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Michael J. Yaszemski, M.D., Ph.D., Mayo Clinic orthopedic surgeon and researcher, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine. Selection is one of the highest honors in medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. Dr. Yaszemski is one of two Mayo Clinic physicians to be elected this year. Andrea Cheville, M.D., physical medicine and rehabilitation researcher and director of the Cancer Rehabilitation Program at Mayo Clinic also was selected. “To have colleagues from distinct practice areas recognized in the same year is an incredible honor for them individually and for Mayo Clinic as a whole,” says John Noseworthy, M.D., president and CEO, Mayo Clinic. “Such recognition underscores the commitment of our physician-scientists in advancing research to address unmet patient needs, educating the next generation of physicians and scientists, and providing unparalleled care for patients and their families.” Dr. Yaszemski has a spine surgery practice at Mayo Clinic and routinely cares for patients who have skeletal defects that require reconstruction. His clinical practice includes spinal surgery and oncologic surgery of the spine, sacrum and pelvis. “Dr. Yaszemski is known as a strong clinical collaborator and he has built a differentiated surgical practice at Mayo Clinic. His team approach to complex spine surgery often includes colleagues in neurosurgery and is exemplary in the singular focus on the needs of the patient,” says Mark W. Pagnano, M.D., chair, Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Mayo Clinic. “Dr. Yaszemski’s surgical contributions and research advances continue to make a difference, not just for patients at Mayo Clinic but for patients nationwide and patients worldwide. His surgical skills are well-recognized amongst the nation’s spine surgeons.” Dr. Yaszemski is the director of the Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials Laboratory. His research is in the development of biodegradable scaffold polymers to support bone regeneration and spinal cord regeneration using tissue engineering strategies. He is a deputy director within Mayo Clinic’s Center for Regenerative Medicine. His research focus areas include: Biodegradable polymers Bone tissue engineering Spinal cord regeneration Nerve tissue engineering Sarcoma cell and molecular biology Dr. Yaszemski's long-term research goal is to change the way that many common debilitating, life-threatening musculoskeletal conditions are treated. The use of biodegradable polymers in bone tissue engineering will be significant to patients with spine instability or spinal cord injuries.

Previously published in Mayo Clinic's research magazine, Discovery's Edge. As a science writer, I’m typically juggling a recorder, a note pad and a pen. Sometimes ...

The annual “Feel the Beat” event hosted by the Todd and Karen Wanek Family Program for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) will be held on ...

The Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine will co-host the 2016 World Stem Cell Summit  December 6-9 in West Palm Beach, FL. Organized by ...

Previously published in Mayo Clinic Magazine Today, about 60,000 Americans have had their larynx removed due to disease or trauma. These people are missing out on many of life’s little pleasures because the procedure’s resultant hole left them without a voice and created an opening directly into their lungs. A simple shower is dangerous as even the slightest amount of water in the lungs can be deadly. Bad weather can be lethal. Things that used to be a mere annoyance — such as a housefly — are now life-threatening. It’s not overstating it to say that danger lurks everywhere after a laryngectomy. And just at the time you need extra support, your ability to communicate is greatly impaired. A simple interaction with a store clerk is frustrating and can deliver looks of horror and pity. As an ear, nose and throat specialist at Mayo Clinic, David Lott, M.D., has seen laryngectomies impair too many lives. “I’m tired of seeing patients over and over and knowing there’s nothing to do,” he says. Some patients become so hopeless in the face of a laryngectomy that they forgo the procedure, opting for certain death over such deeply impaired living. Dr. Lott wants to restore hope for these people. And with the latest breakthroughs in transplant and regenerative medicine, he knows how.

Often perinatal fistulae resist treatment, both with medications and through treatment with a seton, a thread that is placed to promote drainage and healing. Currently ...

This story originally appeared on the In the Loop blog. ____________________ Last July, Jennifer Gutman told Toledo, Ohio’s 13abc Action News that the day doctors diagnosed ...

When current treatment isn’t enough, patients at Mayo Clinic often are among the first to benefit from innovative therapies, new techniques and technologies. For ...

The American Society of Transplantation (AST) awarded its highest honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award, to Thomas Gonwa, M.D. at the recent American Transplant Congress in ...