Hand, Elbow and Shoulder Specialist Rejoins Ortho Faculty

John Claude Elfar M.D.

An upper extremity orthopaedic surgeon with a research interest in exploring pharmaceutical therapies to accelerate nerve injury repair is the latest recruit to join the Department of Orthopaedics. John Claude Elfar, M.D., will join the faculty in mid-August as an assistant professor of Orthopaedics, becoming the fifth physician in the department’s Hand and Upper Extremity Division.

Elfar trained here at the Medical Center, where he served as chief resident during his last year. He received a double bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in Biomedical Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering before studying medicine at Harvard Medical School. He went on to complete an Advanced Trauma Fellowship in Hand and Upper Extremity at Massachusetts General Hospital before landing another fellowship in Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery at the Cincinnati Hand Surgery Center, the most prestigious training program in the nation for hand surgery.

“John was just finishing his residency here at the same time I was in the midst of developing strategies and goals for the Musculoskeletal IDP for the Medical Center’s Strategic Plan. I remember thinking that he was exactly the type of recruit we would want to target: a physician-researcher who would be equally comfortable in the OR as he is in the lab,” said Regis O’Keefe, M.D., Ph.D., chair of Orthopaedics and director of the Musculoskeletal IDP. “I am thrilled that he opted to join our department, and know that he will help us move our translational research forward.”

Elfar plans to expand upon his preliminary research that showed a possible neuroprotective role for erythropoietin, a “doping” drug used by elite athletes to boost performance, in peripheral nerve injuries. His other research plans include reviewing clinical outcomes data to determine best practices in treating hand injuries, and developing new ways to assess functional abilities using modern technology.