Joseph J. Thoder, MD, FAOA is being recognized as an AOA Pillar of the Orthopaedic Profession for his leadership, mentoring, and lifelong contributions to orthopaedic surgery during his distinguished career. The champion for this effort on his behalf is J. Milo Sewards, MD, FACS, FAOA.
Bio
Joseph J. Thoder, MD, FAOA is the John W. Lachman Professor and Vice Chair of Academic Affairs, and Director of Hand Surgery at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.
He received his BS in Chemistry from Moravian University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (1977), and his MD with honors from Temple University School of Medicine (1982). He completed his orthopaedic residency at Temple University Hospital in 1987, followed by a fellowship in Hand and Microsurgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in 1988.
Dr. Thoder began his practice at an affiliate of the Temple University Health System and transitioned to full-time faculty in 1991. He has held numerous leadership roles, including serving as Program Director and as Department Chair beginning in 2000 as the fourth Chair in the department’s history since 1932. He served in this role until 2014 and has remained an active faculty member, including a stint serving as Interim Chair from 2020 to 2022.
His research interests include upper extremity trauma, arthritis, reconstruction, and the socioeconomic impact of “street drugs”.
He is an active member of multiple regional and national orthopaedic societies.
Dr. Thoder’s primary professional focus has been, and continues to be, resident education in the tripartite mission of clinical skills, foundational orthopaedic principles, and research.
The AOA gratefully acknowledges Dr. Thoder’s extensive and comprehensive impact on the orthopaedic community and recognizes him as an AOA Pillar of the Orthopaedic Profession.
Tribute
“Dr. Thoder has been the definition of a servant-leader, providing an ideal example of a dedicated surgeon to his patients, program director to generations of residents, and department chair to numerous faculty at Temple Hospital. He has taught his residents and students not just how to evaluate patients and perform surgery, but how to live and act as orthopaedic surgeons. He gives his residents confidence in their own surgical skills, just in his presence in the OR. While he has worked for nearly the entire duration of his career in North Philadelphia, his influence has impacted current and future chairs, division chiefs, and program directors across the country, and he is most deserving of recognition as an AOA Pillar.”
J. Milo Sewards, MD, FACS, FAOA
Dr. Thoder’s Champion