Constance R. Chu, M.D.
Dr. Constance Chu is an Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh, Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and of Bioengineering.  She is also the Director of the Cartilage Restoration Program.   Most recently, she was named the Ferguson Endowed Chair in Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine.  In addition to her academic career, Dr. Chu is on Attending Staff at UPMC Shadyside Outpatient Clinic, UPMC Shadyside-Presbyterian Hospital, and UPMC Southside Hospital.

Dr. Chu graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1983, becoming the first Chinese-American woman to graduate from West Point.  After a distinguished military career, she graduated cum laude from Harvard Medical School in 1992 and completed her orthopaedic residency at the University of California San Diego.  She returned to Harvard for subspecialty training in joint replacement and cartilage repair at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Dr. Chu’s research interests include:
  • cartilage tissue engineering, focusing on stem cell and novel polymer technology and the creation of novel “smart polymers” for controlled in vivo release of growth factors to optimize the cartilage repair potential of human bone marrow stem cells;
  • optical coherence tomography (OCT), which is a novel imaging technology that can acquire cross-sectional images of articular cartilage comparable to low power histology without damaging or removing the tissue;
  • chondroprotection, with an emphasis on optimizing the survival of the stressed chondrocyte as a strategy to delay or prevent the onset of debilitating osteoarthritis;
  • clinical research, focusing on enhanced clinical diagnosis of early osteoarthritis and responsiveness of the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) subjective knee form in patients treated for articular cartilage defects.

Dr. Chu recently received the honor of being only the second American woman awarded the ABC Traveling Fellowship in Orthopaedics.  This is the oldest and most prestigious traveling fellowship in orthopaedics and recognizes emerging academic leaders.  In 2007, she received the Kappa Delta Young Investigator Award from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in recognition of her research efforts, which have had a direct impact on the clinical practice of orthopaedic surgery. 

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CONTACT INFORMATION

Constance R. Chu, M.D.
Phone: (412) 802-4100
Email: chucr@upmc.edu