Rick W. Wright, M.D.

DEPARTMENT OF Orthopaedic Surgery
Keywords: animal model, ligament, knee

A specialist in sports medicine, Dr. Wright has clinical interests in athletic injuries in a variety of areas including the shoulder, elbow, knee and foot and ankle. His research efforts currently focus on the healing of knee ligaments. Along with collaborator Dr. Mitch Botney, he has developed an animal model to study ligament healing in the mouse. Dr. Wright is currently using transgenic mice that do not make the enzyme matrix metalloelastase, thought to be important for remodeling of the ligament tissue to provide biomechanical strength. Collaborating on his projects are Dr. Linda J. Sandell, who is providing insight on the biology of ligament healing, and Dr. Matthew J. Silva, who is testing the functional properties of the ligament.