James Shaw, MD

Biography

Dr. James Shaw is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

James Shaw, MD is a board-certified (American Board of Orthopedic Surgery) orthopedic surgeon who specializes in orthopedic trauma surgery.

Dr. Shaw was born in Austin, Texas. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Texas at Austin in Biomedical Engineering. He also spent time during his junior year studying abroad in Cambridge, England. His studies led him to pursue a career in medicine, and he completed his medical degree at the University of Texas McGovern Medical School in Houston. He completed a residency in Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Texas Health and Science center at Houston. While there, he quickly cultivated a passion for trauma surgery. Dr. Shaw spent two months of his chief year in Santiago, Chile, and Cape Town, South Africa as a visiting trauma fellow. During that time, he had a unique experience observing the challenges of delivering orthopedic care in international healthcare systems.

Dr. Shaw subsequently completed his final year of formal training at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan, New York, serving as a trauma fellow. He additionally spent one month in Miami studying the management of infections, nonunions, and malunions as well as principles of circular frame fixation and bone distraction osteogenesis. He subsequently was hired by the University of Miami as a faculty member in their trauma department. He spent two highly productive years at Ryder Trauma Center, Jackson Memorial Hospital caring for patients, teaching residents and fellows, and working on various research projects.

Dr. Shaw was hired to rejoin his academic program at McGovern Medical School in Houston as faculty, practicing orthopedic trauma surgery. His training specializes in orthopedic trauma with an emphasis on complex periarticular fractures and dislocations of the extremities, pelvis and acetabulum. Dr. Shaw also has special interest in treating periprosthetic fractures, nonunions, malunions, deformity correction, and infections.

Dr. Shaw is active in orthopedic research and has been published in peer-reviewed journals, invited chapters in orthopedic textbooks, and presented his work at national meetings. He is an active member of the Orthopedic Trauma Association and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.

Dr. Shaw has spent the past decade in Houston, which he now calls home. When he is not caring for his patients, he and his wife, Tahlia, enjoy spending time with their families and traveling the world together.