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Benjamin Aaron Alman

James R. Urbaniak, M.D., Distinguished Professor of Orthopedic Surgery
Orthopaedic Surgery

Current Appointments & Affiliations


James R. Urbaniak, M.D., Distinguished Professor of Orthopedic Surgery · 2013 - Present Orthopaedic Surgery, Clinical Science Departments
Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery · 2013 - Present Orthopaedic Surgery, Clinical Science Departments
Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery · 2013 - Present Orthopaedic Surgery, Clinical Science Departments
Professor in Pediatrics · 2014 - Present Pediatrics, Clinical Science Departments
Professor in Cell Biology · 2014 - Present Cell Biology, Basic Science Departments
Professor in the Department of Pathology · 2015 - Present Pathology, Clinical Science Departments
Professor in Pharmacology and Cancer Biology · 2020 - Present Pharmacology & Cancer Biology, Basic Science Departments
Professor in Neurosurgery · 2022 - Present Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery
Member of the Duke Cancer Institute · 2013 - Present Duke Cancer Institute, Institutes and Centers
Co-Director of the Duke Regeneration Center · 2021 - Present Duke Regeneration Center, Basic Science Departments

In the News


Published May 9, 2024
Inaugural Commencement for the Occupational Therapy Doctorate Program
Published March 26, 2024
Duke Awarded Up to $33 Million to Develop OA Therapies that Rebuild Bone and Joints
Published January 22, 2020
We Now Know Why It Takes Longer for Older People's Bones to Heal

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Recent Publications


Impact of Lumbar Degenerative Changes on Vertebral Bone Strength: A Finite Element Analysis.

Journal Article J Orthop Res · February 4, 2025 Assessing the bone condition in patients with spinal disease is clinically valuable. However, evaluating bone strength in the presence of spine degenerative changes is challenging. Quantitative computed tomography (QCT) and finite element analysis (FEA) ha ... Full text Link to item Cite

Single cell analysis of Idh mutant growth plates identifies cell populations responsible for longitudinal bone growth and enchondroma formation.

Journal Article Sci Rep · October 31, 2024 Enchondromas are a common tumor in bone that can occur as multiple lesions in enchondromatosis, which is associated with deformity of the affected bone. These lesions harbor somatic mutations in IDH and driving expression of a mutant Idh1 in Col2 expressin ... Full text Link to item Cite

The COMPASS complex maintains the metastatic capacity imparted by a subpopulation of cells in UPS.

Journal Article iScience · July 19, 2024 Intratumoral heterogeneity is common in cancer, particularly in sarcomas like undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS), where individual cells demonstrate a high degree of cytogenic diversity. Previous studies showed that a small subset of cells within U ... Full text Link to item Cite
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Recent Grants


Boston Children's/UCLA/Duke Next Generation Regeneration for Osteoarthritis (BUD NextGenRegen for OA)

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health · 2024 - 2029

The Duke Preparing Research scholars In bioMEdical sciences (PRIME): Cancer Research Program

ResearchPreceptor · Awarded by National Cancer Institute · 2023 - 2028

Advancing Cancer Therapy through Groundbreaking Research in Radiation Biology

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Roswell Park Cancer Institute · 2023 - 2028

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Education, Training & Certifications


Thomas Jefferson University, Sidney Kimmel Medical College · 1986 M.D.