Fabrizio Billi

Fabrizio Billi earned his Ph.D. in Biomaterials and Biomechanics in 2000 from the Università “La Sapienza,” Roma, Italy. He first obtained a position as a researcher at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, Institute for Advanced Materials, and then Institute for Health and Consumer Protection (equivalent to the NIH in the US) from 1995 to 2001. Dr. Billi was then a post-doctoral fellow at the University of California Los Angeles from 2002 to 2007 under the guidance of Eddie Ebramzadeh, Ph.D. In 2008 he became faculty at Orthopaedic Hospital/University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). Under the direct guidance of Harry McKellop, Ph.D., he started a new program studying issues related to orthopaedic biomaterials. In 2013, Dr. Billi moved from Orthopaedic Institute for Children (OIC) to UCLA campus, where he started the Billi Lab in the OHRC building under the guidance and mentorship of John Adams, MD Ph.D. He is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine, at UCLA. Dr. Billi is presently on the Editorial Board of several journals in the orthopaedic field; he is a grant reviewer for Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF), the National Academy of Science, and the Orthopaedic Research Society.

Research Interest

Dr. Billi’s research was initially concentrated on artificial implants, more specifically artificial hips and knees, and the problematics concerning the design, biomechanics, and material properties of such devices. Dr. Billi helped to clarify some crucial issues related to wear of orthopaedic implants (fretting, wear, impingement, corrosion) that directly impacted the lives of patients. His work was recognized with The John Charnley Award from The Hip Society in 2011 and the Stein Oppenheimer Award from UCLA in 2012. After moving to UCLA campus in late 2013, basic science studies on artificial implants were progressively abandoned in favor of translational research with the scope of having an immediate impact directly in the clinic and on the patients. In 2014, the Billi Lab developed a novel idea for monitoring the health status of artificial joints with the use of a wearable device incorporating a new technology that was licensed by UCLA to Bruin Biometrics, LLC. The study has obtained two SBIR grants from the NIH for more than $2M. An extension of the application to native joints was again sponsored in 2016 by the NIH with an R21 funding.

Since then, the main research interest has been the engineering and development of devices to detect, predict, diagnose, monitor, and treat pathologies mainly related to the orthopaedic field. Such research has involved the development of novel wearable devices and sensors. The application of wearable technologies currently spans from gait and compliance monitoring to infection control. Moreover, Dr. Billi has started and continued expanding a 3D printing program with the goal of developing personalized surgical instruments, devices (for example, braces), models to optimize surgeries and train residents, sensors, and smart textiles. Recently, the program has been expanded to include 3D bioprinting with the goal of treating and repairing damaged tissues with parts derived from a patient’s own cells and optimized for durability. This has been the natural progression of the effort made in developing a novel 3D bone model for osteogenesis.

Dr. Billi’s research currently impacts different fields, from athletics to rehabilitation, prevention, surgery, and engineering.