Interim Chancellor Lowry Barnes, M.D.
C. Lowry Barnes, M.D., serves as interim chancellor of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) leading Arkansas’ only health sciences university with a mission to educate tomorrow’s health care professionals, perform research that translates to new treatments and deliver exceptional patient care at locations across the state.
Barnes is a fellowship-trained, board-certified orthopaedic surgeon specializing in joint reconstruction and replacement surgery of the hip and knee. He joined UAMS in 2014 as Professor and Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. In 2017, he was invested in the Carl L. Nelson, M.D. Distinguished Chair in Orthopaedic Surgery.
He also serves as the Director of the Musculoskeletal Service Line at UAMS Health. Barnes is founding director of The Orthopaedic and Spine Hospital at UAMS, a hospital located on UAMS’ Little Rock campus that brings world-class orthopaedic, spine and pain experts together under one roof to provide the best possible care focused on achieving the best possible results. The Orthopaedic and Spine Hospital opened in 2023.
After graduating with honors from the UAMS College of Medicine, Barnes remained at UAMS for his internship and residency in orthopaedic surgery. He completed an Adult Reconstructive Surgery and Arthritis Surgery Fellowship at Brigham & Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass. He was then selected to participate in the prestigious John N. Insall Traveling Fellowship as well as an AO/ASIF (Association for the Study of Internal Fixation) Adult Orthopaedic Fellowship at Inselspital in Bern, Switzerland. Barnes went into practice as a joint replacement surgeon at Arkansas Specialty Orthopaedics, later becoming the President and Managing Partner for more than 10 years.
Widely recognized as one of the foremost joint replacement experts in the world, Barnes has made substantial contributions to research focused on the hip and knee, having published more than 350 peer-reviewed articles. He lectures nationally and internationally on total joint replacement surgery and holds seven patents for orthopaedic surgery devices and implants.
He has held numerous leadership roles in professional societies, including serving as the president of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS). He has also served as president of the Society for Arthritic Joint Surgery, the Mid-America Orthopaedic Association, the Southern Orthopaedic Association, and the Arkansas Orthopaedic Society.
Barnes is actively involved in the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, (AAOS), Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons, and the International Society for Technology in Arthroplasty. He is also a member of prestigious Knee Society and Hip Society and serves on the editorial boards of many scientific journals.
In addition, Barnes is known nationally for his expertise in health care quality and efficiency and gives invited lectures on value-based orthopaedic care and alternative payment models throughout the country. He has consistently been named in “Top Doctors,” “Best Doctors,” “Top Doctors in Orthopaedics,” and as one of the top orthopaedic and lower extremity surgeons in Arkansas.