Global Programs and Strategy Alliance (GPS Alliance) of the University of Minnesota awarded Filipino orthopedic expert, Dr. Ramon Gustilo, with the Distinguished Leadership Award for Internationals. This is in recognition for his contributions in the global community of orthopedics and his dedication to education, training, and research.

Dr. Gustilo, a global expert in the field of orthopedics, served as a professor at the University of Minnesota Orthopaedic Surgery Department and was a consultant to the United States Surgeon General. He is the founder of two important associations for orthopedic care in the US – the Orthopaedic Trauma Hospital Association (OTHA) and the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA).

He also holds nine patents on devices, instrumentations, and replacements for various orthopedic cases. Among his inventions include one of the earliest total knee replacements in world known as Gustilo knee, the first hip replacement approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use without bone cement called the BIAS Hip, and a total knee replacement system called the Genesis knee. He is also credited for developing the world’s most widely used classification system for open fractures in the world, the Gustilo Open Fracture Classification System.

Dr. Gustilo continues to design and develop new inventions through his company Orthopaedic International, Inc. (OII) which established a manufacturing plant in the Philippines that produces several orthopedic products that are sold worldwide.

Dr. Gustilo, through OII, and the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (PCHRD-DOST) collaborated in developing the Axis Knee Replacement System, a unique knee replacement system that is based on Asian anatomy. It introduces the use of an instrumentation system which makes knee replacement more accurate and does not entirely depend on the skills of the surgeon performing the procedure. This undertaking was arguably the first public-partnership program (PPP) for health research in the Philippines.

The award received by Dr. Gustilo is annually given by the GPS Alliance to the University’s alumni and associated individuals who have distinguished themselves as leaders in their professional careers.