Brief Biography

Dr. Alman is the Head of orthopaedic surgery and a Senior Scientist in the Developmental & Stem Cell Biology program at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). His practice focuses on the care of children with syndromes, with spinal deformity, with neuromuscular disorders and with tumours involving the bones, joints and soft tissues. He is an orthopaedic consultant at the Bloorview MacMillian Centre and in the Multidisciplinary Musculoskeletal Tumour clinic and the Bone Health Centre at SickKids.

Alman holds a Canada Research Chair and also is the A.J. Latner Professor and Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Toronto, and Vice-Chair Research of the Department of Surgery. He runs an active basic science research program, studying the role of developmental signaling pathways in musculoskeletal tumours and reparative processes. The principal investigator on several national research grants, Alman has over 100 peer reviewed publications in journals such as Cancer Cell and Nature Medicine. He has given over 150 presentations at international meetings or at invited lectures at various venues throughout the world.

His laboratory studies the role of developmental signaling pathways in musculoskeletal pathologic and reparative processes. This work identified developmental signaling pathways that are inappropriately activated in several musculoskeletal tumours. His current work focuses on determining somatic mutations that may be responsible for the activation, identifying novel mediators in the signaling pathways, and determining if a pharmacologic approach can be used to modulate the pathway activation. The long-term goal of this work is to develop novel pharmacologic therapies for these otherwise difficult to treat lesions. Some of the information learned from this work on development can be applied to repair processes and bone growth. Alman is currently working to determine how these signaling pathways regulate normal bone growth, cartilage repair and wound healing. Like the work on neoplasia, this work has the potential to suggest novel therapies, based on modulating the crucial pathways responsible for the repair process.

Benjamin Alman was born in Philadelphia and studied at the University of Pennsylvania, Jefferson Medical School, Pennsylvanian Hospital, and Tufts University before undertaking a clinical and research fellowship at SickKids in Toronto, where he has been on faculty the past 13 years. He has received numerous awards for his research work over the years, including the Premier’s Research Excellence Award (for outstanding basic science work in Ontario), the Huene Award (for outstanding contributions to paediatric orthopaedics in North America), the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF) Research Award, the Royal College Medal in Surgery (for the best research publication by a member) and most recently the J. Edouard Samson Award for exceptional orthopaedic research over a five year period awarded by the Canadian Orthopaedic Foundation.

In addition to his research and clinical activities, Dr. Alman serves on several national grant review panels, the Research Advisory Board and chairs the clinical research subcommittee of the Shriner’s Hospitals, and is vice-chair of the Board of Directors of the Bloorview Kids Foundation (the largest foundation in Canada that supports research into paediatric disability).

Research Interests

• Musculoskeletal neoplasia
• Musculoskeletal growth and repair
• Neuromuscular disorders

Our laboratory studies the molecular mechanisms responsible for the deregulation of cellular growth control in aggressive fibromatosis (desmoid tumour) and cartilage neoplasms (e.g. chondrosarcomas). We identified developmental signaling pathways that are inappropriately activated in both types of lesions. Our current work focuses on determining somatic mutations that may be responsible for the activation, identifying novel mediators in the signaling pathways, and determining if a pharmacologic approach can be used to modulate the pathway activation. The long-term goal of this work is to develop novel pharmacologic therapies for these otherwise difficult to treat lesions.

Some of the information learned from our work on tumours can be applied to repair processes and bone growth. We are currently working to determine how these signaling pathways regulate normal bone growth and wound healing.

Future Research Interests

To determine genes responsible for paediatric orthopaedic disorders (eg. congenital scoliosis)

Achievements

• OREF Research Award
• Royal College Medal
• Premier's Research Excellence Award
• Huene Award

Publications

Plasschaert F, Craig C, Bell R, Cole WG, Wunder JS, Alman BA. Eosinophilic granuloma. A different behaviour in children than in adults. J Bone Joint Surg Br. Aug;84(6):870-2, 2002.

Alman BA. A classification for genetic disorders of interest to orthopaedists.Clin Orthop. Aug;(401):17-26, 2002.

Cheon SS, Cheah AY, Turley S, Nadesan P, Poon R, Clevers H, Alman BA. Beta-Catenin stabilization dysregulates mesenchymal cell proliferation, motility, and invasiveness and causes aggressive fibromatosis and hyperplastic cutaneous wounds.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. May 14;99(10):6973-8, 2002.

Hopyan S, Gokgoz N, Poon R, Gensure RC, Yu C, Cole WG, Bell RS, Juppner H, Andrulis IL, Wunder JS, Alman BA. A mutant PTH/PTHrP type I receptor in enchondromatosis. Nat Genet 2002;30:303-310, 2002.

Meng X, Poon R, Zhang X, Cheah A, Ding Q, Hui CC, Alman BA. Suppressor of fused negatively regulates beta-catenin signaling. J Biol Chem. Oct 26;276(43):40113-9., 2001

Tejpar S, Li C, Yu C, Poon R, Denys H, Sciot R, Van Cutsem E, Cassiman
JJ, Alman BA. Tcf-3 expression and beta-catenin mediated transcriptional activation in aggressive fibromatosis (desmoid tumour). Br J Cancer. Jul 6;85(1):98-101, 2001.

Li C, Nguyen Q, Cole WG, Alman BA. Potential treatment for clubfeet based on growth factor blockade. J Pediatr Orthop. May-Jun;21(3):372-7, 2001.

Poon R, Smits R, Li C, Jagmohan-Changur S, Kong M, Cheon S, Yu C, Fodde R, Alman BA. Cyclooxygenase-two (COX-2) modulates proliferation in aggressive fibromatosis (desmoid tumor). Oncogene. Jan 25;20(4):451-60, 2001.

Couture J, Mitri A, Lagace R, Smits R, Berk T, Bouchard HL, Fodde R, Alman BA, Bapat B. A germline mutation at the extreme 3' end of the APC gene results in a severe desmoid phenotype and is associated with overexpression of beta-catenin in the desmoid tumor. Clin Genet. Mar;57(3):205-12, 2000.

Tejpar S, Nollet F, Li C, Wunder JS, Michils G, dal Cin P, Van Cutsem E, Bapat B, van Roy F, Cassiman JJ, Alman BA. Predominance of beta-catenin mutations and beta-catenin dysregulation in sporadic aggressive fibromatosis (desmoid tumor). Oncogene. Nov 11;18(47):6615-20, 1999.

Hopyan S, Gokgoz N, Bell RS, Andrulis IL, Alman BA, Wunder JS. Expression of osteocalcin and its transcriptional regulators core-binding factor alpha 1 and MSX2 in osteoid-forming tumours. J Orthop Res. Sep;17(5):633-8, 1999.

For more recent publications see PubMed