Caroline Thirukumaran, MBBS, MHA, PhD, is a tenured Associate Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery at Northwestern University. She is a health services and policy researcher by training and the Principal Investigator of the Orthopaedic Policy, Outcomes, and Disparities (OrthoPOD) Research Program. Her NIH-funded research examines (i) how Medicare’s payment reforms shape patient access, surgical outcomes, and healthcare spending, and (ii) how opioid restriction laws influence pain management and recovery
following orthopaedic surgeries. Her work has been published in leading journals including JAMA, Health Affairs, and JBJS. She is the Global Population Health Section Editor for Current Osteoporosis Reports, the Research Chair for the Strategies in Clinical Research Section of the Orthopaedic Research Society, and a national faculty mentor for the Orthopaedic Research Society’s Young Investigator Initiative. Caroline completed her medical education and Masters in Hospital Administration in Mumbai, India; and her PhD in Health Services Research and Policy from the University of Rochester, New York.