Research/Areas of Interest
Orthopedics:
Bone and cartilage growth and remodeling, repair in response to injury, and grafting.
Skeletal tissue engineering.
Bone and soft tissue biomechanics.
Bone inductive and mitotic proteins.
Ligament and tendon physiology and response to injury.
Orthopedic device development.
Animal models of orthopedic disease.
Equine podiatry.
Joint disease and interventions.
Cardiovascular:
Percutaneous treatment of cardiac disease.
Animal models of cardiac disease.
Interventional cardiology.
Education
- Bachelor Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Cambridge University/England, GBR, 1983
- Master of Arts, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Biography
Carl Kirker-Head, Vet.M.B., DACVS, DECVS, joined Tufts University in 1987. Kirker-Head was a faculty member in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences and the Hospital for Large Animals, with a clinical and research focus in orthopedics.
Kirker-Head's research and clinical interests range from tendon and ligament injury and rehabilitation, bone and cartilage remodeling and regeneration to therapeutic farriery. He also undertakes research on orthopedic device and database development.
Kirker-Head has an international reputation as an accomplished veterinary clinician-scientist, and he has published widely and presented globally. His funded research as a principal investigator exceeds four million dollars. Seventy percent of Kirker-Head's research grants are industry sponsored. He has served on the board of industry interest groups and testified before several state government blue-ribbon panels. Kirker-Head has served extensively as an expert witness in arbitration and trial cases, has been a consultant for multiple health-related businesses, and has served as an officer of several small corporations. He was a founder and/or early stockholder of four biotech companies. With his wife, he owns and operates an equine boarding and rehabilitation center in central Massachusetts.
Kirker-Head earned his Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and a Master of Arts at Cambridge University in England.