Ferguson Lab Trainee Spotlight: Rahul Ramanathan, MD

Rahul Ramanathan, MD, clinical research fellow in the Ferguson Laboratory for Orthopaedic and Spine Research, is an orthopaedic surgery research track resident in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.

Dr. Ramanathan has a longstanding connection to the Ferguson Laboratory, dating back nearly a decade to his time as an undergraduate student at the University of Pittsburgh. While pursuing his undergraduate degree in bioengineering, Dr. Ramanathan was introduced to the lab by one of his mentors, sparking his interest in orthopaedic research and surgery as a career path.

“The Ferguson Lab was my first introduction to orthopaedics,” says Dr. Ramanathan. “I started as a freshman in the lab, working on biomechanical studies with robotics and working on investigations of cervical spine kinematics happening in the lab. That experience really set the stage for my interest in orthopaedics.”

During his time as an undergraduate, Dr. Ramanathan worked closely with several mentors, including Patrick Bosch, MD (former pediatric orthopaedic faculty) and orthopaedic spine specialist Joon Lee, MD, who helped to guide his work and who served as his first surgeon-mentor.

His first major lab experience was with the Orthopaedic Robotics Lab (ORL), directed by Richard Debski, PhD, and Volker Musahl, MD, where he collaborated on studies of knee biomechanics, a research area that fascinated him and ultimately led him to pursue a career at the intersection of engineering and medicine: orthopaedic surgery.

“Working with mentors like Dr. Sowa and Dr. Lee as an undergrad helped me gain hands-on experience in cadaveric and molecular studies, which deepened my interest in how things we investigate in the lab can have a real clinical impact for patients,” says Dr. Ramanathan.

After completing his bioengineering degree at Pitt, Dr. Ramanathan attended the Carle Illinois College of Medicine, the world’s first engineering-based medical school. He was part of only the second class to graduate from the innovative program, which provided a blend of medical education interwoven with engineering principles.

Now between his first and second years of residency in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Dr. Ramanathan is particularly drawn to spine surgery, a discipline that combines his interests in both engineering and clinical practice.

“Seeing Dr. Lee’s surgical expertise almost a decade ago for the first time was a transformative experience that profoundly impacted my career path. Witnessing patients regain their mobility and quality of life inspired me to dedicate my career to orthopaedic surgery. Now, with Dr. Lee leading the newly established Bethel Musculoskeletal Research Center (BMRC), I am thrilled to be part of a groundbreaking initiative that has the potential to revolutionize the future of musculoskeletal research.”

Dr. Ramanathan’s engineering background continues to play a role in his approach to orthopaedic surgery. He is particularly excited about the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning into spine surgery.

“I want to be at the forefront of AI integration in surgery,” he says. “We’re already seeing AI used in preoperative planning and surgical assistance, but I envision a future where AI and surgeons work together more seamlessly.”

His current research projects in the Ferguson Lab focus on understanding the origins of chronic lower back pain. He is part of a team working to develop a small animal model to investigate ligamentum flavum hypertrophy (LFH), a key contributor to spinal stenosis. This work, led by Nam Vo, PhD; Gwendolyn Sowa, MD, PhD; Peter Alexander, MD; and Joon Lee, MD, is part of a broader effort to better understand the causes of lower back pain.

“We’re surgically inducing instability in the spines of our models to study how LFH develops and leads to nerve impingement,” says Dr. Ramanathan.

“Our goal is to eventually test therapeutics that could potentially reduce or prevent LFH, offering patients a nonsurgical solution to back pain.”

Outside of his research, Dr. Ramanathan emphasizes the importance of patient-centered care, particularly in selecting the right patients for surgery. He sees AI as a tool that could help surgeons make more accurate predictions about surgical outcomes.

“One of the challenges in spine surgery is that it’s not always clear which patients will benefit from surgery. AI can help us sift through complex data and identify the patients who are most likely to have successful outcomes based on their characteristics – a truly personalized approach to practicing medicine,” says Dr. Ramanathan.

“I’ve had the honor of working in the Ferguson Lab for a long time with many incredibly skilled researchers and mentors, and I’m grateful for the support and invaluable training I’ve received here,” says Dr. Ramanathan. “Pittsburgh has always felt like home, and UPMC felt like the ideal place for me to continue growing as both a clinician and a researcher.”