Suzanne Maher, PhD

Appointments

Assistant Scientist, Hospital for Special Surgery

Assistant Professor of Applied Biomechanics in Orthopaedic Surgery, Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Special Volunteer, Cartilage Biology and Orthopaedics Branch, NIAMS, National Institutes of Health

 

Selected Publications

Maher, S.A., Prendergast, P.J., 2002, Pre-Clinical Testing of Cemented Hip Prostheses, Journal of Biomechanics, 35:257-65.

Maher, S.A., Lipman, J.D., Curley, L., Glichrist, M.D., Wright, T.M., Mechanical Performance of Ceramic Acetabular Liners under Conditions of Impingement, Journal of Arthroplasty, 2003, 18(7):936-41.

Stolk J, Maher SA, Verdonschot N, Prendergast PJ, Huiskes R. Can finite element models detect clinically inferior cemented hip implants? Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research 2003; 409: 138-50.

Maher, S.A., Furman, B.D., Wright, T.M., 2004, The Effect of Reduced Fracture Toughness on Pitting and Delamination Type Wear of Elevated Cross-Linked Polyethylene, ASTM STP 1445, S.M. Kurtz, R. Gsell, and J. Martell, Eds., ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA ISBN: 0-8031-3474-6: 137-150.

Rodeo S.A., Maher S.A., Hidaka C., What's New in Orthopaedic Research, J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2004 Sep;86-A(9):2085-95.

For more publications, please see the PubMed listing.  

Research Description

Biomaterials and Biomechanics of Joint Resurfacing

Dr. Maher has been an Assistant Scientist at Hospital for Special Surgery since 2002. To date, her research interests have focused on the pre-clinical experimental evaluation of novel biomaterials for use in total joint replacements. More recently, she has embarked on a path towards the design and evaluation of soft polymeric materials for the purposes of resurfacing damaged joins. Her current exploratory projects include using polymers to repair focal cartilage defects, developing meniscal substitutes, and using drug delivery concepts to facilitate implant/tissue integration. Dr. Maher has a particular interest in the mechanisms of integration. In 2003 she was awarded a MacArthur fellowship award to explore methods to encourage chondrocyte infiltration into polymer constructs. A fellowship from Hospital for Special Surgery (2004-6) was provided to allow Dr. Maher to study the molecular and cellular mechanisms of cartilage integration with Dr. Rocky Tuan at the Cartilage Orthopaedics and Biology Branch at the National Institutes of Health.