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very beginning: its focus on Wehle Professor and Chair of the meaningful progress. He created
producing not only global-leading Department of Orthopaedics. interdisciplinary collaboration
research, but also on developing within the Department of
future generations of research “We are very proud of our legacy,” Orthopaedics and with other
leaders. said Edward M. Schwarz, Ph.D., departments and centers. He took
Richard and Margaret Burton a team science approach before it
CMSR celebrated its 20th Distinguished Professor of became popular, and it’s been the
anniversary in November with a Orthopaedics and Director of secret of our success.”
virtual gathering that recognized the Center for Musculoskeletal
its founding director, Randy Research. “The collegiality Looking back at CMSR’s many
Rosier, M.D., Ph.D. Since CMSR amongst us is a tremendous achievements, Schwarz focused
began in July 2000, it has been on advantage over our competitors on the impact it has had outside
a path of steady and impressive at peer institutions. The culture the laboratory.
progress: from a small handful of CMSR, as much as anything
of mostly clinical faculty, to 77 else that Randy gifted to us, “There are many ways to evaluate
investigators and 126 pre- and has enabled us to achieve the the success and impact of what
post-doctoral trainees. From prominence that we have.” CMSR does, and one of those
self-financing by the University is philanthropy,” Schwarz said.
of Rochester, to more than $30 Rubery and Schwarz noted the “Charles Courtsal, M.D., and
million in extramural funding importance of early, prescient his wife, Lisa Gwinner, who
as one of the top NIH-funded decisions Rosier made to think recently donated $25,000 to
musculoskeletal centers in the beyond traditional orthopaedics support osteoarthritis research
nation. From an unknown on the research. in Dr. Jennifer Jonason’s lab in
academic research landscape, “In 2000, CMSR was all CMSR, believe in and support
to a powerhouse that published orthopaedics-biomechanics our mission. Dr. Courtsal, a
more than 250 peer-reviewed focused—a ‘bone bending- and Professor of Clinical Medicine
publications in 2020. breaking-lab’,” Schwarz noted. in Primary Care at URMC, first
came to Rochester as a medical
“When the center started, it didn’t
“For two decades, CMSR has student in 1985. Lisa worked
been the crown jewel of our have biomedical engineers. Randy in the lab of Sheila Mundorf at
department and we’re continually carefully built CMSR’s physical the Eastman Dental Center for
energized by the center’s ongoing infrastructure to get it ready more than a decade. As Lisa’s
growth and evolution,” said Paul for that all-important step of severe osteoarthritis leads to
T. Rubery, M.D., Marjorie Strong integrating cellular and molecular progressive disability, they sought
science into our work.”
out Dr. Jonason in order to make
Another cornerstone of CMSR’s a difference with basic research
success: partnerships with locally.”
clinicians and researchers from “I’m also particularly proud of our
other disciplines.
role in developing future leaders
“Very early on, Dr. Rosier in the field of musculoskeletal
developed numerous research,” Schwarz added. “A
collaborations across clinical number of chairs in orthopaedics
and research departments began their careers in our
that continue to this day,” program—most recently, Susan
Rubery said. “Biochemistry, Bukata, M.D., was named Chair of
biophysics, endocrinology— Orthopaedics for the University
Randy Rosier, M.D., Ph.D. all have been vital to CMSR’s of California at San Diego.” Other
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