Xiaojuan Li, PhD, Staff in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Founding Director of the Program of Musculoskeletal Imaging, has been appointed the inaugural Bonutti Family Endowed Chair for Musculoskeletal Research. This endowment illustrates both Lerner Research Institute’s robust musculoskeletal imaging program and the translational and bidirectional nature of research at Cleveland Clinic.
This gift was generously established to support advanced imaging programs within Cleveland Clinic’s Musculoskeletal Research Center. As a center member, Dr. Li’s research focuses on the use of biomedical imaging to diagnose disease and study treatment approaches, with particular interest in osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis. She also holds joint appointments in the Imaging and Orthopaedics and Rheumatology Institutes.
Dr. Li has been well-funded by the National Institutes of Health, private foundations and industry. She is the co-author on over 130 publications and several book chapters. Dr. Li has been honored with numerous awards for her work including the 2015 Distinguished Investigator Award from the Academy of Radiology Research. She was recently elected to the 2019 American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering College of Fellows, which represents the top 2% of researchers in the field of Medical and Biological Engineering.
Before being recruited to Cleveland Clinic in 2017, Dr. Li was a Professor in the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She obtained her BS from Tsinghua University, China, and her PhD in Bioengineering from University of California, Berkley and UCSF.
The generosity of Peter Bonutti, MD, made this award possible. Dr. Bonutti is an esteemed orthopedic surgeon practicing at The Bonutti Clinic in Effingham, Illinois, and associate clinical professor at University of Arkansas, with deep ties to Cleveland. He is from the city and completed surgical training and a research fellowship at Cleveland Clinic. In addition to providing innovative musculoskeletal care for national and international patients, he has patented a number of commercial products and led new, minimally invasive surgical techniques.
Philanthropy funds allow investigators to test and validate research projects in the lab necessary to secure larger external grant support. In this way, donors and philanthropic support are essential to accelerating discoveries that can be translated into new treatment options. Learn more about ways to support Lerner research through giving.
Staff
Director, Program for Advanced Musculoskeletal Imaging
Lab Profile
The Osteoarthritis Imaging Center library will house data from clinicians and researchers working on treatments and care, as well as institutions conducting clinical trials.
A multidisciplinary team of researchers, led by Dr. Suneel Apte, identified a new biomarker for osteoarthritis that may contribute to cartilage damage and destruction.
Dr. Li seeks to identify a faster and more efficient non-invasive method to identify patients at risk for osteoarthritis by improving magnetic resonance imaging techniques.
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