Jaime R. Garza, MD, DDS, FACS

Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Professor of Otolaryngology, and Director of Human Regenerative Cell Trials at Tulane University School of Medicine; Professor of Surgery and Professor of Otolaryngology, University of Texas – San Antonio

A renowned academic surgeon, Dr. Garza’s distinguished career as an educator, administrator, researcher, surgeon/physician, business owner, leader, community and health activist has earned him substantial and far-reaching respect and recognition.
He is currently Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Professor of Otolaryngology, and Director of Human Regenerative Cell Trials at Tulane University School of Medicine; he is also Professor of Surgery and Professor of Otolaryngology at UT Health-SA. He was the Founder and Chairman of their Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He served on the University’s Executive Committee as Associate Vice President for the health science center.

Dr. Garza is President of the Texas Center for Cell Therapy and Research at the Texas Center for Athletes and is a past president of the Texas Society of Plastic Surgeons. In 2011, Texas Governor Rick Perry appointed Dr. Garza a Regent to the Texas State University System, where he served as a two-term Chairman of the Board, serving eight years as chair of the Academic and Health Affairs Committee and as a member of the Governmental Relations Committee.

An accomplished clinical researcher, he is one of the first clinician/scientists in the nation to receive an Institutional Review Board approval for a research study involving the use of human regenerative cells for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the human knee joint. His work was published in The Journal of Regenerative Medicine. He was one of three principal investigators in a national FDA approved Phase IIB regenerative cell trial for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis that has been published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine. He is currently the principal investigator for 2 FDA Phase III cell therapy trials, one for knee osteoarthritis and one for shoulder rotator cuff tears. He has been an invited keynote speaker and panelist at several international stem cell conferences. He is an internationally known expert in the treatment of sports-related facial injuries. From his work in the research laboratory, Dr. Garza holds a U.S. patent on a protective facemask used by NBA, professional hockey, baseball and collegiate players. He is a medical consultant to the NFL New Orleans Saints and NBA San Antonio Spurs; team physician for The University of Texas at San Antonio; and served as tournament physician for several NCAA Final Four basketball tournaments, USA Boxing and U.S.A. Olympic Trials.

Dr. Garza is widely recognized for his work in the health care field, including garnering high honors with AMA’s “Emerging Leaders” award; San Antonio Business Journal’s “Outstanding Physician” award; elected by his peers as President of the Texas Society of Plastic of Plastic Surgeons and the Futrell Society at the University of Pittsburgh. He was one of the only three Texans invited by the Forbes group to participate in the invitation-only Forbes Healthcare Summit in 2012. In 2011, he was recognized for his business acumen by being honored as “Businessman of the Year” by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
He was an acclaimed collegiate football player, breaking almost all of Tulane University’s receiving records, served as team captain, was Tulane’s first ever 4-year varsity letterman and named one of the “Best College Football Players in America”. He also attended NFL training camps with the Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints and the Cleveland Browns. He is a member of the NFL Alumni Association and serves as one of their Senior Medical Advisors. Dr. Garza was inducted into the Tulane Athletic Hall of Fame and the National Hispanic Sports Hall of Fame.

Throughout his academic career, Dr. Garza has placed a premium on his work with future generations of medical doctors and health care providers and he has spoken about his life’s story extensively across Texas to multitudes of high school, undergraduate, graduate and professional students inspiring academic excellence and upward mobility. Dr. Garza remains deeply committed to communities where he has lived and worked, notably taking time away from his Texas practice in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to establish a pro bono health clinic in New Orleans.

He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Tulane University; earned his M.D. (with honors) and D.D.S. degrees from Louisiana State University; he is board-certified in two surgical specialties and has authored book chapters and dozens of medical journal articles and abstracts. He and his wife of 36 years, architect Lisa Marie Trail Garza, have four children and one grandson.