Department of Biomechanics

Clinical Fellows

A goal of the Department of Biomechanics is to provide training and education to clinical fellows in orthopedic biomechanics. This goal is achieved through a combination of didactic lectures embedded in clinical conferences, participation in case discussions, and providing fellows with opportunities to participate in specialty-specific research projects.

For some of the orthopedic services, such as Adult Reconstruction and Joint Replacement, the assignment of research projects is a formal process of the fellowship. However, any clinical fellow with an interesting research question or hypothesis that they have developed with a mentor from the surgical staff at HSS is welcome to present the topic to one of the weekly departmental meetings for constructive criticism and vetting.

CAMEO

The goal of the CAMEO program is to create a seamless partnership between Cornell Ithaca and HSS to enhance the cross-institutional application of engineering and materials science principles to musculoskeletal patient care. Members are required to be engaged (or planning to become engaged) in a research project that spans both institutions, includes both a clinician and engineer, and can be discussed at any annual retreat. Current foci for research under the CAMEO program include Translational Bone Mechanobiology, Arthritis and Joint Preservation, Functional Joint Arthroplasty, and Engineered Regenerative Medicine.

Students interested in participating in the CAMEO program as part of their undergraduate and graduate education should apply to Cornell University for admission and seek out Cornell faculty actively involved in the Program. Postgraduate students interested in fellowship opportunities should contact HSS or Cornell faculty actively involved in the Program.

T32 Training Grant

Our NIH-funded Training Grant supports two 2nd year graduate students at Cornell University, Ithaca and two post-doctoral trainees (PhDs and MD Clinical Residents) at HSS providing them with unique training, mentoring, and research opportunities in interdisciplinary approaches to tackle orthopaedic clinical challenges. Trainees are jointly mentored by HSS and Cornell faculty.  Interested applicants are encouraged to contact Dr. Suzanne Maher at HSS and Dr. Marjolein van der Muelen at Cornell.  CAMEO opportunities for trainees.

In 2023 we were awarded two one-year Administrative Supplements to Recognize Excellence in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) and to Better Incorporate Pain Related Research in Rheumatic, Skin and Musculoskeletal Diseases Workforce Development. Together these supplements support an additional 5 pre-doctoral trainees.

Fourth Year Medical Student Electives

Hospital for Special Surgery offers clinical electives for students in their fourth year of medical school.  Applications are accepted through the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities website, and applicants must meet all criteria to be accepted. Medical Student Elective placement runs on a first-come, first-served basis. However, Weill Cornell Medical College students are given priority via an open enrollment that precedes regular enrollment. Electives are offered from July through November to eligible students through AAMC Visiting Student Learning Opportunities® (VSLO®) program. Orthopaedic Biomechanics and Biomaterials Research is an elective with the Department of Biomechanics Chair as the primary mentor.

Guettel Fellowship

The Mary Rodgers and Henry Guettel Fellowship in Biomedical Mechanics is a postgraduate fellowship utilizing the resources of HSS and the Section of Biomechanics of the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University. The focus of the fellowship is to develop expertise in Biomedical Mechanics and Materials specifically as it relates to orthopedic biomechanics. The selected fellow is mentored by surgical and biomechanics staff from HSS as well as the biomedical engineers working within the CAMEO Program.

West Point Cadets

HSS has a longstanding collaboration with the United States Military Academy at West Point through clinical collaborations in research and fellowship training for West Point surgeons in the Hospital’s Sports Medicine service.

In recent years, the collaboration has been extended to hosting USMA cadets interested in biomedical engineering or medical careers in the Department of Biomechanics. Immersing the cadets into the Department for a month, they experience a broad array of ongoing orthopedic research projects with the opportunity to participate in data collection and analysis and in laboratory meetings and clinical conferences. The goal is to provide the cadets with a firsthand understanding of how multidisciplinary translational research can address clinically relevant questions with the goal of improving patient care.

The Perry Initiative

Each year members of our department volunteer to participate in the Perry Initiative. This is a one-day program, championed by Dr. Shevaun Doyle, for young women in high school to explore careers in orthopedic surgery, engineering, or both. In this workshop, students have the opportunity to learn about various aspects of orthopedics and biomechanics through lectures, hands-on activities, and question and answer sessions. Engineers, Residents, Clinical and Research Fellows, and Attending Surgeons work together to give an overview of these exciting career options.

1985: Dr. Wright collaborates with Dr. Eduardo Salvati, Dr. Barry Brause, and Dr. John Callaghan, a clinical fellow to win the Frank Stinchfield Award from the Hip Society for research into the biomechanical, pharmacokinetic, and clinical impacts of antibiotic additions to bone cement for the treatment of periprosthetic joint infection in total hip arthroplasty.

1989: Dr. Burstein is awarded the Alfred R. Shands, Jr., MD Award given by the Orthopaedic Research Society in recognition of the devotion of a significant portion of a professional lifetime to furthering knowledge in the fields of musculoskeletal disease.  

1989: Drs. Bartel, Rimnac, and Wright win a Kappa Delta Award from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the top prize in musculoskeletal research, for their research elucidating the mechanics of oxidation and wear in polyethylene joint replacement components.

1992: Dr. Wright serves as President of the Orthopaedic Research Society. Preceded by Dr. Philip D. Wilson, Sr (1956) and Dr. Joe Lane (1984) and followed by Dr. Adele Boskey (1996), Dr. Mary Goldring (2014), Dr. Mathias Bostrom (2015), Dr. Marjolein van der Meulen (2022), and Dr. Suzanne Maher (2024), Dr. Wright joins the longest list of Presidents from one institution in the history of the ORS.

1994: Drs. Rimnac and Wright collaborate with surgeon Mathias Bostrom, MD, to win the Mark Coventry Award from the Knee Society for their research describing the natural history of polyethylene degradation in knee replacement components from the time of manufacturing to implantation.

1997: Dr. Wright receives a Director's Special Citation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for his work on a forum of academic, industry, and FDA representatives striving to improve the regulatory process for orthopedic devices.

2011: Dr. Don Bartel becomes the second member of the Department (after Dr. Burstein in 1989) to receive the Alfred R. Shands, Jr., MD Award from the Orthopaedic Research Society for a professional lifetime of significant contributions to musculoskeletal research.

2011: Asheesh Bedi, MD, Mark Dolan, MD, Iftach Hetsroni, MD, Erin Magennis, MSc, Joseph Lipman, MS, Robert Buly, MD, and Bryan T. Kelly, MD., won this year's AOSSM Excellence in Research Award for their presentation titled, “Surgical Treatment of Femoroacetabular Impingement Improves Hip Kinematics: A Computer Assisted Model.”

2013: Dr. Wright becomes the third member of the Department (after Dr. Burstein in 1989 and Dr. Bartel in 2011) to receive the Alfred R. Shands, Jr., MD Award from the Orthopaedic Research Society for a professional lifetime of significant contributions to musculoskeletal research. Three is the greatest number of Shands Awards made to individual members of the same research laboratory in the more than 50-year history of the Award.

2015: George Triantafyllopoulos, MD, a clinical fellow, and his colleagues Dr. Wright, Dr. Christina Esposito, Dr. Doug Padgett, Dr. Jayme Burkett, and Marci Elpers win the Otto Aufranc Award from the Hip Society for their research showing that head size does not affect fretting and corrosion damage at the head-neck taper of metal-on-polyethylene total hip arthroplasties.

2020: Dr. Burstein, now Emeritus Senior Scientist at HSS, is presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Knee Society for his contributions to education, research, and development efforts centered on knee replacement surgery.

2020: Joey Romero, MD, a clinical fellow, and his colleagues Dr. Wright, Dr. Padgett, Dr. Geoffrey Westrich, Amanda Wach, Scott Silverberg, and Yu-Fen Chiu win the Otto Aufranc Award for outstanding research from the Hip Society for work examining the clinical and tribocorrosion aspects of malseating in modular dual-mobility liners. 

2020: Niv Marom, MD, and his colleagues Hervé Ouanezar, Hamidreza Jahandar, Zaid Zayyad, Thomas Fraychineaud, Daniel Hurwit, Carl Imhauser, Thomas Wickiewicz, Andrew Pearle, and Danyal Nawabi are awarded the Cabaud Memorial Award from the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine for their work showing that lateral extra-articular tenodesis reduces anterior cruciate ligament graft force and anterior tibial translation in response to applied pivoting and anterior drawer loads.

2020: Dr. Glenday, a postdoctoral fellow, and his colleagues Quevedo Gonzalez, Wright, Lipman, Sculco, and Vigdorchik receive the best presentation award at the New Early-Career Webinar Series of the International Society for Technology in Arthroplasty for their work evaluating the effect of varus alignment on the bone-implant interaction of cementless tibial baseplates

2022: Dr. Brett Steineman and colleagues win the J. Leonard Goldner Award for Outstanding Basic Science Paper at the Annual Meeting for the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society for a manuscript describing a study of passive eversion assessment for progressive collapsing foot deformity after lateral column lengthening.

2023: Dr. Steineman receives a New Investigator Recognition Award from the Orthopaedic Research Society for his research on a statistically augmented computational approach using geometric MRI-derived biomarkers as predictors of changes in joint mechanics after partial meniscectomy. 

2023: Dr. Wright receives the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Technology in Arthroplasty.

History and Timeline

The success of the Department of Biomechanics depends solely on the insightful clinical observations, intriguing clinically important questions, and the novel innovative ideas that stem from our “Surgeon Champions.” The collaboration between the Orthopedic Services and the Biomechanics Department staff provides a rich collegial environment from which to pursue research, product development, and educational initiatives.