Researcher Profile

As a professor of orthopaedic surgery specializing in musculoskeletal oncology surgery, Dr. Edward Fox has seen firsthand the limitations of current medical technology in managing traumatic and tumor-related segmental bone loss. Off-the-shelf medical endoprosthetic implants do not meet the demands mechanically, biologically or even durably that patients' simple activities of daily living require. This results in failure to fully restore patient anatomic motor function and/or premature implant failure via wear, loosening or infection. That, in turn, requires additional surgeries to correct these deficits, resulting in additional patient morbidity and mortality and increased health care expenditures, and Dr. Fox's research focuses on improvements in this area.

Other areas of Dr. Fox's research include osteosarcoma, a malignant neoplasm of mesenchymal origin that is presumed to arise from osteoblasts; hip fractures that are common in the elderly; patients with hip fractures who frequently have comorbid illnesses; and osteoporosis.

Dr. Fox's experience and qualifications as an orthopaedic musculoskeletal oncology surgeon give him clinical and biologic knowledge of bone segmental defects. He has publications relating to tumor segmental bone defects and has had collaborative MD and PhD research projects with successful research grants.