Hassan Ghomrawi, Ph.D., MPH, has joined the UAB Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine as an associate professor and the inaugural vice chair for Research and Innovation for the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery as well as associate director for the Comprehensive Arthritis, Musculoskeletal, Bone and Autoimmunity Center (CAMBAC).
In his role as vice chair for Research and Innovation, Ghomrawi will oversee and develop all research-related activities within the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. As associate director for CAMBAC, he will oversee activities of the center including collaborative research and educational initiatives.
Ghomrawi is a surgical health services and outcomes researcher and health economist. His research interests focus on the effect of geospatial social determinants of health on the timing and outcomes of hip and knee replacements. Ghomrawi also has a specific interest in using data from consumer wearable devices, such as Fitbit, to study recovery after surgery and predict complications before they occur.
“I have always been driven by new research ideas that would improve care and outcomes for patients,” said Ghomrawi. “Recent advancements in geospatial analyses and consumer wearable technologies provide unprecedented and exciting new venues to substantially improve patient outcomes.”
Ghomrawi was drawn to orthopaedics early in his career and noticed there were few researchers with his interests and experience in the field.
“The potential impact I could have on improving care by doing research in orthopaedics was significantly higher than in other medical fields such as cardiology or oncology,” said Ghomrawi.
Ghomrawi was interested in and impressed by the Heersink School of Medicine and the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. He noted that he was fascinated by the school’s tremendous growth over the last two decades as well as its strategic focus on social determinants of health and digital health, both of which are interests of his. He specifically mentioned being impressed by the pioneering work on social determinants of health by Dr. Mona Fouad and others. Ghomrawi also recognized the potential for growth within the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and the sincere commitment Steven Theiss, M.D., professor and chair of the department, showed to facilitating this growth.
“We are thrilled to have Dr. Ghomrawi join our department,” said Theiss. “He is an accomplished, respected health services investigator and leader who will elevate our research program to national prominence.”
Ghomrawi is excited about future collaboration between CAMBAC and the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery through his dual leadership appointments.
CAMBAC works to establish collaborative synergies across schools, departments, and divisions at UAB. Building on its traditional strengths in immunology and autoimmunity, the center faculty has developed programs in translational human genetics, focusing on the immunogenetic basis of autoimmune disease, and in outcomes and population-based research.
“Dr. Ghomrawi brings decades of musculoskeletal health services research leadership and innovation to CAMBAC, where he will serve as associate director,” said Kenneth Saag, M.D., M.Sc., director of CAMBAC and director of the UAB Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology. “We are most eager to engage him in new projects and to greatly benefit institutionally from his impressive skill set and highly collaborative work style.”
Ghomrawi sees his position with CAMBAC as a complementary one to his role with the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.
“Within the department, my goal is to ramp up its research portfolio, especially when it comes to NIH funding, so that the UAB Department of Orthopaedic Surgery becomes a national leader in orthopaedic research,” said Ghomrawi. “I see my CAMBAC role as one that will facilitate interdepartmental collaboration, especially given the center’s musculoskeletal focus, that will further strengthen our orthopaedic research efforts.”
Ghomrawi received both his Bachelor of Science in Biology and his Master of Public Health in Health Services Administration from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. He then received his Doctor of Philosophy in Health Services Research, Policy, and Administration from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. He has received numerous NIH grants and has published over 100 articles in some of the most esteemed medical journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, and Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research.
Ghomrawi joins UAB from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, where he was an associate professor in the Departments of Surgery, Pediatrics, and Medicine, and associate director of the Center for Global Surgery. He also served as co-director of the SURGITECH Group in the Division of Pediatric Surgery at Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago.