Mack Clayton Seminars
The Mack Clayton endowed lecture series is a monthly seminar that features distinguished speakers from outside institutions, who are nominated by trainees and faculty. These speakers are invited to CU to present their latest research in musculoskeletal science during a one-hour seminar. Their visit also includes one-on-one meetings with faculty and their labs across the Anschutz, Denver, Colorado Springs, and Boulder campuses, held both in person and virtually. Most importantly, there is a "meet-the-professor" session following the presentation. This session gives trainees the chance to network with established researchers, ask questions about their work and careers, and ultimately expand their professional connections.
The history of the Mack Clayton Lectureship is supported by the Dr. Mack Clayton Endowment in the Department of Orthopedics at the University of Colorado. Dr. Clayton was a clinician and surgeon-researcher who focused on developing surgical and biological methods to accelerate ligament healing in the 1950s. His pioneering work led to significant advances that laid the groundwork for the modern treatment of ACL injuries. He was well-known in the ski communities around Denver and along the Front Range for creating medically trained ski patrols, which were the first to provide orthopedic and trauma care to injured skiers on the mountain.
| 2/19/2026 | Brian Johnstone, PhD., FORS Oregon Health and Science University You've Made Cartilage in a Tube: Now What? |
| 3/19/2026 | Julia Charles, MD, PhD Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital Impact of the Gut Microbiome on Bone Across The Age Span |
Past Seminar Speakers
2025 Mack Clayton Speakers
| 2/20/2025 | Kurt Hankerson, DVM, PhD University of Michigan Cellular and Molecular Alterations Underpinning Abnormal Fracture Healing |
| 3/20/2025 | Lilian Plotkin, PhD Indiana University School of Medicine Understanding sexual dimorphism in the musculoskeletal system |
| 6/18/2025 | Marco Brotto, B.S.N., MPharm., PhD University of Texas at Arlington Unraveling the Aging Puzzle: The Role of Lipidomics and Metabolomics in Musculoskeletal Disease |
| 8/13/2025 | Alayna Loiselle, PhD University of Rochester Medical Center S100a4 in soft tissue fibrosis: from fundamental cell biology to translational science |
| 9/18/2025 | Emily Kraus, MD Stanford Children's Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center Working title: "Breaking Barriers: Advancing Female Athlete Injury Prevention, Performance, and Return to Sport" |
| 11/20/2025 | Ji Ma, PhD University of Virginia Patient-specific Orthopaedic implants: specific to what? |
| 12/12/2025 | Cecilia Pascual-Garrido, MD, PhD WashU Medicine Orthopedics Unraveling the Mechanism of Hip Arthritis: From Molecular Insights to Modern Treatment |
2024 Mack Clayton Speakers
| 1/18/24 | Chao Xie, MD., MSBA University of Rochester Bone-Targeted Antibiotics for Implants – Related Chronic Osteomyelitis |
| 2/15/24 | Noriaki Ono, DDS, PhD The University of Texas Health Center Bone Marrow Endosteal Stem/Stromal Cells: An Essential Regulator of Bone Health and Disease. |
| 3/21/24 | Nadeen O. Chahine, PhD Columbia University Inflammation in the Degeneration and Regeneration of the Intervertebral Disc |
| 5/16/24 | Michelle Edelmann, PhD University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Self-Service Tools Available via Health Data Compass |
| 6/13/24 | Matthew Hilton, PhD Duke University School of Medicine Specific Non-Myogenic Mesenchymal Cells Localized within Skeletal Muscle are Major Contributors to Massive Rotator Cuff Tear Pathologies |
| 7/18/24 | Teresita Bellido, PhD University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Diabetes-Induced Bone Disease and Anabolic Agents: Lessons from Pre-Clinical Models |
| 8/15/24 | Michael Detamore, PhD Colorado State University Partnerships between CU and the CSU Translational Medicine Institute: Highlight on Regenerative Medicine |
| 9/24/24 | Theodore Price, PhD University of Texas at Dallas Chronic Pain Mechanisms – Insight from Studies of Human Nociceptors from Organ Donors and Rare Surgeries |
| 11/1/24 | Karl J. Jepsen, PhD University of Michigan Giving a Voice to a Silent Disease by Identifying Early Predictors of Osteoporosis |
2023 Mack Clayton Speakers
| 1/19/2023 | Charles Farber, PhD University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia Systems Genetics Approaches to Unravel the Genetics of Osteoporosis |
| 3/21/2023 | Fabio Penna, PhD University of Torino Targeting Mitochondria with Exercise and Exercise-Mimetics in Cancer Cachexia |
| 4/27/2023 | Joel Boerckel, PhD University of Pennsylvania Mechano-regulation of Bone Development and Regeneration |
| 5/2023 | Michael Toth, PhD University of Vermont |
| 6/15/2023 | Eric Early, PhD University of Colorado Sensory Feedback and Home Use of Bionic Arms |
| 7/20/2023 | Susan Chubinskaya, PhD Rush University Journey through Human Cartilage in Addressing Clinical Needs |
| 8/17/2023 | Alexa Burger, PhD University of Colorado Conserved Distant Enhancers Regulate Notochord Expression of Vertebrate Brachyury |
| 9/21/2023 | Lynda Bonewald, PhD Indiana University Muscle and Bone – You Cannot Have One Without the Other |
| 11/3/2023 | Rob Mauck, PhD University of Pennsylvania The Greater is the Tension: Mechano-regulation of Generation, Degeneration, and Regeneration in Dense Connective Tissues |
2022 Mack Clayton Speakers
| 12/14/2022 | David Karasik, PhD Bar-Ilan University, Safed, Israel Bones, Muscles, Osteoporosis and Sarcopenia: Using Zebrafish to Understand Pleitropy in the Musculoskeletal System |
| 9/27/2022 | Francis Lee, MD, PhD, FAAOS, MBA Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut Real-World Experimental Models and Research for Impaired Fracture Healing |
| 9/15/2022 | Geert Carmeliet, MD, PhD KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium Skeletal Cell Metabolism: More than Energy Production |
| 8/25/2022 | Jie Shien, PhD Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri Fracture Nonunion: New Insights into Mechanism and Therapy |
| 6/9/2022 | Chelsea Heveran, PhD Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana From Bones to Stones: Investigating the Osteocyte's Contribution to Bone Toughness and Engineering Bone-Inspired Sustainable Building Materials |
| 6/1/2022 | John P. Ketz, MD University of Rochester, Rochester, New York My Evolution on the Treatment of Calcaneal Fractures |
| 5/20/2022 | Laurie Goodrich, DVM, PhD Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado Translational Medicine in Orthopedics: Horses, Humans and the Pursuit of Cartilage Regeneration and the Treatment of Osteoarthritis |
| 4/20/2022 | Douglas P. Kiel, MD Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts The Relations Between Fat, Bone and Muscle |
| 1/21/2022 | Jim Cassat, MD, PhD Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee Bone Appétit: Host-Pathogen Interactions During Osteomyelitis |
2021 Mack Clayton Speakers
| 8/4/2021 | Susan Bukata, MD University of California at San Diego, San Diego, California Clinician and Researcher Partnerships: Keys to Success |
| 6/23/2021 | Nate Dyment, PhD University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Formation and Maintenance of Dense Connective Tissues: From Myosins to Hedgehogs |
| 5/26/2021 | Michael David, PhD Washington University Machine Learning Approaches for the Study and Treatment of Musculoskeletal Pathologies |
| 4/21/2021 | Sarah Calve, PhD University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado ECM-Mediated Integration of the Musculoskeletal System During Development |
| 3/3/2021 | Ernestina Schipani, MD, PhD University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Hypoxia and Mitochondria in Skeletal Development |
2020 Mack Clayton Speakers
| 12/9/2020 | Ron June, PhD Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana Mechanotransduction, Markers, and Metabolomics: Toward Improved Treatment for Osteoarthritis |
| 10/28/2020 | David Frisbie, DVM, PhD Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado Translational Opportunities for Humans & Horses in the Musculoskeletal Research Space |
| 10/7/2020 | Micol Rothman, MD University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado Multidisciplinary Care for Patients Who Fracture |
| 2/21/2020 | Elizabeth Regan, MD, PhD National Jewish Health Developing a Clinical Translational Research Agenda in Orthopedics: What Can We Learn from the Pulmonologists? |
| 2/12/2020 | Beate Lanske, PhD Radius Health, Inc., Waltham, Massachusetts Abaloparatide and Its Functions |
| 1/14/2020 | Chelsea Bahney Steadman Philipon Research Institute, Vail, Colorado Transforming Fracture Healing: New molecular insights inspire novel therapeutic and diagnostic approaches to bone regeneration |
2019 Mack Clayton Speakers
| 12/4/2019 | Struan F. A. Grant, PhD University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Variant to Gene Mapping for Common Complex Traits |
| 11/13/2019 | Lianping Xing, MD, PhD University of Rochester, Rochester, New York Synovial Lymphatic System and Arthritis |
| 10/3/2019 | Clifford J. Rosen, MD Tufts University, Boston, Massachusetts Exercise, Rainbows, and Bone Remodeling |
| 9/3/2019 | John C. Elfar, MD, FACS Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania Drug Repurposing in the Treatment of Peripheral Neurotrauma |
| 8/13/2019 | Ryan S. Gray, PhD University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas The pathogenesis of Idiopathic scoliosis involves effectors of intervertebral disc and endochondral ossification in mouse |
| 6/4/2019 | Larry Moreland, MD University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Rheumatoid arthritis: successes and opportunities |
| 1/19/2019 | Blaine A. Christiansen, PhD University of California Davis, Davis, California Injury-Induced Adaptation of Bone: Beyond Fracture Healing |
| 1/11/2019 | Ian Dickey, MD University of Maine, Orono, Maine Additive Manufactured Foam Metals in Orthopaedic Surgery & Osseous Integration |
2018 Mack Clayton Speakers
| 11/13/2018 | Kelly Santangelo, DVM, PhD, DACVP Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado Utility of pre-clinical models for disease and symptoms of osteoarthritis |
| 8/27/2018 | Cheryl Ackert-Bicknell, PhD University of Rochester, Rochester, New York Understanding the Genetic Regulation of Bone Mineral Density |