Clinical interests center on joint diseases and bone circulation, in OA and osteonecrosis. Recent studies have involved delineating the role of arthroscopy in OA, elucidating the role of bone marrow edema in joint pain, and studying the use of anti-resorptive therapy in osteonecrosis.

In the laboratory, Dr. Aaron is investigating aspects of the
pathophysiology of OA focusing on circulatory disturbances in subchondral bone and the relationship of bone and
cartilage abnormalities.

Biography

Roy K. Aaron, M.D. is professor of orthopaedic surgery and professor
of molecular pharmacology, physiology and biotechnology. He is
director of the VA Center for Restorative and Regenerative Medicine
and the Brown Program for Recovery from Trauma.

Dr. Aaron graduated from Lafayette College and SUNY Downstate Medical
School. He did an internship in internal medicine at Montefiore
Hospital - Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and a year
of general surgery residency at the U.S. Public Health Service
Hospital, Staten Island, New York. Dr. Aaron completed a surgical
research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health, a residency
in the Harvard Orthopaedic Program and a fellowship in arthritis
surgery at the Robert Brigham Hospital in Boston. He then returned
to NIH for three years of research in cartilage biochemistry.

Institutions

RIH

Research Description

Professor Aaron's clinical interests are in the surgical treatment of arthritis including joint replacement, arthroscopy, foot reconstruction, and rehabilitation, and he has been on several national and international panels dealing with the treatment of osteonecrosis. His laboratory interests center on inflammation and the stimulation of cartilage repair. The laboratory is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and has been continuously externally funded for 18 years.

Awards

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

Present Position: Professor, Orthopaedic Surgery
Professor, Molecular Pharmacology, Physiology and Biotechnology
Director, Clinical Research, Orthopedic Surgery
Director, Center for Restorative and Regenerative Medicine
Director, Program for the Recovery from Trauma
Brown Medical School
Providence, Rhode Island

1991: Clinical Associate Professor, Orthopaedic Surgery
Brown University School of Medicine
Providence, Rhode Island

1981: Assistant Professor, Orthopaedic Surgery
Brown University School of Medicine
Providence, Rhode Island


HOSPITAL APPOINTMENTS

1981: Rhode Island Hospital
593 Eddy Street
Providence, RI 02903

1985: The Miriam Hospital
164 Summit Avenue
Providence, RI 02906


OTHER APPOINTMENTS

2005- Special Projects and Education Committee, Orthopaedic Research Society

2003- Scientific Team, Brown – National Institutes of Health (NIH) Osteoarthritis Initiative

2001- Executive Committee, University Orthopaedics

2006 Brown Corporation Spring Meeting: "Program for Recovery from Trauma"

2006 Lifetime Achievement Award, NE Arthritis Foundation: "New Paradigms in the Management of
Joint Diseases"

2005 Chair, Brown University Search Committee for the Vice President of Research

2005 Speaker, "Skeletal Development and Remodeling in Health, Disease and Aging", New York Academy of
Sciences Symposium

2005 Speaker, "Developmental Sequences in Clinical Orthopedics and Their Modulation by Sequential
Drug Delivery", Controlled Release Society

2002-2005 Instructional Course Lecturer, "Osteonecrosis", American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

2004 NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR), Special Study Section

2004 Reviewer, Orthopaedic Basic Science, 3rd edition, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

1998-2003 NIH Study Section, Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Disease

1997-2003 Committee on Research, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

2003 Chair, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Annual Scientific Workshop, "Physical Regulation
of Skeletal Repair"

2003 Organizer, "Physical Regulation of Skeletal Repair" Symposium, Orthopaedic Research Society

2003 Delphi Panel on Osteonecrosis, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

2002 Master of Arts (ad eun.), Brown University

2002 NIH National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), Special Study Section

2001 NIH, NIAMS, Special Study Section

2001 NIH, CSR, Special Study Section

2001 Moderator, "Bone Biology", Orthopaedic Research Society

1999-2000 Surdna Foundation Fellow, Brown University Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research

2000 Faculty, Harvard Hip Course

2000 Program Committee, Orthopaedic Research Society

2000 Moderator, "Osteoarthritis", Orthopaedic Research Society

1998 NIH National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Science Review Symposium: Clinical and In Vivo Laboratory Findings, Rapporteur: "Tissue Healing"

1997 Moderator, "Stimulation of Bone and Cartilage", Second World Congress for Electricity and
Magnetism in Biology and Medicine

1997 NIH, NIEHS Science Review Symposium: In Vitro Studies

1997 Faculty, Harvard Hip Course

1996-1997 Discusser, "Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head", American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

1994-1995 Council, Second World Congress for Electricity and Magnetism in Biology and Medicine

1993-1995 Instructional Course Lecturer, "Osteonecrosis", American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

1994 Faculty, Harvard Hip Course

1994 Moderator, "Chondrocyte Responses to Mechanical and Electrical Stimuli", Society for Physical
Regulation in Biology and Medicine

1994 Moderator, "Models of Physical Signal Detection", Society for Physical Regulation in Biology and
Medicine

1994 Moderator, "Clinical Symposium on Bioelectromagnetics in Medicine", Bioelectromagnetics Society

1994 Moderator, "Medical Applications of Electric and Magnetic Fields", Bioelectromagnetics Society

1993 Moderator, "In Vivo Modeling Techniques", Bioelectrical Repair and Growth Society

1992 Special Interest Symposium Lecturer, American Society for Cell Biology

1991-1992 Chairman, Medical/Scientific Committee, Rhode Island Arthritis Foundation

1991-1992 President, Bioelectrical Repair and Growth Society

1990-1992 Council and Chairman, Clinical Program Committee, First World Congress for Electricity and
Magnetism in Biology and Medicine

1986-1992 Committee on Basic Science, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

1992 Moderator, "Clinical Applications," First World Congress for Electricity and Magnetism in Biology
and Medicine

1991 Moderator, "Field Effects on Bone and Cartilage", Bioelectrical Repair and Growth Society

1990 Moderator, "Bone and Cartilage Stimulation", Bioelectrical Repair and Growth Society

1990 Moderator, "Mechanisms of Response to Electromagnetic Fields in Bone Healing",
Bioelectromagnetics Society

1989-1992 Council, Bioelectrical Repair and Growth Society

1989-1991 Program Committee, Bioelectrical Repair and Growth Society

1989 Moderator, "Clinical Experience with Pulsing Electromagnetic Fields", Bioelectrical Repair and
Growth Society

1989 Moderator, "Application of Time-Varying Fields for Tissue Healing", Bioelectromagnetics Society

1989 Moderator, "Growth Factors and Bone", Orthopaedic Research Society

1989 Program Committee, Orthopaedic Research Society

1988-1989 Program Committee, Bioelectromagnetics Society

1987 Iwao Yasuda Award (B.R.A.G.S.) for Excellence in Bioelectrical Research


EDITORIAL POSITIONS

2000- Reviewer, Journal of Orthopaedic Research

2000 Guest Editor, Techniques in Orthopaedics

1998 Guest Editor, Medicine and Health/Rhode Island

1987- Editorial Board, Journal of Arthroplasty

1993-2000 Reviewer, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research

1993-1996 Associate Editor, Bioelectromagnetics


HOSPITAL COMMITTEES

1999-2002 Research Advisory Committee, Lifespan Academic Medical Center

Dr. Aaron has participated in several national and international symposia, most recently as the organizer of ORS and AAOS symposia on "Physical Regulation of Skeletal Repair" (2003), the New York Academy of Medicine symposium on Skeletal Development and Remodeling in Health, Disease and Aging (2005), the AAOS Instructional Course on Osteonecrosis of the Hip (2002-2005), and the AAOS symposium on Extremity War Injuries (2006). He will co-chair the 2007 ORS/AAOS combined symposium on "The Complex Open Fracture - Civilian and War Experience with Infected Wounds and Bone Loss". He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Arthroplasty. Dr. Aaron is the recipient of an NIH Career Development Award and has been a member of the NIH Study Section on Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Diseases, and the Committee on Research of the AAOS. In 2006, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the New England Arthritis Foundation.

Affiliations

UNIVERSITY COMMITTEES

2005 Chair, Brown University Search Committee for the Vice President of Research

2003- Strategic Planning Subcommittee, Curriculum Committee, Brown Medical School

2003-2004 Brown University Search Committee for the Dean of Biology and Medicine

2000-2003 Curriculum Committee, Brown Medical School

2003 Brown Medical School Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) Task Force for Reaccreditation

2003 Brown Medical School Search Committee for Director, Division of Rheumatology

2001 Brown Medical School Search Committee for Ehrlich Chair of Orthopedic Research


MEMBERSHIPS IN SOCIETIES

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
Orthopaedic Research Society
Sigma Xi (Honorary Research)
Fellow, American College of Rheumatology
New York Academy of Sciences
Osteoarthritis Research Society

Funded Research

VA A3772C
Director
Rebuilding, Regenerating and Restoring Function after Limb Loss
$7,500,000
2004-2009
The goal of this grant is to develop technologically advanced solutions to functional loss after limb trauma. Approaches include robotic prosthetics, neuro prosthetics interfaces, limb lengthening and tissue engineering.

NIH RO1 HL 073958
Site Principal Investigator
Functional Outcomes in Cardiovascular Patients Undergoing Surgical Hip Fracture Repair
$300,000
2003-2009
This is a multi-center study of the indications and results of blood transfusions after hip fractures to determine appropriate threshold levels and morbidity.

EBI, LP
Principal Investigator
Determination of Dosimetry and Mechanism of PEMF
$2,200,000
1998-2007
This study determines dose effects of electrical exposure as one form of physico-chemical signaling in cartilage and bone formation. It studies the effect of electrical exposure on engineered chondrogenesis.

NIH K24 AR 02128
Principal Investigator
Identification and Treatment of Osteonecrosis of the Hip
$543,375
1999-2004
This grant developed patient-oriented research methods emphasizing coagulopathies in osteoarthritis and avascular necrosis after corticosteroid use. The benefits of early MRI screening of patients at risk of developing avascular necrosis was established.

Brown University Vice Presidential Research Seed Grant
Coinvestigator
Microsphere Based Drug Delivery Systems and Hydrogels for the Creation
of Cartilage Biocomposites – A Tissue Engineered Solution to Joint Damage
$93,920
2003
This grant facilitated collaborations between investigators and the Departments of Orthopedics and Bioengineering for the purpose of developing one stage cartilage biocomposite for purposes of transplantation. It utilized polymer-encapsulated growth factors to recapitulate developmental sequences.

NIH R13-AR 050033
Chair
Workshop Support Grant
$18,000
2003
Grant supported the AAOS annual workshop on "Physical Regulation of Skeletal Repair".

NASA
Chair
Workshop Support Grant
$15,000
2003
Grant supported the AAOS annual workshop on "Physical Regulation of Skeletal Repair".

Whitaker Foundation
Chair
Conference Support Grant
$5,000
2003
Grant supported the AAOS annual workshop on "Physical Regulation of Skeletal Repair".

AAOS Corporate Relations Advisory Group
Chair
Workshop Sponsorship
$55,000
2003
Grant supported the AAOS annual workshop on "Physical Regulation of Skeletal Repair".

NIH R01 ES 074042
Principal Investigator
EMF and Early Bone Development
$1,126,077
1995-1999
These studies investigated the role of electric and magnetic field exposure as a signaling mechanism stimulating cartilage repair.

NIH R15 AR 40382
Coinvestigator
Hyperbaric O2 on Experimental Endochondral Ossification
$107,036
1990-1993
Oxygen gradients above the physiologic level were investigated for their effects on cell differentiation in endochondral bone formation.

Orthologic
Coinvestigator
Effects of Chrysalin on Chondrogenic Differentiation of Synovial Cells
$55,939
2003
This grant funded studies on a novel thrombin peptide for its ability to induce chondrogenic differentiation of synovial cells.

Aircast Foundation-S700
Coinvestigator
Stimulation of Chondrogenic Differentiation by Polymer-Encapsulated Growth Factors
$100,000
2000-2003
The goal of this grant is to develop methods for the temporal and spatial release of growth factors to mimic developmental sequence and to stimulate differentiation of precursor cells to chondrocytes.

Whitaker Foundation
Collaborating Investigator
Modulation of Cell Cycle Growth, Control and Differentiation in a Connective Tissue System by Magnetic and Electric Fields
$180,000
1995-1998
These studies explored electric and magnetic field effects on chondrocyte differentiation.

Fetzer Institute 852
Principal Investigator
The Stimulation of Chondrogenesis by Electromagnetic Fields
$140,000
1994-1996
These studies explored electric and magnetic field effects on chondrocyte differentiation.

View My Full Publication List in pdf format

Selected Publications

• Aaron, R.K. and D. McK. Ciombor. Orthopaedic complications of solid organ transplantation. Surg. Clin. North America. 86: 1237-1255; 2006.(2006)
• Aaron, R.K. and R. Gray. Osteonecrosis: Etiology, Natural History, Pathophysiology and Diagnosis. In: The Adult Hip, 2nd edition. Eds: J. Callaghan, A. Rosenberg, and H. Rubash. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia, PA. v.1 pg 463-476; 2006.(2006)
• Aaron, R.K., H. Herr, D. McK. Ciombor, L. Hochberg, J. Donoghue, C. Briant, J. Morgan, M. Ehrlich. Horizons in prosthetic development for restoration of limb function. J Am Acad Orthop Surg. 14: S198-204: 2006(2006)
• Paek, H.J., A.B. Campaner, J.L. Kem, L. Golden, R.K. Aaron, D. McK. Ciombor, J. Morgan, M. Lysaght. Microencapsulated cells genetically modified to overexpress human transforming growth factor-beta1: viability and functionality in allogeneic and xenogeneic implant models. Tissue Engin. 12(7): 1733-9; 2006(2006)
• Aaron, R.K., D. McK. Ciombor, S. Wang. Clinical biophysics: The promotion of skeletal repair by physical forces. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1068: 513-531; 2006(2006)
• Aaron, R.K., A. Skolnick, S. Reinert, D. McK. Ciombor. Arthroscopic debridement for osteoarthritis of the knee. J. Bone Joint Surg. 88A: 936-943; 2006(2006)
• Ciombor, D. McK., A Jaklenec, A. Liu, C. Thanos, N. Rahman, P.Weston, R. Aaron, E. Mathiowitz. Encapsulation of BSA using a W/O/O emulsion solvent removal method. J. Microencap. 23 (2): 183-194; 2006(2006)
• Paek, H.J., A.B. Campaner, J.L. Kim, R.K. Aaron, D. Ciombor, J. Morgan, M. Lysaght. In-vitro characterization of TGFβ1 release from genetically modified fibroblasts in calcium alginate microcapsules. ASAIO. 51: 379-384, 2005.(2005)
• Aaron, R.K. and M. Bolander (eds.). Physical Regulation of Skeletal Repair. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Chicago, IL. 2005.(2005)
• Ciombor, D. McK., R.K. Aaron, S. Wang, and B. Simon. Modification of osteoarthritis in the guinea pig – A morphological study. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. 11: 455-462; 2003.(2003)
• Lieberman, J., D. Berry, M. Mont, R.K. Aaron, et al. Osteonecrosis of the hip: Management in the 21st century. J. Bone Joint Surg. 84: 834-853; 2002.(2002)
• Aaron, R.K., S. Wang, and D. McK. Ciombor. Upregulation of basal TGF beta levels coincident with chondrogenesis. Implications for skeletal repair and tissue engineering. J. Orthop. Res. 20: 233-240; 2002.(2002)