on “Treatment of Osteoarthritis of the Knee,” a protocol that was explicitly developed to include only treatments which are less invasive than knee replacement surgery.

Nose to Bones: Tentative FDA Nod for Osteoporosis Spray
MDRNA, Inc., a company focused on products based on RNA interference (RNAi), has announced that the FDA has granted tentative approval of its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for generic calcitonin-salmon nasal spray for the treatment of osteoporosis.

Cool Discovery: New Genetic Info on Low BMD
Icelandic researchers from deCODE genetics, along with colleagues from Australia and Denmark are reporting the discovery of common single-letter variations (SNPs) in the human genome linked to low bone mineral density (BMD).

MA Plans Bring $1.3 Billion Extra Profits to Insurers
Congress stuck another fork into the Medicare Advantage (MA) program on December 11. House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair, Congressman Pete Stark of California, had requested an analysis from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) about the MA plans' profits for 2006.

Gang of Four Named To Challenge Orthofix Directors
We recently reported that hedge fund Ramius LLC was threatening to call a special meeting of Orthofix shareholders. At the meeting, if called, they would vote to throw four of ten current Orthofix board members overboard and replace them with Ramius' own slate of candidates.

Direct Hit: BioMimetic Achieves Enrollment Target
BioMimetic Therapeutics, Inc. has announced that the company has completed the enrollment of 396 patients in its North American pivotal clinical study for its lead orthopedic product candidate Augment™ Bone Graft. The study is designed to assess the safety and efficacy of Augment for the treatment of hindfoot and ankle fusions as compared to autograft.

U.S. Army Aiming for ‘Disruptive Technologies’
Who knew there was a U.S. Army Science Conference?  In the shadow of Disneyworld no less. But, sure enough, it does exist and this past week a number of cool, futuristic, and potentially “disruptive” medical technologies were on display at the U.S. Army Science Conference in Orlando, Florida.

People in the News

Dr. Andrew Lynn Garners Entrepreneurial Award

Dr. Richard D. Scott Joins ConforMIS Board

Pete Wehrly Lands at Medingo

Upcoming Conferences

5th Annual Emerging Technologies Spine Education Summit
February 4 - 7, 2009 – Steamboat Springs, Colorado

4th Annual Stem Cell Summit
February 17, 2009 – New York

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