Overview
This honorarium of $5,000 will go to a mid-career ORS member for outstanding and sustained commitment to mentorship, as well as a demonstrated track-record of an upward trajectory and impactful research program.
About the Award
Named for Adele L. Boskey, PhD, this award is annually given to a mid-career (between 10 and 20 years beyond their PhD, MD, DVM) ORS member in good standing who has made significant contributions to the mentorship of rising scientists, engineers, and/or clinician/scientists in the fields of orthopaedics and musculoskeletal science and engineering. Emphasis is given towards the awardee’s sustained commitment to mentorship and activities that advance diversity and inclusive excellence in these fields. The awardee should have also made significant research contributions and have demonstrated leadership or capacity for leadership in the field. This award is given in recognition of Dr. Boskey’s pioneering and seminal research contributions, her sustained commitment to mentorship throughout her decades-long career, and to the legacy of orthopaedic clinician/scientists, biologists, and engineering researchers and leaders that she launched. The Award is sponsored by the Orthopaedic Research Society.
Adele L. Boskey, PhD, a crystallographer by training, was a pioneer and leader in the field of biomineralization. She applied her expertise to advance both knowledge of fundamental musculoskeletal biology as well as clinical translation of that knowledge for the benefit of patients. She received her BS in chemistry from Barnard College and her PhD from Boston University and launched her career with a post-doctoral fellowship at the Imperial College in London. Adele was a passionate and dedicated researcher for more than 45 years at The Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City, from 1972 to 2017. She was Director of Research at HSS from 1993 to 2002 and held the Starr Chair in Mineralized Tissue Research.
Dr. Boskey is best known for her contributions to our fundamental understanding of biomineralization and to our understanding of bone disorders such as osteoporosis and osteogenesis imperfecta. As evidence of her outstanding abilities and passion for research, she was continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health throughout her decades-long career. Many of her nearly 300 publications form a seminal and enduring body of literature on biomineralization.
Dr. Boskey was also an extraordinary mentor and leader. She inspired and mentored untold numbers of students, residents, post-doctoral fellows, and new investigators, including clinician/scientists. She was generous with her time and gracious with her constructive and valuable wisdom, be it about a scientific hypothesis or work-life balance, and everything in-between.
Dr. Boskey was the first woman to serve as president of the Orthopaedic Research Society. She also furthered the advancement of diversity and inclusive excellence in the ORS by co-founding the Women’s Leadership Forum. In all that she did, Dr. Adele Boskey set an extraordinary example through her quiet yet effective leadership that clearly and emphatically valued ethical behavior, equitable opportunity and respect for pursuit of the highest quality in musculoskeletal research.
For her scholarship, mentorship, and leadership, Dr. Adele L. Boskey was recognized with many of the highest honors that can be received in our field, including an AAOS/ORS Kappa Delta Award, the ORS/AAOS Alfred R. Shands, Jr. Award, the Lawrence G. Raisz Award of the ASBMR, the Distinguished Investigator Award of the ORS/OREF, and the Pioneer in Orthopaedics Award of the ORS.
Recognition
- Honorarium of $5,000
- Commemorative plaque
The winner must be present at the ORS Annual Meeting to accept the award.
Eligibility
The purpose of this award is to recognize a mid-career member of the ORS for outstanding and sustained commitment to mentorship as well as a demonstrated track-record of an upward trajectory and impactful research program. The nominee must be an ORS member* in good standing, and would typically be not less than ten and not more than twenty years beyond their terminal degree (e.g., PhD, MD, DVM) at the time of nomination submission. Typically, an academic recipient will hold the status of associate professor consistent with peer recognition for contributions as an independent research-educator. In non-academic sectors, the recipient will typically demonstrate strong contributions in mentorship, practice, or leadership within appropriate positions in industry or medicine.
Submissions
Submission package must include:
- A letter of nomination, providing evidence of outstanding mentorship of pre-doctoral students and/or post-doctoral fellows, with special emphasis on the nominee’s substantive and on-going contributions to diversity and inclusive excellence in the fields of orthopaedics and musculoskeletal science and engineering. The letter should also document the strength and upward trajectory of the candidate’s research program and evidence of his/her demonstrated leadership or capacity for leadership.
- A recent CV with a maximum of 5 pages of the nominee in support of the nomination letter.
- Self nominations are not accepted for this award.
- Applicants who are more than 20 years beyond their terminal degree (PhD, MD, or DVM) are required to submit a brief statement explaining why they should still be considered for the award.
*For those submitting nominations who are not ORS members please contact Karey Hyland at [email protected]*
Nominations are now closed.
2027 Adele L. Boskey, PhD Award Recipient
Megan L. Killian, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery (tenured) and Molecular and Integrative Physiology at the University of Michigan. Her interdisciplinary research program investigates how mechanical, molecular, and metabolic signals regulate tendon and enthesis development, adaptation, injury, and healing. Her work has introduced innovative approaches, including optogenetic control of muscle loading, to illuminate musculoskeletal mechanobiology and inform regenerative strategies. Her research is supported by multiple National Institutes of Health R01 awards and a National Science Foundation CAREER Award. Since establishing her independent laboratory in 2016, Dr. Killian has mentored trainees across career stages and disciplines, including doctoral and master’s students, postdoctoral fellows, medical students, undergraduates, and research staff. Her individualized approach emphasizes rigorous science, resilience, self-reflection, leadership, and ownership of one’s professional path. Her trainees have advanced to careers in academia, biotechnology, medicine, engineering, and consulting. Dr. Killian has served the ORS as Chair of the Women’s Leadership Forum, Education Chair for the Tendon Section, and Community Council Chair on the Board of Directors. Through these and other institutional and national initiatives, she expands access to mentorship, professional development, and leadership opportunities while fostering a more inclusive musculoskeletal research community.
We are happy to announce that the Adele L. Boskey Award is fully funded!
Our goal was to raise $125,000 and it has been achieved through your generous donations and that of Dr. Boskey’s estate. The award will continue to honor Dr. Boskey’s pioneering and seminal research contributions, her sustained commitment to mentorship, and to the legacy of orthopaedic clinician/scientists, biologists, and engineering researchers and leaders that she launched throughout her career.
Thank you to all those who made a donation to support the Adele L Boskey Award:
| Andrea Alford Tamara Alliston Peter Amadio Donna Astion Chelsea Bahney Gary Balian Mary Barbe Joan Bechtold Mathias Bostrom Anton Bowden Barbara Boyan Elizabeth Bradley Richard Brand Susan Bukata David Burr Albert Burstein Julia Charles Susanna Chubinskaya Dwight Davy Eve Donnelly Dawn Elliott Cornelia Farnum Brenda Frederick Xueqin Gao James Iatridis Lynne Jones | Natalie Kelly Karen King Kenneth Kozloff Joseph Lane Galyna Loughran Suzanne Maher Russell Main Daniel McDonald Elise Morgan George Muschler Ruth Ochia Nancy Pleshko Jeremy Rawlinson Clare Rimnac Linda Sandell Rachel Seymour Matthew Silva Rick Sumner Brittany Taylor Peter Torzilli Laura Tosi Sophie Verrier Jennifer Westendorf Jennifer Woodell-May Timothy Wright Yaxia Zhang |
Special thanks to Dr. Clare Rimnac for proposing an award be named for Dr. Adele Boskey.
