LITTLE ROCK - C. Lowry Barnes, MD, chair of the UAMS College of Medicine's Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, was invested June 1 in the Carl L. Nelson, MD, Distinguished Chair in Orthopaedic Surgery.

Barnes, who graduated with honors from the College of Medicine in 1986 and completed his internship and residency in orthopaedic surgery at UAMS, has served as department chair since August 2014.

He was presented the chair medallion by UAMS Chancellor Dan Rahn, M.D., and UAMS Executive Vice Chancellor and College of Medicine Dean Pope L. Moseley, M.D.

The chair is named in honor of Carl L. Nelson, MD, a world-renowned expert in joint replacement who served as chairman of the UAMS Department of Orthopaedic Surgery from 1974 until his death in 2005. He oversaw the education of 122 orthopaedic surgeons, many of whom stayed in Arkansas to practice, including Barnes.

Barnes is one of Arkansas' and the region's foremost joint replacement experts. He holds four patents for orthopaedic surgery devices and has designed numerous hip and knee implants. He lectures nationally and internationally on total joint replacement surgery and has been active in hip and knee research. Barnes established the HipKnee Arkansas Foundation to further study patients with arthritis.

Barnes is president of the Mid-America Orthopaedic Association and a past president of the Arkansas Orthopaedic Society, the Southern Orthopaedic Association and the Society of Arthritic Joint Surgery. He has served as treasurer and is currently president-elect of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons.