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Alumni Interviews:
Stanley James, M.D.

2006 Distinguished Alumnus

53BA, 62MD, 67R – Orthopaedic Surgery
Recipient of the 2006 Distinguished Alumni Award for Achievement

Chances are that anyone who’s put on a running shoe in the past 30 years has benefited from the work and scientific insights of Stanley James.

James helped infuse new scientific rigor into the field of sports medicine and new understandings into the treatment of running- and sports-related injuries. At the same time he improved the design of running shoes through his collaboration with Nike cofounder and legendary Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman.

James recalls a veritable Who’s Who of prominent UI orthopaedic surgeons whose mentorship propelled his early career: Michael Bonfiglio, Reginald Cooper, Adrian Flatt, Carroll Larson, Ignacio Ponsetti. What a rare experience to have mentors of that caliber in your education James said.

Another influence was James work with Charles Tipton, a renowned UI professor of exercise science. The two overturned decades of common practice in treating torn ligaments by showing that controlled mechanical loading heals damaged tissue heals faster and stronger than prolonged immobilization. Tipton, James said, was a great incentive to me in my career.

James entered private practice in Eugene, Oregon, where he still lives and sees patients. He also took an academic appointment at the University of Oregon Department of Exercise and Human Performance. There, he and faculty colleagues did detailed studies of the biomechanics of running and gait, work that drew James into collaboration with Bowerman and Nike’s Phil Knight.

Reflecting on his career, the Kalona, Iowa, native and Iowa City High School graduate joked that he could survey the entirety of his educational formation from the top floor of UI Hospitals and Clinics. He labored against the grain early on: it was years before most orthopedists recognized and accepted his new model of injury treatment, while basic science was, he noted, a little foreign to sports medicine back then.

Today millions of athletes and casual runners take for granted that their shoes are properly designed to help prevent injury. Most do not know it, but Stan James had a hand in that.

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