Steadman Philippon Research Institute hires scientific officer

VAIL — Johnny Huard, Ph.D., has been named chief scientific officer of the Steadman Philippon Research Institute and director of Center for Regenerative Sports Medicine.

Huard, 49, is internationally recognized for his leading edge research in the field of stem cells and regenerative medicine as it relates to the musculoskeletal system. In his new position at Steadman Philippon Research Institute, Huard will be establishing a regenerative and translational medicine institute in Vail.

Huard has spent the past 19-plus years at the University of Pittsburgh where he served as the Henry J. Mankin Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and director of the Stem Cell Research Center. He has extensive knowledge in the areas of gene therapy, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications based on the use of muscle-derived stem cells.

In addition to significant international recognition in the form of major awards received from organizations in the field of orthopedic medicine, Huard has received generous grants and other forms of financial support, including funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense and the Muscular Dystrophy Association, as well as other private and public foundations.

“The opportunity to accelerate our pioneering advances in regenerative sports medicine and stem cell research with Dr. Huard as our chief scientific officer is enormous,” said Dr. Marc Philippon, managing partner of the Steadman Clinic and co-chairman of Steadman Philippon Research Institute. “In the future, our team of physicians and researchers envision every person having the opportunity to harvest his or her own stem cells re-injected into the body to help delay various aging processes such as osteoporosis or osteoarthritis or to speed up recovery from injury or illness.”

ABOUT HUARD

Huard, a native of Quebec, Canada, first joined the University of Pittsburgh faculty in 1996 as an assistant professor. He strengthened his focus on regenerative medicine in 2001 when he was named the deputy director, cellular therapeutic research for the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine at UP. Huard became a full-time professor in 2004 and added the title of vice chair of musculoskeletal cellular therapeutics, Department of Orthopedic Surgery. Three years later, he was also named the director of the Stem Cell Research Center at UP.

Huard earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Rimouski University in Quebec, Canada, in 1988. He received his M.S. degree in neurobiology from Laval University in Quebec in 1991 and was awarded his Ph.D. in neurobiology from Laval in 1993.