School of Medicine
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

We were recently honored to welcome Riley J. Williams III, MD, as the 2025 Freddie H. Fu Visiting Professor in Sports Medicine. Dr. Williams is Chief of the Sports Medicine Institute and Director of the Institute for Cartilage Repair at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), New York, NY.

His clinical and research interests center on returning athletes to sport through advanced techniques in articular cartilage repair and transplantation, ACL reconstruction, meniscus repair, arthroscopic shoulder stabilization, rotator cuff repair, and elbow ligament reconstruction. He also leads work in the use of stem cells and biologics to treat musculoskeletal disorders.

During his visit, Dr. Williams met with UPMC and Pitt Orthopaedic faculty, staff, fellows, and residents, and toured the UPMC Freddie Fu Sports Medicine Center. He delivered an engaging Grand Rounds lecture on articular cartilage repair of the knee and the lessons he has learned throughout his career.

Dr. Williams also had the opportunity to meet and spend time with Dr. Fu’s daughter, Joyce Fu. They shared Dr. Williams’ experience interviewing for the UPMC Sports Medicine fellowship decades ago and Dr. Fu’s legacy and impact in orthopaedic surgery and sports medicine.

We sincerely thank Dr. Williams for sharing his time, expertise, and insights with us and hope to see him in the Steel City again soon.

The Orland Bethel Family Musculoskeletal Research Center (BMRC) recently celebrated the naming of its newly upgraded laboratory space in the Biomedical Science Tower (BST) with a ceremony honoring Mr. Orland Bethel and his family.

The event was attended by University of Pittsburgh leadership, including Anantha Shekhar, MD, PhD, Dean of the School of Medicine; Chancellor Joan Gabel; BMRC Executive Director Joon Y. Lee, MD; MaCalus V. Hogan, MD, MBA, Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery; and Gwendolyn Sowa, MD, PhD, Chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

During the ceremony, Mr. Bethel was recognized for his long-standing generosity and support of musculoskeletal research. A nameplate honoring him is now proudly displayed in the newly renovated BMRC laboratory space. Mr. Bethel and his family, including his children and grandchildren, were in attendance to celebrate the occasion and tour the updated facilities.

Renovations are slated to finish late November and all BMRC core labs will move into their new space beginning December 1, 2026.

Visit the BMRC website for more photos of the event.

Last year, our department awarded the inaugural Pitt Orthopaedics Development awards (P.O.D) to promising Pitt Ortho trainees and faculty. The P.O.D. Award was meant to be utilized to support endeavors in leadership, education, academia, research, new innovations or community outreach.

We are happy to announce that one of the P.O.D award recipients, resident Dr. Xi Chen, used her funds to support her research, which was recently featured in the AOA Critical Issues in Education publication.

The published paper can be found here on PubMed.

We were proud to host another successful annual Pitt Ortho Alumni Tailgate ahead of the Pitt Panthers’ home game against Boston College at Acrisure Stadium. Sponsored generously by Dr. MaCalus Hogan and the Department, this tradition brings together our alumni, current faculty, residents, fellows, and staff for a day of great food, camaraderie, and Panther pride.

We were treated to perfect weather, an excellent turnout, and an even better game day performance as the Panthers dominated Boston College with a 48 - 7 victory!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this year’s celebration. We look forward to seeing you again next fall. Hail to Pitt!

The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery was proud to be well represented at the 2025 American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) Annual Meeting held recently in San Diego, California.

Pitt and UPMC Orthopaedic Care faculty and alumni contributed to the meeting’s success through podium presentations, panel discussions, and several poster sessions, highlighting our continued leadership in advancing shoulder and elbow research and clinical innovation.

Dr. Albert Lin was also tapped to serve on the ASES Nominating Committee, which plays a key role in determining the society’s presidential line.

The meeting provided a wonderful opportunity for current faculty and fellows and Pitt alumni to reconnect. Some notable attendees included Dr. Nathan Formaini, Dr. Andrew Sheean (former fellow, currently at University of Wisconsin), Dr. Mike Luciani (former shoulder fellow), Dr. Mike Niemann (former hand fellow) and current shoulder fellow Dr. Nana Simpson.

Congratulations to all who represented the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Orthopaedic Care at this year’s ASES meeting!

The Bone Bash Gala is one of the largest fundraising events of the year for the Arthritis Foundation and both UPMC and the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery are proud sponsors of this event.

We send congratulations to Gwendolyn Sowa, MD, PhD, this year's Bone Bash Medicial Honoree.

Dr. Sowa is the chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, the director of the UPMC Rehabilitation Institute, and the medical director of UPMC Total Care - Musculoskeletal Health. At the University of Pittsburgh, she is a professor, the co-director of the Ferguson Laboratory for Orthopaedic and Spine Research and holds joint appointments in the Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Bioengineering. 

Dr. Sowa’s clinical interest is in the interdisciplinary care of patients with low back pain and other musculoskeletal conditions. It is her goal to develop more personalized treatment approaches for low back pain and arthritis informed by her research into these common and multi-factorial conditions.

Congratulations, Dr. Sowa!