PROVIDENCE – Dr. Edward Akelman has been named chief of the department of orthopedics at Rhode Island and The Miriam hospitals and will become chair of the department of orthopaedics at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and the Vincent Zecchino Professor of Orthopeadics, pending approval of Brown’s corporation.
Akelman, an internationally known expert in hand surgery and orthopedic education, joined Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University in 1985 and has served as the chief of hand, upper extremity and microvascular surgery for the last 30 years. He replaces Dr. Michael Ehrlich, who retired late last year.
“Dr. Akelman is truly a leader within the national orthopedic medical community. We are thrilled to have someone of his caliber and vision lead and help build upon this renowned program,” said Dr. Timothy J. Babineau, president and CEO of Lifespan. He noted that the orthopedics department, with more than 50 physicians, is one of Lifespan’s busiest specialties.
Akelman is currently a professor of orthopedics and the Edward Akelman M.D. Scholar In Hand Surgery. He also leads Brown University’s nationally recognized hand, upper extremity and microvascular surgery fellowship program.
“We are thrilled that Ed Akelman is going to take on this leadership position,” said Dr. Jack A. Elias, dean of medicine and biologic sciences at Brown University. “His accomplishments over the last 30 years – in patient care, in teaching and in service to the school, the hospital and his colleagues locally, nationally and internationally have been outstanding. I look forward to his vision and leadership of the department as we build to a future of even greater excellence at the Alpert Medical School.”
Akelman, a resident of Barrington, earned his bachelor’s degree at Princeton University and his medical degree at Dartmouth Medical School. He completed his general surgery residency at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, his orthopedic residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital and spine and hand surgery fellowships at Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven and Roosevelt Hospital in New York, respectively.
Akelman is past president of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand. He served as chairman of the Council on Education of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, and served on its board of directors. A past president of the New England Hand Society and the Rhode Island Orthopaedic Society, Akelman has served on Rhode Island Hospital’s board of trustees, its board of governors and as president of its medical executive committee.
His research interests include orthopedic education, treatment of Dupuytren’s disease, nerve compression syndromes of the upper extremities, wrist and carpal kinematics, and wrist injuries.
