Regis O'Keefe, MD, PhD

Regis O'Keefe, MD, PhD

Chair, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

Fred C. Reynolds Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery

Interim Chief, Division of Musculoskeletal Oncology

Phone Icon

(314) 514-3500

Dr. O'Keefe is the Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine. He is a an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in musculoskeletal oncology and adult reconstructive surgery of the hip and knee. He has clinical interests in the management of benign and malignant bone and soft (connective) tissue tumors in both children and adults, bone infections, skeletal reconstruction, curettage of bone tumors and allograft procedures, and primary and revision total hip and total knee arthroplasty.

Dr. O'Keefe received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in 1985 and completed a surgical internship from Harvard Medical School/New England Deaconess Hospital in 1986. He served as an Instructor/Fellow of Research at the University of Rochester, School of Medicine and Dentistry until 1988, where he then went on to complete an orthopaedic surgery residency at the University of Rochester Medical Center in 1992. He then completed a Fellowship in Orthopaedic Oncology from the Massachusetts General Hospital in 1993. In 2000, he pursued a doctorate degree in biochemistry and biophysics from the University of Rochester, School of Medicine and Dentistry. 

Prior to arriving at Washington University School of Medicine, Dr. O'Keefe served as the Marjorie Strong Wehle Professor and the Chair of the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in Rochester, NY. Dr. O'Keefe serves on the scientific committee of the J. Robert Gladden Orthopaedic Society, and on the mentoring committee of the Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society. Dr. O'Keefe is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Orthopaedic Association, American Society of Bone and Mineral Research, Association of American Physicians, Association of Osteobiology, Musculoskeletal Tumor Society, Orthopaedic Research Society and Siteman Cancer Center.

Common Diagnoses Treated

  • Soft tissue sarcomas
  • Benign soft tissue tumors
  • Chordoma
  • Osteosarcoma
  • Ewing Sarcoma
  • Chondrosarcoma
  • Benign bone tumors and cysts

Common Procedures

  • Excision of benign and malignant soft tissue tumors in both adults and children
  • Wide resections of bone tumors with reconstructive surgery
  • Curettage of bone tumors
  • Allograft procedures and treatment of bone infections
  • Total hip and revision total hip arthroplasty
  • Total knee and revision total knee arthroplasty

Clinical Office Location

  • Center for Advanced Medicine (CAM)

    Barnes Jewish Hospital

    4921 Parkview Place

    St Louis, MO 63110

Hospital Affiliations

  • Barnes-Jewish Hospital
  • Shriners Hospital for Children
  • St. Louis Children's Hospital
  • St. Louis Veterans Administration Medical Center, John Cochran Division

Academic Office Mailing Address

  • Washington University School of Medicine

    Campus Box 8233

    660 Euclid Avenue

    Saint Louis, MO 63110

National Leadership Positions

  • NIH Musculoskeletal Tissue Engineering Study Section Permanent Member, July 2016-2022
  • Search Committee for NIH Director of NIAMS 2019
  • Mentoring Committee, Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society, 2019-2022
  • Scientific Committee, J. Robert Gladden Orthopaedic Society, 2019-
  • President, American Orthopaedic Association (AOA), 2017
  • Director, American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS), 2008-2017
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH) Council of Councils (CoC) Advisory Committee, 2010-2013
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease Advisory Council, 2010-2013
  • Secretary, Orthopaedic Research Education Foundation, 2007-2011
  • Board of Trustees, Orthopaedic Research Education Foundation, 2003-2011
  • President, Orthopaedic Research Society, 2009-2010
  • Chair, Written Examination Committee, American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, 2009-2012
  • Treasurer, Orthopaedic Research Society, 2004-2007
  • NIH Skeletal Biology and Skeletal Regeneration Study Section, Chair, National Institutes of Health Review Panel, 2004-2005
  • President, United States Bone and Joint Decade, 2003-2005
  • Dean’s Endowed Chair, Professor of Orthopaedics and Oncology, University of Rochester School of Medicine, 2000
  • Dean’s Endowed Chair, Associate Professor of Orthopaedics, University of Rochester School of Medicine, 1998

Honors and Awards

  • Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Honor Medical Society, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine Chapter. Induction March, 2019.
  • Alfred R. Shands Jr., MD, Award, Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS), 2019
  •  Orthopaedic Research Society and the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation 2013 Distinguished Investigator Award. Received on March 16, 2014. 
  • Fifth Annual Dr. Marvin J. Hoffman Award in the Area of Faculty Mentoring to Medical Students, Annual Hoffman Awards Ceremony, 2003
  • American Orthopaedic Association ABC Traveling Fellowship, 1999
  • The Dane and Mary Louise Miller Endowed Research Grant, Orthopaedic Research and Educational Foundation, 1997
  • Kappa Delta Award, Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation, 1995
  • AOA Resident Traveling Research Award, “Differential expression of transforming growth factor-ß receptors and biological effects in maturationally distinct subpopulations of growth plate chondrocytes.”, 1988

This is a partial listing of over 300 publications. For a complete listing, please visit this site.

  1. Dy CJ, Osei DA, Maak TG, Gottschalk MB, Zhang AL, Maloney MD, Presson AP, O’Keefe RJ. Safety of overlapping inpatient orthopaedic surgery: A multicenter study. J Bone Joint Surg 100(22): 1902-1911, 2018
  2. Zhou Y, Chen M, O’Keefe RJ, Shen J, Li Z, Zhou J, Wang Z, Zhou X, Mao JJ. Epigenetic and therapeutic implications of dnmt3B in temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis. Am J Trans Res 11(3):1736-1747. March 2019.
  3. Ploetze KL, Dalton JF, Calfee RP, McDonald DJ, O’Keefe RJ, Cipriano CA. Patient-reported outcomes measurement information system function correlates with Toronto Extremity Salvage Score in an orthopaedic oncology population. J Orthop Translat 19:143-150. March, 2019.
  4. O’Keefe, RJ. Embracing difference to improve success: American Orthopaedic Association presidential address: Boston, Massachusetts, June 23, 2017. J Bone Joint Surg Am 101(9):e37. May 2019.
  5. Wright, MA, Adelani, M, Dy, C, O’Keefe, RJ. What is the impact of social deprivation on physical and mental health in orthopaedic patients? Clin Orthop Relat Res 477(8):1825-1835. August 2019.
  6. Dy CJ, Tipping AD, Nickel KB, Jiang W, O’Keefe RJ, Olsen MA. Variation in the delivery of inpatient orthopaedic care to Medicaid beneficiaries within a single metropolitan area. J Bone Joint Surg Am 101(16):1451-59. August 2019.
  7. Shen, J, Wang C, Ying J, McAlinden, A, O’Keefe RJ. Inhibition of 4-aminobutyrate aminotransferase protects against injury-induced osteoarthritis in mice. J Clin Invest Insight 4 (18), pii: 128568. September 2019.
  8. O’Keefe R, Hopkins C, Qin L. Clinician-directed treatment guidelines. J Orthop Translat 20:3. December 2019.
  9. Chen D, Kim DJ, Shen J, Zou Z, O’Keefe RJ. Runx2 plays a central role in osteoarthritis development. J. Orthop Translat 23:132-139. December 2019
  10. O’Keefe RJ. Letter to the Editor: Not the Last Word: Prizes for Cures. Clini Orthop Relat Res 477(12):2804-2805. December 2019.
  11. O’Keefe RJ, Tuan RS, Lane NE, Awad HE, Barry F, Bunnell BA, Colnot C, Crake MT, Drissi H, Dyment NA, Fortier LA, Guldberg RE, Kandel R, Little DG, Marshall MF, Mao JJ, Nakamura N, Proffen BL, Rodeo SA, Rosen V, Thomopoulos S, Schwarz Em Serra R. American society for Bone and Mineral Research-Orthopaedic Research Society Joint Task Force Report on Cell Based Therapies. J Bone Miner Res 35(1):3-17. January 2020.
  12. Ying J, Wang P, Ding Q, Shen J, O’Keefe RJ, Chen D, Tong P, Jin H. Peripheral blood stem cell therapy does not improve outcomes of femoral head osteonecrosis with cap-shaped separated cartilage defect. J Orthop Research 38(2):269-276. February 2020.
  13. Ying J, Xu T, Wang C, Jin H, Tong P, Guan J, Abu-Amer Y, O’Keefe R, Shen J. Dnmt3b ablation impairs fracture repair through upregulation of Notch pathway. JCI Insight 5(3):pii 131816. February 2020.
  14. Feigenson M, Jonason JH, Shen J, Loiselle AE, Awad HA, O’Keefe RJ. Inhibition of the prostaglandin EP-1 reception in periosteum progenitor cells enhances osteoblast differentiation and fracture repair. Ann Biomed Eng 48(3)927-939. March 2020.
  15. O’Keefe RJ, Tuan RS, Lane NE, Awad HE, Barry F, Bunnell BA, Colnot C, Crake MT, Drissi H, Dyment NA, Fortier LA, Guldberg RE, Kandel R, Little DG, Marshall MF, Mao JJ, Nakamura N, Proffen BL, Rodeo SA, Rosen V, Thomopoulos S, Schwarz Em Serra R. American society for Bone and Mineral Research-Orthopaedic Research Society Joint Task Force Report on Cell Based Therapies – Secondary Publication. J Orthop Res 38(3):485-502. March 2020.
  16. Duan X, Cai L, Schmidt EJ, Shen J, Tycksen ED, O’Keefe RJ, Cheverud JM, Rai MF. RNA-seq analysis of chondrocyte transcriptome reveals genetic heterorgeneity in LG/J and SM/J murine strains. Osteoarthritis Cartilage 28(4):516-527. April 2020.
  17. Haneda M, Rai MF, O’Keefe RJ, Brophy RJ,C Clohisy JC, Pascual-Garrido C. Inflammatory response of articular cartilage to femoracetabular impingement in the hip. Am J Sports Med 48(7):1647-1656. June 2020.
  18. Arra M, Swarnkar G, Ke K, Otero JE, Ying J, Duan X, Maruyama T, Rai MF, O’Keefe RJ, Mbalaviele G, Shen J, Abu-Amer Y. LDHA-mediated ROS generation in chondrocytes is a potential therapeutic target for osteoarthritis. Nat Commun 11(1):3427. July 2020.
  19. Haneda M, Rai MF, Cai L, Brophy RH, O’Keefe RJ, Clohisy JC, Pascual-Garrido C. Distinct pattern of inflammation of articular cartilage and the synovium in early and late hip femoroacetabular impingement. Am J Sports Med 48(10):2481-2488. August 2020.
  20. Wang C, Shen J, Ying, J, Xiao D, O’Keefe, RJ. FoxO1 is a crucial mediator of TGF-β/TAK1 signaling and protects against osteoarthritis by maintaining articular cartilage homeostasis. PNAS https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2017056117. November 2020.

Research Interests

Cartilage research, bone repair, skeletal development, cancer and inflammatory diseases of bone.

Clinical Interests

Management of benign and malignant bone and soft (connective) tissue tumors in both children and adults, bone infections, skeletal reconstruction, curettage of bone tumors and allograft procedures, and primary and revision total hip and total knee arthroplasty.

Medical Degree

  • Harvard Medical School

Residency

  • Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Rochester Medical Center

Fellowship

  • Orthopaedic Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital

Doctorate Degree

  • Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Rochester, School of Medicine and Dentistry
Save

Request an Appointment

Dr. O'Keefe’s Office Location

Center for Advanced Medicine (CAM)

Barnes Jewish Hospital

4921 Parkview Place

St Louis, MO 63110

Disclaimer

The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has no control over third-party websites and does not review such websites. The university disclaims any responsibility for the content of third-party websites and the use of any information on these sites.