Title Thomas S. Thornhill, MD and Karen N. Thornhill Professor of Orthopedic Surgery Institution Brigham and Women's Hospital Department Orthopedic Surgery Address Brigham and Women's Hospital Ab207 75 Francis St Boston MA 02115
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Title
Head of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital
Institution
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Department
Orthopedic Surgery

Biography
Washington University, St. Louis, MO | BS | 1982 | Chemical Engineering |
University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, Oklahoma City, OK | MD | 1986 | Medicine |
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA | | 1987 | General Surgery Internship |
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA | | 1992 | Orthopaedic Surgery Residency |
Case Western University, Cleveland, OH | | 1993 | Spine Surgery Fellowship |
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA | Honorary MS | 2017 | Medicine |
1996
The ORS New Investigator Recognition Award
1999
The Volvo Award for Best Basic Science Research
1999
The Golden Apple Award for Resident Education
1999
The NASS Outstanding Paper Award (Basic Science)
1999
Cervical Spine Research Society Award
2000
The ISSLS Best Paper Award, Basic Science
2002
The Volvo Award for Best Clinical Research in Spine
2004
The NASS Outstanding Paper Award (Basic Science)
2007
Henry Farfan Award for Outstanding Contributions in Spine
2011
The Golden Apple Award for Resident Education
2012
The ISSLS Prize for Basic Science Research
2019
The NASS Outstanding Paper Award
2021
The ISSLS Prize for Basic Science Research

Overview
James D. Kang, MD is the Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and The Thornhill Family Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School. He assumed this role in 2015 after having spent his entire previous academic career at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He graduated with a BS in Chemical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis and then returned to his hometown to attend The University of Oklahoma School of Medicine. He completed his surgical internship and Orthopaedic residency at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine followed by a fellowship in Spine Surgery at Case Western Reserve University. He was then recruited back to the University of Pittsburgh as an Assistant Professor in 1993 where he spent the ensuing 22 years, ultimately achieving the rank of full Professor and the UPMC Endowed Chair in Spine Surgery and the Vice Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.
Dr. Kang is a surgeon/clinician/scientist/educator. He is an internationally recognized leader in the field of intervertebral disc degeneration research. In the past 2 decades, he has done pioneering work in understanding the biology and molecular mechanisms of disc degeneration, as well as devising novel therapeutic interventions using stem cells and gene therapy.
Dr. Kang is a devoted clinician and has an active practice of spinal surgery, having performed more than 13,000 spinal operations. He has also done extensive clinical research on spinal surgeries with an emphasis on their patient reported outcomes. For all his research efforts, he has won countless national and international awards which have recognized the quality and excellence of his work.
Dr. Kang has been an outstanding educator of students, residents, fellows, and faculty. He has won multiple Golden Apple Teaching Awards for his surgical teaching prowess by residents and fellows at both University of Pittsburgh and Harvard. Many of his trainees have taken academic positions at other Universities and continue to carry on the business of training the future generation of orthopaedic surgeons.

Research
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R21AR051514
(KANG, JAMES D)
Jun 4, 2004 - May 31, 2007
TIMP Gene Transfer to Alter Course of Disc Degeneration
Role: Principal Investigator

Bibliographic
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