Research Committee

Roy Aaron, M.D.

Roy Kenneth Aaron, M.D., a specialist in arthritis and metabolic bone disease, is an attending orthopedic surgeon at Miriam Hospital. He is Director of clinical research for the department, and Director of the Orthopaedic Cell Biology Laboratory. He is also Director of the Brown / VA Center for Restorative and Regenerative Medicine. Dr. Aaron performs arthroscopic and other procedures for joint preservation in arthritis. Dr. Aaron spends a substantial amount of time in the laboratory and is doing research into osteoarthritis and cartilage transplantation using stem cells for joint resurfacing. He is interested in the use of biological alternatives to joint replacements for joint diseases.

Edward Akelman, M.D.

Dr. Akelman is the Chairman of the Orthopaedic Departments at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Rhode Island Hospital, and Miriam Hospital. Dr. Akelman is board-certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery(ABOS). Additionally, he holds the subspecialty certificate in orthopaedic surgery of the hand. He devotes his practice to hand, wrist and elbow conditions. He has expertise in caring for common hand problems such as Dupuytren’s disease, hand fractures, sports injuries, arthritis and nerve problems of the hand, wrist and elbow.

Valentine Antoci, M.D.

Dr. Antoci is a Fellowship Trained Orthopaedic Surgeon with a focus in Adult Reconstruction, Hip and Knee Joint Replacement Surgery and a special interest in unicompartmental partial knee replacement, minimally invasive surgery, complex reconstructions, failed total joints, preservation techniques, and trauma. He is a graduate of the Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and has extensive training in the field that involves the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Surgery Program in Boston, the Harris Adult Reconstruction Fellowship Program with the Massachusetts General Hospital, and previously the Rothman Institute with the Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

Jillian E. Beveridge, Ph.D.

Dr. Beveridge is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthopeadics where her research investigates the interactions between biological, mechanical, and neuromuscular mechanisms that drive post-traumatic osteoarthritis after intra-articular joint injury. She received her doctorate in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Calgary in 2012 and then completed two postdoctoral fellowships, the first at the University of Calgary (2012-2015) and the second at Brown University in the Bioengineering Laboratory (2015-2018). Before rejoining the Department in November 2022, Dr. Beveridge founded the Movement and Biomechanics Laboratory at the Cleveland Clinic where she was Assistant Staff and Assistant Professor at Case Western Reserve University Biomedical Engineering Departments from 2019-2022.

Joseph Crisco

Joseph J. Crisco III, Ph.D.

Professor J.J. Trey Crisco is the Director of the Bioengineering Laboratory within the Brown University Department of Orthopaedics.  His primary research interest is in musculoskeletal biomechanics where he focuses on upper extremity mechanics and osteoarthritis using advanced imaging analysis. In addition, he investigates neuromuscular therapy through toy and game play for children. He also has an extensive interest in sports injury prevention and performance. Notably, his work has been primarily funded by the NIH and has resulted in over 200 peer-reviewed publications. He majored in Mathematics and Fine Arts at Amherst College and received his doctorate in Applied Mechanics from Yale University.

Alan H. Daniels, M.D.

Alan H. Daniels, MD is a Board-Certified spine surgeon who specializes in adult spinal deformity and other complex spinal disorders. He serves as Chief of Spine for the Orthopedic Department at Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital. He is also Director of Spine Surgery Research, an Associate Professor at The Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and co-director of the Brown Spine Surgery Fellowship. Additionally, Dr. Daniels is a Nationally renowned researcher and has published over 330 peer-reviewed articles, 350 national and international research posters/presentations, and has edited 4 orthopedic education textbooks. He is a member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, the Lumbar Spine Research Society, and the Scoliosis Research Society.

Dr. Chathuraka Jayasuriya is an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics at Rhode Island Hospital and the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Dr. Jayasuriya received his Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences with a concentration in Genetics and Development from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY in 2006. He received his PHD in Biomedical Sciences at Brown University, Providence, RI in 2013. He is a molecular cell biologist by training with a background in molecular genetics and musculoskeletal research. Dr. Jayasuriya’s laboratory has two main focuses: (1) improving joint injury repair strategies using native tissue stem cell populations (2) elucidating the biological mechanisms that underlie chronic degenerative joint diseases like osteoarthritis.

Janine Molino, Ph.D.

Janine received her Masters in Statistics from Stanford University and her Ph.D. in Health Services Research from Boston University School. She has served as an assistant professor at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University since 2018. She is an experienced biostatistician with a demonstrated history of working in the medical and higher education industries. She is skilled in statistical software, including SAS, R, Stata, SPSS, Epidemiology, and advance statistical modeling techniques.

Brett D. Owens, MD is a fellowship-trained, board certified orthopedic sports medicine surgeon, specializing in arthroscopic repair of sports-related injuries as well as complex knee and shoulder reconstructions. A Rhode Island native, he was recruited to University Orthopedics after serving as the Chief of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine at Keller Army Hospital at West Point, NY, where he cared for soldiers and cadets at the United States Military Academy and was Team Physician for the Army lacrosse, rugby, and football teams. While deployed in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom, LTC Owens served as Chief of Orthopedics at the 86th Combat Support Hospital. He has published over 200 articles in peer-reviewed medical journals, given over 300 national or international presentations, edited 3 textbooks on orthopedic injuries. His research has garnered 5 major awards from the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine.

Richard M. Terek, M.D.

Richard M. Terek, M.D., a specialist in adult reconstructive surgery and musculoskeletal oncology, is an attending orthopedic surgeon at the Miriam and Rhode Island Hospitals. Dr. Terek performs hip and knee replacements for patients with arthritis at the Total Joint Center at The Miriam Hospital. He is also an expert in the treatment of patients with osteogenic sarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, chondrosarcoma, soft-tissue sarcoma, metastatic cancer (cancers such as breast, prostate or lung which have spread to the bones), and benign bone and soft tissue tumors. Additionally, Dr. Terek is actively involved with teaching medical students at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and is Director of the Orthopaedic Oncology Laboratory.

Dr. Yang received his M.D. from Lanzhou University School of Medicine and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Sichuan University School of Medicine in China. He completed his post-doctoral training in the field of cellular signal transduction and cancer biology with Dr. Benjamin G. Neel at Harvard Medical School. Currently, Dr. Yang is appointed as an associate professor of Orthopaedics and Medicine at the department of Orthopaedics of Brown Alpert Medical School.