Mister Fix-It
Steve Goldstein knows his way around the joint
By day, Steven Goldstein, Ph.D., is the Henry Ruppenthal Family Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Bioengineering. He studies bones and joints, how they respond to disease and damage, and how to grow new bones or replace them with tissue-engineered ones. As associate chair for research in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, he also promotes and enables his
department’s research enterprise.
By night, Goldstein will likely be writing a grant—but he might also be ordering a part for a broken family appliance. Or, if no parts are available, he might be designing and building replacement parts in his home shop.
“When something is broken at home, I like to think creatively about how to get around the problem,” he says. The same goes for his work. A trained biomedical engineer, Goldstein directs a laboratory of 22 staff, fellows, undergraduate, graduate and medical students who share his curiosity for bones and joints.
“Without question, the ability to pursue the unknown aspects of science that have the potential
to address health issues gets me excited,” he says. “But so does working with unbelievably brilliant students, fellows and colleagues— they make it fun for me. And of course, every experiment is a new creative design challenge.”
Goldstein says bone is a dynamic, constantly adapting structural element with both biological and mechanical roles. His work has improved our understanding of bone’s ability to manage these dual roles. Goldstein holds more than 20 patents and also helped develop micro CT technology in the 1980s. Micro CT technology is now produced by seven manufacturers and has become an expected way to characterize the science of the bone in contemporary research.
While much of his research is in the basic sciences, Goldstein has developed a method of gene delivery that is now in a phase 1 clinical trial for healing diabetic wounds. He also invented a variety of surgical instruments, and an artificial kneejoint from his lab is doing quite well in a group of patients.
Nationally, Goldstein serves on numerous editorial, advisory and review boards. A prolific author and leader in professional societies, Goldstein has received many honors and awards, including election to the National Academy of Engineering.
Closer to home, he has provided extensive committee and administrative leadership to the U-M since joining the Medical School faculty in 1981, including serving as associate dean for Research and Graduate Studies for five years.
As with many baby boomers, Goldstein has a few ideas on what he’d like to do upon retiring. A natural athlete, he’d play more tennis and golf—he has a two handicap in golf.
“But as I move forward, I’d also like to dabble in wood and metal sculpture. I have no idea if I have any artistic talent,” he says, “but it would be fun to find out.”
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