James Kang
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James D. Kang | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Seoul, South Korea |
| Alma mater | Washington University in St. Louis, University of Oklahoma College of Medicine |
| Known for | Research on intervertebral disc degeneration |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Orthopedic Surgery, Spinal Surgery |
| Institutions | Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, University of Pittsburgh |
James D. Kang is an American academic, orthopedic surgeon, and scientist, specializing in spinal surgery. He is Chair Emeritus of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and holds the Thomas S. Thornhill and Karen N. Thornhill Distinguished Professorship at Harvard Medical School.[1]
Kang was born in Seoul, South Korea, and immigrated to the United States in 1967. He attended Putnam City High School in Oklahoma City, graduating in 1978. He earned a degree in chemical engineering from Washington University in St. Louis in 1982 and obtained his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine in 1986. Kang completed his orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 1992, followed by a fellowship in spine surgery at Case Western Reserve University in 1993 under the direction of Henry Bohlman.[2]
Career
Following his fellowship, Kang joined the faculty of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where he was later promoted to full professor and appointed the UPMC Endowed Chair in Orthopaedic Surgery in 2007.[3] He also served as the executive vice chairman for clinical services and director of the Ferguson Laboratory Musculoskeletal Research Center for Spine Research at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC).[4]
In 2015, Kang was appointed chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at BWH, succeeding Thomas S. Thornhill.[5] In 2016, he received the Thomas and Karen Thornhill Professorship at Harvard Medical School. After a ten-year tenure as chair, he transitioned to chair emeritus and distinguished professor at Harvard Medical School in 2025.[6]
Kang served as President of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery for the 2023–2024 term, a role that kept him centrally engaged with issues of board certification, maintenance of certification, and professional standards for orthopaedic surgeons nationwide. As ABOS president he publicly addressed evolving issues such as the responsible use of artificial intelligence in assessment and exam workflows[7][8]
In 2016, he was also president of the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine.[9]