HSS Receives $3.5 Million from Philanthropist Marina Kellen French and the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation
Gift Will Accelerate Multidisciplinary Research to Improve Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) Outcomes
HSS Trustee Marina Kellen French and the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation have made an extraordinary commitment of $3.5 million to support a new research initiative to enable more patients to achieve successful outcomes from knee replacement surgery. This gift is a continuation of Mrs. Kellen French’s exceptional ongoing support of joint replacement research at HSS, totaling over $13 million over the past five years.
TKA is among the most successful and widely used orthopedic procedures for patients with degenerative joint diseases, and the number of patients who will undergo this surgery is projected to grow to 1.28 million annually in the U.S. by 2030. For reasons that are not clear, a segment of these patients develop complications such as pain and stiffness that prevent them from experiencing the full benefits of this mobility-restoring procedure.
HSS is uniquely positioned to investigate the complex nature of this challenge as the top-ranked hospital for orthopedics in the U.S. for 11 straight years by U.S. News & World Report. HSS has a record of accomplishment as innovators and leaders in TKA research, including inventing the modern knee replacement, developing imaging techniques that have become the standard in the field, and building the largest and longest-running implant retrieval program. With this integral gift from Mrs. Kellen French, HSS will build upon these achievements and convene a multidisciplinary team of experts in knee surgery, bioengineering, basic science, pain management, and methodology to address the underlying, patient-specific causes of poor outcomes with the ultimate goal of more patients having successful long-term results.
Leading this research initiative is HSS Surgeon-in-Chief Emeritus and Director of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Complex Joint Reconstruction Center Thomas P. Sculco, MD, who reflected, “The COVID-19 pandemic greatly curtailed this knee outcome research program and so many others, we are profoundly grateful for Marina’s incredible support and the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation’s commitment, which will catalyze new discoveries that will improve the lives of so many suffering from debilitating arthritic conditions and certainly improve the success of knee replacement surgery”
Mrs. Kellen French has long been a champion of science at HSS, having created the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Clinician-Scientist Program, the Marina Kellen Chair in Complex Joint Reconstruction, and an interdisciplinary research initiative and collaboration with the Mayo Clinic on arthrofibrosis after knee replacement.
HSS is the world’s leading academic medical center focused on musculoskeletal health. At its core is Hospital for Special Surgery, nationally ranked No. 1 in orthopedics (for the 14th consecutive year), No. 2 in rheumatology by U.S. News & World Report (2023-2024), and the best pediatric orthopedic hospital in NY, NJ and CT by U.S. News & World Report “Best Children’s Hospitals” list (2023-2024). In a survey of medical professionals in more than 20 countries by Newsweek, HSS is ranked world #1 in orthopedics for a fourth consecutive year (2023). Founded in 1863, the Hospital has the lowest readmission rates in the nation for orthopedics, and among the lowest infection and complication rates. HSS was the first in New York State to receive Magnet Recognition for Excellence in Nursing Service from the American Nurses Credentialing Center five consecutive times. An affiliate of Weill Cornell Medical College, HSS has a main campus in New York City and facilities in New Jersey, Connecticut and in the Long Island and Westchester County regions of New York State, as well as in Florida. In addition to patient care, HSS leads the field in research, innovation and education. The HSS Research Institute comprises 20 laboratories and 300 staff members focused on leading the advancement of musculoskeletal health through prevention of degeneration, tissue repair and tissue regeneration. In addition, more than 200 HSS clinical investigators are working to improve patient outcomes through better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat orthopedic, rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. The HSS Innovation Institute works to realize the potential of new drugs, therapeutics and devices. The HSS Education Institute is a trusted leader in advancing musculoskeletal knowledge and research for physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, academic trainees, and consumers in more than 165 countries. The institution is collaborating with medical centers and other organizations to advance the quality and value of musculoskeletal care and to make world-class HSS care more widely accessible nationally and internationally. www.hss.edu.
