Honoree James Kang speaks to colleagues, friends and family at the inaugural Thornhill Family Professorship celebration. Image: Gretchen Ertl
On Nov. 21, 2016, friends, family and colleagues gathered in the Waterhouse Room in the Gordon Hall of Medicine at Harvard Medical School to celebrate James Kang as the inaugural Thornhill Family Professor of Orthopedic Surgery.
An international leader in the basic science and clinical treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration and osteoarthritis of the spine, Kang joined the HMS community in 2015 as a professor of orthopedic surgery and head of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Kang’s research focuses on the biochemistry of disc degeneration and the biomechanics of the spine. He has applied cutting-edge gene transfer and stem cell techniques to develop innovative therapies for disc degeneration. In the clinic, Kang specializes in surgery for spinal stenosis stemming from degenerative cervical, thoracic and lumbar disorders.
“We are so pleased to join together to recognize Dr. Kang’s achievements, to honor the Thornhill family’s generosity and to celebrate the future of orthopedic surgery at HMS and Brigham and Women’s,” said Barbara J. McNeil, acting dean of HMS.
The professorship was made possible by Thomas Thornhill, the John B. and Buckminster Brown Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at HMS and chair emeritus of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Brigham and Women’s, and his family.
Thornhill co-founded the Orthopedic and Arthritis Center for Outcomes Research at Brigham and Women’s in 2006 and the following year co-founded Operation Walk, a program that brings surgical expertise to people suffering from orthopedic and musculoskeletal problems in the Dominican Republic. After serving as department chair from 1996 until 2015, Thornhill has continued to practice total hip, knee, shoulder and elbow arthroplasty.
“Through the establishment of this professorship, the Thornhill family is ensuring that Brigham and Women’s Hospital, HMS, Dr. Kang and all future incumbents of this professorship continue to advance research and further progress the treatments available for patients suffering from conditions caused by intervertebral disc degeneration, while honoring Dr. Kang’s life-long commitment to the field,” said McNeil.
Elizabeth Nabel, president of Brigham and Women’s and professor of medicine at HMS, and Jeffrey N. Katz, HMS professor of medicine and orthopedic surgery, co-director of the Comprehensive Spine Center and director of the Orthopedic and Arthritis Center for Outcomes Research at Brigham and Women’s, also spoke at the event.
