James R. Urbaniak, M.D., Distinguished Professor of Orthopedic Surgery
Appointments and Affiliations
- James R. Urbaniak, M.D., Distinguished Professor of Orthopedic Surgery
- Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery
- Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery
- Professor in Cell Biology
- Professor in Pediatrics
- Professor in the Department of Pathology
- Professor in Pharmacology and Cancer Biology
- Professor in Neurosurgery
- Member of the Duke Cancer Institute
- Co-Director of the Duke Regeneration Center
Contact Information
- Email Address: ben.alman@duke.edu
Education
- M.D. Thomas Jefferson University, Sidney Kimmel Medical College, 1986
Awards, Honors, and Distinctions
- New Investigator Recognition Award Winners. Orthopaedic Research Society. 1992
Courses Taught
- PATHOL 793: Research Independent Study
- ORTHO 433C: Pediatric Orthopaedics
- ORTHO 421C: Fractures/Musculoskeletal Trauma
- ORTHO 222C: Orthopaedic Surgery Experience
In the News
- Inaugural Commencement for the Occupational Therapy Doctorate Program (May 9, 2…
- Duke Awarded Up to $33 Million to Develop OA Therapies that Rebuild Bone and Jo…
- We Now Know Why It Takes Longer for Older People's Bones to Heal (Jan 22, 2020 …
- Scientists Identify ‘Youth Factor’ in Blood Cells That Speeds Fracture Repair (…
- Cheese curds and mustard baths: 6 wacky ways Olympians prep for competition (Au…
- Scientists Trace Origin Cell of Bone and Soft Tissue Tumors, Test Drug Target (…
- Duke Study: Old Bones Can Regain Youthful Healing Power (May 20, 2015 | Duke To…
- Gene Mutation Drives Cartilage Tumor Formation (Feb 17, 2015 | Duke Today)
Representative Publications
- Asada, Tomoyuki, Soji Tani, Tomoko Towatari, Mahoko Ishikawa, Philip Varnadore, Yoshifumi Kudo, Peter G. Passias, Benjamin A. Alman, and Koji Ishikawa. “Comparative Finite Element Analysis of Denosumab and Bazedoxifene on Pedicle Screw Stability in Osteoporotic Spines.” JOR Spine 8, no. 4 (December 2025): e70147. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsp2.70147.
- Wang, Yu, Vinay V. Eapen, Yaosi Liang, Athanasios Kournoutis, Marc Samuel Sherman, Yanxin Xu, Angelique Onorati, et al. “WSTF nuclear autophagy regulates chronic but not acute inflammation.” Nature 644, no. 8077 (August 2025): 780–89. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09234-1.
- Tani, Soji, Koji Ishikawa, Erika Chiapparelli, Gaston Camino-Willhuber, Lukas Schönnagel, Thomas Caffard, Krizia Amoroso, et al. “Impact of Lumbar Degenerative Changes on Vertebral Bone Strength: A Finite Element Analysis.” J Orthop Res 43, no. 5 (May 2025): 931–38. https://doi.org/10.1002/jor.26054.
- Nakagawa, Makoto, Eijiro Shimada, Nicholas Guardino, Ryo Miyamoto, Vijitha Puviindran, Emily Peairs, Ariana Matarangas, et al. “Protein Phosphatase 1 Regulatory Subunit 3C integrates cholesterol metabolism and isocitrate dehydrogenase in chondrocytes and neoplasia.” Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 122, no. 16 (April 22, 2025): e2501519122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2501519122.
- Newman, Hunter, Yu-Ru V. Shih, Jiaul Hoque, Yuze Zeng, Naveen R. Natesh, Gavin Gonzales, Wendi Guo, et al. “Enabling adenosine signaling to promote aged fracture healing.” NPJ Regen Med 10, no. 1 (April 9, 2025): 18. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41536-025-00406-1.