Charles Turner, PhD (1961 – 2010), was an internationally recognized scientist and engineer who made significant contributions to the understanding of mechanical adaptation of bone, mechanotransduction, and the skeletal effects of genetic modification in animal models, making fundamental discoveries in each of these areas.
Born on November 29, 1961 in Roswell, New Mexico, Turner earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Texas Tech University in 1983 and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Tulane University in 1987. After four years with the Osteoporosis Research Center at Creighton University, he joined the Purdue University faculty at IUPUI as a chancellor’s professor and the associate director of the Department of Biomedical Engineering. He also held a joint appointment within the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine where he served as the director of orthopaedic research.
Throughout his career, Turner authored more than 250 peer-reviewed manuscripts and gave more than 100 invited presentations across the world. He was the recipient of many awards, including the highly coveted Fuller Albright Award from the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research and the Outstanding Young Investigator Award from the Whitaker Foundation and the Health Future Foundation. Turner was elected a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers in 2002 and was awarded the Abraham M. Max Distinguished Professor Award in 2006 from the Purdue University School of Engineering and Technology.
The Charles H. Turner Young Investigator Bone Research Award was established in 2011 to honor his legacy and scientific contributions. This travel award supports IU School of Medicine trainees at all levels to attend the Advances in Mineral Metabolism (AIMM) meeting each year, and the ORS Musculoskeletal Biology Workshop every two years.