HSS Research Institute
Since its founding more than 150 years ago, Hospital for Special Surgery has been a leader in research aimed at improving the lives of patients suffering from debilitating orthopedic and rheumatic conditions such as arthritis, bone and soft tissue injuries, autoimmune diseases, and musculoskeletal pain and deformities.
Today, the HSS Research Institute, with over 225 dedicated personnel, is identifying mechanisms underlying these conditions, and developing effective approaches for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. With a focus on tissue repair, improving surgical outcomes, autoimmunity and inflammation, genomics, new treatments, and precision medicine, the impact of our discoveries – many of which are only happening at HSS – determine future directions of musculoskeletal research to best improve clinical outcomes.
As a specialty academic hospital, we are privileged to have unique insights into the most pressing clinical challenges that patients face. By mobilizing our multidisciplinary expertise and research resources to tackle these challenges, we can improve clinical care and transform outcomes.
Research Areas
Director: Timothy Wright, PhD
The goal of the Department of Biomechanics is to apply principles of engineering and materials science to solve orthopaedic problems by conducting basic and applied research that translates to the development of orthopedic devices and instrumentation aimed at improved patient care.
Director / Chief Scientific Officer: Lionel Ivashkiv, MD
The goal of the Institute for Biological Sciences is to advance discoveries in musculoskeletal and autoimmune disease biology to develop innovative preventive and therapeutic approaches that can improve patient outcomes.
We are embarking on a new era of research at HSS by expanding the scope of basic and clinical science and building multidisciplinary translational research teams.
Our diverse Clinical Research portfolio, led by motivated surgeon-scientists, physician-scientists, and dedicated research teams is united in the common goal to bridge discovery, clinical investigation, and real-world evidence to accelerate advances in musculoskeletal and rheumatologic health.
HSS Research In the News
- HSS Researchers Test Suzetrigine as a Safer Alternative to Opioids
- HSS Extends Its National Leadership with 17th Consecutive No. 1 Ranking in Orthopedics and No. 3 Ranking in Rheumatology by U.S. News & World Report
- HSS Study Reveals How Early-Life Cellular Process Helps Shape Lifelong Immune Health
- Journavx may be well tolerated for pain management after orthopedic surgery
- Surgically Relevant Knee Phenotypes: The Modified Coronal Plane Alignment of the Knee System—A Deep Learning–Based Classification
- Hip Fracture Surgery: How Age, Frailty Guide Anesthesia Choice
- Acupuncture may improve pain, reduce opioid use after THA
- Nonopioid pain reliever for orthopedic surgery performs well in HSS study
- HSS Studies Contribute Early Evidence to Help Guide Emerging Perioperative Considerations for Patients Using GLP 1 Medications
- HSS Presents New Research Leveraging AI to Uncover Insights Related to Pain Risk and Anesthesia Education at ASRA Annual Meeting
- HSS Presents New Research at the ARSA Conference 2026
- HSS Study Evaluates Non-Opioid Pain Relief Following Orthopedic Surgery
- Custom osseointegration implants may have similar outcomes to off-the-shelf implants
- Osseointegration during amputation had similar outcomes as in existing amputations
- 10 spine studies to know in Q1
- Infection prevention in TKA may require ‘robust’ program, not adjusting surgeon volume
- HSS Presents New Research at the AAOS Conference 2026
- HSS Reports Results of Key Studies on Targeted Medication Use in Joint Replacement Surgery
- Patients with iodine-related allergies may still receive iodine-based products during TJA
- Paging the Bone Whisperers: HSS’s Metabolic Fellowship Gets $495K
- COX-2 inhibitors, anticoagulants may not increase wound-related bleeding after THA.
- GLP-1s may have profound impact on total joint replacement
- ‘Quiet knee’ rehabilitation protocol may reduce opioid exposure after TKA
- HSS Researchers Report Benefits of Robotic-Assisted Spine Surgery for Adolescent Athletes with Back Pain Due to Pars Fractures
- Incorporating Social Determinants of Health Into Clinical Practice Is Central to Improving Care and Outcomes
- Custom-tailored AI platform may be feasible for addressing patient questions before TJA
- HSS Patient Outcomes Research Highlights Ongoing Commitment to Accurate Reporting and Patient Safety
- HSS Research Shows “Quiet Knee” Protocol Could Redefine Knee Replacement Recovery
- HSS Presents New Research at The American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons Annual Meeting
- Hospital for Special Surgery Study Shows AI Tool Effectively Prepares Patients for Joint Replacement Surgery
- When Age and Heart Failure Crash the DDD Party
- Social Isolation a Common Theme Among Older People With SLE
- Machine learning may assist in identifying pain trajectories after TKA
- HSS Achieves 100% Success Rate for Sedation-Free Pediatric MRIs
- Knee implants may have high long-term survivability in young patients
- Two HSS Studies Exploring Pain Control Win President’s Choice Awards at Annual ASRA Meeting
- HSS Studies Identify Potential Profile and Treatment Options for Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
- HSS Names Kevin M. Koch, PhD, Founding Director of the Applied Sciences Institute and Vice Chair of Research in Radiology
- New Study Reveals Young, Active Patients Who Have Total Knee Replacements are Unlikely to Need Revision Surgery in their Lifetime
- Tibial tubercle transfer associated with low complication risk with, without distalization
- Trials Aim to Show Benefit of Orthobiologic for Knee OA
- GLP-1 receptor agonists may improve outcomes for patients with morbid obesity after TKA
- HSS Participates in Promising Phase 3 Lupus Trial of Investigational Therapy DZP
- Proximal femoral replacement may effectively salvage complex revision THA cases
- Study Shows Knee Osteoarthritis Causes More Pain and Inflammation in Women
- HSS Presents Cutting-Edge Discoveries in Rheumatic Disease and Reproductive Health at ACR Convergence 2024
- Study Shows Avacopan Effective for Most Serious Vasculitis Cases
- Surprising Study Finds No Link Between Rheumatoid Arthritis and Transfusion Risk After Knee Replacement
- New Research Reveals Alterations in Blood of People at Risk of Developing Rheumatoid Arthritis
- New Study Signals How Online Search Trends Could Lead to More Personalized Rheumatic Disease Care
Movement is the Essence of Life