Christopher Collier, MD, an assistant professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and division chief of musculoskeletal oncology for the Indiana University School of Medicine, was recently named one of the 2025 winners of the Trustees’ Teaching Award, representing the School of Medicine.
The Indiana University Board of Trustees recognizes faculty excellence in teaching annually through the Trustees’ Teaching Award. Award recipients receive a monetary award and are honored during the spring IU School of Medicine All-School Meeting.
“Teaching is one of the most rewarding aspects of academic medicine,” Collier said. “There is no greater privilege than helping shape the next generation of orthopaedic surgeons and witnessing their growth as compassionate, skilled clinicians committed to service. I’m deeply honored to be recognized with this award.”
Collier is an orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in musculoskeletal oncology, and cares for both pediatric and adult patients with rare and complex tumors at Riley Children’s Health and the IU Health Simon Cancer Center.
Since joining Indiana University four years ago, Collier has formally mentored more than 20 learners, including medical students, residents, PhD candidates and faculty. He engages learners through his multifaceted roles, including core faculty for orthopaedic residency, clerkship director for the medical student rotation in orthopaedic oncology and organizer of departmental Orthopaedic Research Seminars and Morbidity and Mortality Conferences.
Collier personally developed an orthopedic oncology curriculum, which integrates case-based learning, didactic lectures and hands-on activities. One of its highlights is the “histology unknown contest,” an interactive exercise where trainees analyze histologic features to identify tumor subtypes, with scores tracked and an annual award for top performers. This initiative fosters critical thinking, diagnostic skills and active engagement, making the material both accessible and intellectually stimulating.
In the clinic, Collier incorporates educational timeouts and debriefs during surgical procedures, creating structured opportunities for real-time feedback and skill refinement.
Residents have described Collier as patient and accessible. One resident said, “He was great to work with in both the OR and in the clinic, providing me with ample learning opportunities and the appropriate level of autonomy given my level of training.”
Outside of teaching, Collier is a researcher at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center. His research lab, the Indiana Orthopaedic Oncology Laboratory, is dedicated to improving musculoskeletal health of cancer patients. In 2021, his lab began to identify drivers of cancer-related cachexia, a condition that causes significant muscle wasting and weight loss, and often impacts people with diseases such as cancer or heart disease. During this time, his lab developed expertise in artificial intelligence-assisted body composition analysis of cancer patients that demonstrates bone metastasis is associated with muscle loss in kidney cancer patients, and that muscle loss is the greatest single predictor of survival. Collier’s research will continue exploring how metastatic bone disease is responsible for cachexia.
Collier received his medical degree and fellowship in orthopaedic oncology from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and completed his internship in orthopaedic surgery, research fellowship and residency in orthopaedic surgery at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Last year, Yohan Jang, DO, assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery at IU School of Medicine, was recognized with the award within the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.
Jang is an orthopaedic trauma surgeon at IU Health with an interest in complex limb salvage, pelvis and acetabulum surgery and periarticular fracture surgery.
