Arthrex Orthobiologics Associate Product Manager Johnny Williams, PhD, recently spoke at the 50th Annual Florida Association of Medical Examiners Educational Conference in Sarasota, Florida. The conference, jointly sponsored by Florida’s District 12 Medical Examiner’s Office and the University of Florida College of Medicine, aims to provide up-to-date information regarding the latest topics in forensic medicine and death investigation.
Johnny, whose PhD research focused on tissue transplantation, joined Catherine R. Miller, MD, chief medical examiner with the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s Office, who presented on best practices for death investigators while working with tissue procurement networks.
“The takeaway from Dr. Miller’s talk,” Johnny said, “was that, in the vast majority of cases, the sensitive nature of tissue donation can be prioritized while still allowing medical examiners to complete the autopsies and additional testing required to perform their jobs. In other words, we want every donor’s gift realized; thus, we want to make sure medical examiners realize the vital role they play in the tissue procurement process and highlight the synergistic opportunity available to them by working closely with tissue procurement teams.”
Johnny spoke to conference attendees about his own experience as a tissue recipient and how his appreciation for tissue donation has shaped his education and, now, career.
After a football injury when he was 16, Johnny underwent surgery for a broken femur. When he was still experiencing pain a few months later, further diagnostic tests found a chondral defect on his medial femoral condyle, meaning damage to the cartilage where his femur meets the inside of his knee.
“That’s when I received my first osteochondral allograft transplant,” Johnny said.
Osteochondral allograft (OCA) transplantation involves using healthy donor tissue to repair a cartilage injury or defect. As was the case with Johnny, most OCA surgeries are performed in the knee.
“Everything was going well after my transplant,” Johnny said, “until I tore my meniscus.”
That’s when it was discovered that his lateral femoral condyle had degenerated, too. And, at 18 years old, Johnny had his second tissue transplant.
“I underwent a total of 13 surgeries in those two years,” he said, “and spent most of that time in pain, walking with the aid of crutches or a cane.”
After high school, Johnny enrolled at the University of Missouri-Columbia with the goal of becoming a biophysics professor. It wasn’t until after graduation that he decided to seek a doctorate studying OCA transplantation.
“Working in several physics labs led me to realize the potential to help patients through my research would be much higher if I worked directly with a medical device company.”
As he neared the end of his doctoral program this past spring, Johnny began looking for career opportunities.
“The lab I worked in at Mizzou did several studies on behalf of medical device companies, and after seeing its commitment to innovation, Arthrex became my number one choice – by far.”
Johnny said one of the biggest motivators for entering the field of tissue transplantation was to honor his two donors as well as the countless other donors who have contributed to improving the lives of tissue recipients.
“I want to do what I can to improve the efficacy of tissue transplantation procedures to ensure that all those donated gifts of life have the best outcome possible,” he said.