Mauro Alini

Emeritus Research Advisor, PhD, Prof

AO Research Institute Davos (ARI)
Clavadelerstrasse 8
7270 Davos, Switzerland
Tel.: +41 81 414 23 10
Fax: +41 81 414 22 88


Prof Mauro Alini graduated with a degree in chemistry from the University of Lausanne in 1983 and started his PhD research work on the isolation and characterization of proteoglycans extracted from both normal human mammary glands and related carcinomas. In September 1988, he joined the Joint Diseases laboratory at the Shriners Hospital in Montreal, Canada, to work on extracellular matrix proteins of the growth plate during endochondral bone formation.

In January 1995, Alini was appointed as an assistant professor at the Division of Orthopedic Surgery of the McGill University and head of the Biochemistry Unit of the Orthopedic Research Laboratory, working to develop new biological approaches to treating intervertebral disc damage.

From 2000 to 2019, Alini oversaw the Musculoskeletal Regeneration Program (now Regenerative Orthopaedics) at the AO Research Institute Davos (ARI), focusing on cartilage, bone, and intervertebral disc tissue engineering. Alini has served as ARI's Vice Director since September 2009.

In 2023, Alini was honored with a Career Achievement Award by the European chapter of the Tissue Engineering & Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS), recognizing his long-term, landmark contributions to the tissue engineering and regenerative medicine field.

Alini is a 2015 recipient of the Marshall R. Urist Award from the Orthopedic Research Society (USA) for his excellence in cutting-edge research in musculoskeletal regenerative medicine. He gave the Ian Macnab lecture (Canadian Orthopaedic Association) in 2019, and is a Fellow of International Orthopaedic Research Society (FIOR), a Fellow of the Tissue Engineering Regenerative Medicine Society (FTERM) and a Fellow of the Orthopaedic Research Society (USA).

He has published over 330 papers, 14 book chapters, 7 patents, and has an h-Index of 89, with more than 26,000 citations. In addition, he is Editor-in-Chief of JOR Spine and member of the editorial board of five journals, including eCM Journal.