Braden Fleming, PhD

Braden C. Fleming, PhD

Director, Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) in Skeletal Health and Repair

Braden C. Fleming, PhD, is the director of the Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) in Skeletal Health and Repair at Rhode Island Hospital. Since 2010, he has also served as the Lucy Lippitt Professor of Orthopedics at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

Dr. Fleming’s primary research interests focus on the lower extremity, with a particular interest in knee ligament injuries, soft tissue biomechanics, and biomedical instrumentation.

In 2020, he earned the Orthopedic Research and Education Foundation Clinical Research Award from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeon for his research into the long-term outcomes of ACL reconstruction with a focus on post-traumatic osteoarthritis.

He is a member of the Lifespan Orthopedic Institute team of researchers on the BEAR-MOON trial (Bridge-Enhanced ACL Restoration Multicenter Orthopaedic Outcomes Network), a multi-center, randomized, clinical trial. The Lifespan Orthopedics Institute is managing the only New England site, one of six across the nation, to conduct the trial with its partner physicians at University Orthopedics.

He has been a longtime member of professional organizations including the Orthopaedic Research Society; the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; the American Society of Biomechanics; and the International Society of Arthroscopy, Knee Surgery, and Orthopaedic Sports Medicine.

Throughout his career, Dr. Fleming has authored hundreds of articles for peer-reviewed publications, been an invited speaker of his area of expertise at scores of professional gatherings and has contributed many chapters to academic textbooks. He has managed numerous grant-supported research investigations and trials exploring new treatments and technologies in orthopedics.

Dr. Fleming earned his doctoral degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in biomedical engineering both from the University of Vermont. He later served on the university’s department of orthopedics and rehabilitation and faculty.