Since the 1970’s, the OI Foundation’s Medical Advisory Council (MAC) has been comprised of outstanding men and women who have experience in research and the many clinical care specialties related to OI. Over the years, MAC members have made discoveries that advanced our understanding of OI and improved clinical care. MAC members volunteer their time and expertise to review OI Foundation publications, and to advise the OI Foundation’s CEO, staff, and Board of Directors on the implications of new research discoveries and new medicines or treatments related to OI. They answer questions from the OI community and from the medical community.
On July 1, 2022, we will welcome four new members to the OI Foundation MAC: Michael B. Bober, MD, PhD; Jeanne M. Franzone, MD; Eric T Rush, MD; and Maegen Wallace, MD.
Michael B. Bober, MD, PhD is a pediatrician and geneticist who directs the Skeletal Dysplasia Program at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE. He is a Professor of Pediatrics at Thomas Jefferson University’s Stanley Kimmel Medical College. Dr. Bober completed a combined M.D./Ph.D. program in Biomedical Engineering at Tulane University. His dissertation research focused on the genetic response of bone to mechanical and hormonal stimulation. He then went on to complete a Pediatrics Residency at Tulane University and a Medical Genetics Residency and Fellowship at Johns Hopkins University. He is a board certified in Pediatrics, Clinical Genetics and Molecular Genetics. Clinically, his practice is exclusively focused on the diagnosis and management of children with skeletal dysplasia. Click here to view Dr. Bober’s publications.
Jeanne M. Franzone, MD is a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon at the Nemours Alfred. I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE. She is the Co-Director of the Multidisciplinary Osteogenesis Imperfecta Program. At Nemours, the multidisciplinary OI team provides comprehensive OI care from the prenatal period through the age of 35 years. Dr. Franzone completed orthopaedic surgery residency at Columbia University Medical Center. She then completed a pediatric orthopaedic surgery fellowship at the Nemours Alfred I. duPont Hospital for children and an additional fellowship in limb deformity, lengthening and reconstruction at the International Center for Limb Lengthening in Baltimore, MD. Dr. Franzone is a member of the Limb Lengthening and Reconstruction Society and serves on the Faculty for the OIF OI TeleECHO series. Dr. Franzone is the incoming Co-Chair of the International Conference on Children’s Bone Health (ICCBH) Young Investigator Networking group. Dr. Franzone is on the Scientific Advisory Board for the OIF’s Preparing Adults with Osteogenesis Imperfecta to Engage in Research on Access and Quality of Care for Their Rare Disease PCORI project. Click here to view Dr. Franzone’s list of publications.
Eric T Rush, MD is a Clinical Geneticist at Children’s Mercy Hospital and the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC). He is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. He is Board Certified in Pediatrics, Internal Medicine and Clinical Genetics. He was previously the medical director of the osteogenesis imperfecta and metabolic bone clinics at Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska and currently is the co-director of the Children’s Mercy Skeletal Dysplasia clinic. Dr. Rush received Bachelor of Science degrees in Biochemistry and Biology with Concentration in Genetics at the University of Kansas in 2001. He received his medical degree at University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, KS in 2005. He completed a residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2009 and Chief Residency in Pediatrics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2010. He finished his training with a Clinical Genetics fellowship at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2012. Among his clinical interests are osteogenesis Imperfecta, hypophosphatasia, X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH), cancer genetics, cardiovascular genetics, dysmorphology, Personalized Medicine, and Genetics of Common Disease. His research interests include extraskeletal manifestations of osteogenesis Imperfecta, best practices in treatment of hypophosphatasia, skeletal pathology in peroxisomal biogenesis disorders, and molecular characterization of rare syndromes. Dr. Rush’s professional affiliations include American College of Medical Genetics, American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, the International Society for Clinical Densitometry, and Alpha Omega Alpha. He is on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Rare Bone Diseases Alliance and the Global Foundation for Peroxisomal Disease and is on the Board of Directors for RareKC. Click here to view Dr. Rush’s list of publications.
Maegen Wallace, MD is an Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and practices pediatric orthopaedic surgery at Children’s Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. A native of Nebraska, she graduated from Missouri State University with a BS in Sports Medicine and Athletic Training and the University of Nebraska Medical Center with her medical degree. She completed her orthopaedic surgery residency at Saint Louis University and her pediatric orthopaedic surgery fellowship at AI duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware. She is the director of the Osteogenesis Imperfecta clinic at Children’s hospital in Omaha and serves as a board member for the Jansen’s Foundation. She has committed a significant portion of her clinical practice to OI and the majority of her academic practice to OI. Click here to view Dr. Wallace’s publications.
