OREF Highlights

Marking a milestone in the development of American orthopaedic surgery, the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation was incorporated as a non-profit organization under the laws of Ohio on September 3, 1955.

Sparked from an idea generated through casual conversation between Alfred R. Shands Jr., M.D. and Harold A. Sofield, M.D., the first official discussion of forming a Foundation began in May 1952 at a meeting of the Orthopaedic Committee of the National Research Council. Attendees of that meeting recognized that the vitality and strength of any branch of medicine requires active research, good education, and high standards of training. This recognition led to the formation of a seven-member planning committee.

The committee decided that the American Orthopaedic Association (AOA) and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) should sponsor the Foundation and that each organization should contribute an equal amount for its initial operation. The Board of Trustees would be composed of three representatives from each organization.

The Board of Trustees, which included Joseph S. Barr Sr., M.D.; James A. Dickson, M.D.; Francis M. McKeever, M.D.; Alfred R. Shands Jr., M.D.; Harold A. Sofield, M.D., and Philip D. Wilson Sr., M.D., met for the first time on October 2, 1955 in New York City, the same time as the dedication of the Hospital for Special Surgery, the nation's first orthopaedic hospital. At that meeting, the Trustees elected the Foundation's first officers, made plans for its operation, and officially activated the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation.

Also during that meeting, the Board decided to prepare a survey to better understand the amount of orthopaedic research underway at that time. This survey showed that 67 projects in 53 clinics needed financial help. The estimated cost of this need was more than $500,000.

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"I had just finished my residency at the University of Chicago and was struggling to develop a research laboratory at the newly established medical school at the University of Mississippi.

My OREF grants enabled our research program there — and subsequently at the University of Florida — to compete successfully for research and training grants from the National Institutes of Health. We were beginning to develop methods of safely removing malignant tumors by limb-sparing local removals, and we needed to develop methods of reconstructing the defects after such removals.

Bone banks were being developed for this purpose and it was necessary to determine the sequence of events of their healing and whether or not such large grafts might be rejected by immunologic incompatibility. This investigation led to a subsequent series of investigations that established the principles for the development of modern bone banks."

William F. Enneking, M.D.
Three-time OREF Research Grant recipient

Dr. Enneking received his first OREF Research Grant in 1957