John C. Elfar, MD, joined the University of Arizona College of Medicine as chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, in August, 2022.

Dr. Elfar came to COM-T from the Penn State College of Medicine and Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, where he served as vice chair of the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation and the Michael and Myrtle Baker Professor of Surgery. He was also a professor in the departments of Public Health Sciences and Neural and Behavioral Sciences, and the founder and director of the Center for Orthopaedic Research and Translational Science (CORTS), which focused on expanding the scope of basic science, translational research and
regenerative medicine.

A graduate of Johns Hopkins University with degrees in biomedical engineering and electrical and computer engineering, Dr. Elfar earned his medical degree at Harvard Medical School. He completed his orthopaedic surgical residency at the University of Rochester Medical Center, followed by fellowships in Boston and Cincinnati. He holds subspeciality certificates of added qualification in both sports surgery and hand and upper extremity surgery from the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.

Active in many national societies and professional organizations, Dr. Elfar serves as a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He is a reviewer for several journals and serves on national committees including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery Program committee and the Orthopaedic Research Society’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee, among others.

Dr. Elfar's research interst include regenerative medicine as applied to severe trauma. His laboratory is interested in translational research in orthopaedics. The group specifically focuses on adjuvant therapy to assist in regenerative recovery from severe mangling trauma. The group has recently undertaken clinical translational trials on nerve injury and wound healing with the overall goal to treat some quite intractable consequences of trauma and surgery. Current focusses include nerve recovery, amputation salvage, gastrointestinal dysmotility, and wound healing soft tissue defects and burns. This work has met with some favor at both the United States Department of Defense (DOD) and National Institutes of Health (NIH). Pre-clinical (translational) work is driven by extramural funding, as well as the clinical trial work that results. We have obtained two Investigational New Drug Approvals from the United States Food and Drug Administration, and have several more applications planned. Our overarching goal is to use our discoveries to improve outcomes using an adjuvant model of trauma care.

DEGREES
BS: The Johns Hopkins University, Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering, with Honors, 1996
BS: The Johns Hopkins University, Electrical and Computer Engineering, with Honors, 1996
MD: Harvard Medical School, 2002

RESIDENCY
Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Rochester Medical Center - Strong Memorial Hospital, 2007

FELLOWSHIP
Hand Surgery, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, 2008

BOARD CERTIFICATIONS
American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hand Surgery
American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, Sports Medicine
American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery