AO Trauma North America Board

After obtaining a bachelor's degree from Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas, Dr. Crist earned his medical degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine. He completed his residency at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, Wichita, and a fellowship in orthopaedic trauma at the University of California-Davis. Dr. Crist is the Director of the Orthopaedic Trauma Service, Director of the Orthopaedic Trauma Fellowship, and the Vice Chairman for Business Development. He specializes in orthopaedic trauma/fracture care, hip and pelvis reconstruction including total hip arthroplasty, and young adult hip disorders/hip preservation. Dr. Crist is a Tenured Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Missouri School of Medicine. He has research interests in fracture care, nonunions, deformity, infections, anterior total hip arthroplasty, patient-centered outcomes and hip preservation procedures. From the beginning of his career, he’s been involved with AO and continues to enjoy teaching at AO events, participating in committee and leadership roles, and being a part of the AO Family.

Dr. Rahul Vaidya, MD CM FRCSc, Professor and Chief of Orthopaedic Trauma at the Wayne State/Detroit Medical Center Residency Program and also serves as the Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery at Detroit Receiving Hospital, Program Director of the DMC/Wayne State Fellowship in Orthopaedic Trauma. He completed his medical degree and Orthopaedic Residency at McGill University in Montreal; fellowships in Orthopedic Trauma at the Vancouver General Hospital -University of British Columbia and Spine Surgery at McGill University. As a Major in the Canadian Armed Forces Reserves completed 2 tours in Kandahar, Afghanistan between 2008 and 2012. He was the Chair and Specialist in Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery at Detroit Medical center from 2006 to 2016. Dr. Vaidya has published over 80 articles in peer-reviewed journals, several book chapters, and has 11 patents. He has been an invited speaker at many national and international conferences and chaired conferences on Spine and Trauma Surgery. He pioneered work on Anterior Subcutaneous Pelvic Fixation for Pelvic fractures with the Orthopaedic team at Detroit Receiving Hospital for which he received 5 US patents and several awards including a Special Interest Award from the Orthopaedic Trauma Association and the AOA. His other research interests include complex Spine Surgery , revision spinal surgery , and the use of modern biologics in Orthopaedic Surgery. His teams research on the complications of rHBMp-2 in Spinal Surgery have lead to publications which have become classic articles on the topic. Dr. Vaidya is also CEO of Bonesetter USA which is involved in developing low cost solutions for modern Orthopaedic Problems including the Bonesetter APP. (https://detroitbonesetter.com/) Currently Chair of the AONA Trauma Community Development Committee, and proud member of AO Trauma.

Dr. Timothy S. Achor is the Director of the Orthopaedic Trauma Fellowship at the University of Texas Health Science Center/Memorial Hermann—Texas Medical Center, and Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery for the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. Dr. Achor was born in Upstate New York, but lived most of his childhood outside Toledo, Ohio. He obtained an undergraduate degree at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He attended medical school at the Medical College of Ohio and completed a five year orthopaedic surgery residency at New York Medical College. He went on to complete an orthopaedic trauma fellowship in New York City at the Hospital for Special Surgery under the direction of Dr. David Helfet. He has lived and worked in Houston since completing his training, where he has become one of the busiest orthopaedic trauma surgeons in the country. His current interests include treating severe musculoskeletal injuries about the pelvis, hip, knee and ankle, as well as treating nonunions and complications of fractures. He also is active in the education of medical students, residents and fellows both in Houston and at conferences nationwide. He is an active member of many professional societies, including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the Orthopaedic Trauma Association, and AO Trauma North America. Dr. Achor is board-certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. When not at the hospital, Dr. Achor enjoys spending time with his family and going to car shows.