April 06, 2022

Meet Michael Brodt, MS 

Musculoskeletal Research Center Manager

Where are you from?

I was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and then grew up in rural northeast Iowa.

What brought you to Washington University Orthopedics? How long have you been here?

This was my first job after graduate school. I chose this position because I was really impressed with the people and the facilities. I started in January of 1997, put down roots and here I am today, 25 years later.

What do you oversee in research? 

I am the manager of the Structure and Strength Core in our Musculoskeletal Research Center. We are interested in understanding bone phenotypes in small animal models. Many of these models mimic a human bone condition that researchers are trying to aide. I manage projects imaging bones from these small animal models for researchers here at WashU and across the country.

What aspect of your work do you find most interesting or rewarding? 

I enjoy teaching people about our equipment and how it can help their research. It’s exciting to see all the different bone research going on across campus.

What is your favorite thing to do outside of work? 

I like the run-of-the-mill stuff like spending time with the family, hiking, taking our dogs on walks, and I like gardening with my wife. However, the engineering nerd in me shines through with my tenth scale RC vehicles. I really enjoy building and tinkering with them.

If you weren't in healthcare research, what would you like to be doing? 

That’s a really tough question to answer as I’ve been doing some type of basic science research since I was a sophomore in college. It’s really hard to imagine doing anything else. I’d probably do something with plants/gardens/nurseries if I wasn’t in research. 

What else should we know about you?

Quirky ortho fact: I'm lacking a palmaris longus in one arm. 

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