James Cook

Title: William C. Allen Endowed Scholar for Orthopaedic Research

Background: Cook earned a bachelor's degree from Florida State University in 1988. After a short career as a professional water skier, he completed a doctorate in veterinary medicine in 1994 at MU. He then went on to a small animal rotating internship at the University of Minnesota. He returned to MU in 1995 for a dual program in pathobiology and small-animal surgery. He completed his doctorate in pathobiology in 1998 and became a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1999. His doctoral research involved developing a unique in vitro system of chondrocyte culture for studying osteoarthritis. In 1999, he co-founded the Comparative Orthopaedic Laboratory at MU, which is a research laboratory involving the College of Veterinary Medicine, the School of Medicine, and the College of Engineering. More than 25 scientists are involved in this laboratory's research in the areas of osteoarthritis, tissue engineering and articular cartilage physiology. He has numerous peer-reviewed publications to his credit in both the veterinary and human medical literature. He has earned extensive funding for his research. His clinical interests are in arthroscopy, minimally invasive fracture repair, orthopaedic tissue engineering and total joint replacement. He holds one patent for a canine total elbow replacement system. He regularly speaks at major national and international meetings.

Education: PhD, pathobiology, University of Missouri-Columbia, 1998, DVM, University of Missouri-Columbia, 1994

Speaking Topic: Comparative orthopaedic research: how we use veterinary medicine and laboratory tests to better diagnose, treat and prevent orthopaedic problems, such as arthritis, trauma and injury, in both animals and people