>> Movement is the essence of life.
We climb stairs and button shirts.
We race marathons or play the violin.
We reach out a hand to our loved ones.
Over seven generations and across more than 150 countries Hospital
for Special Surgery has unleashed the liberating potential of motion through a relentless pursuit
of musculoskeletal advancement helping millions enjoy active and healthy lives.
Musculoskeletal conditions, including arthritis and back pain, autoimmune diseases
like juvenile arthritis and lupus, and degeneration or injury to bones, tendons,
and ligaments are just some of the conditions that form one
of the world's greatest health challenges.
In the U.S. alone these conditions affect over 127 million people each year at a cost
of $874 billion, almost six percent of our GDP.
And the challenge they present will only grow.
As the world's leading and largest living laboratory for orthopedics
and rheumatology research, HSS is uniquely capable to meet this challenge.
Ranked number one in the country again and again, HSS continues to disrupt orthodoxy
with groundbreaking discoveries that enable new interventions and techniques, from designing
and developing the first modern total knee replacement, to identifying the biomarkers
that may predict orthopedic implant loosening, to linking the JAK-STAT signaling pathway
to rheumatoid arthritis which led to an FDA-approved therapy
to stop the disease's symptoms and progression.
Our work sets the benchmark for musculoskeletal care across the globe.
Today we're doing even more.
Over 300 scientists and support staff work across 20 labs
and clinical services in our research institute.
To address the epidemic of disease and pain and enable people to live better,
HSS is expanding research in three critical areas: Prevention of tissue degeneration,
tissue repair, and tissue regeneration.
At the Center for Prevention
of Tissue Degeneration we investigate the mechanical factors and molecular pathways
that cause injuries, stress, inflammation, and aging to compromise musculoskeletal tissues.
Our goal is to reduce or even prevent tissue degeneration, keeping people of all ages active
and able to lead productive and fulfilling lives.
To give just one instance, in a landmark discovery, scientists at HSS linked interferon,
a protein involved in immune system activation and inflammation, with lupus.
Today we're exploring revolutionary ways to inhibit interferon-related molecular pathways,
preventing the immune system from attacking its own tissues
in lupus and other autoimmune diseases.
At the Center for Tissue Repair we investigate causes of poor tissue healing
in orthopedic conditions, arthritis, and autoimmune diseases.
We use approaches that integrate basic science and genomics with precision medicine.
Our aim is to help the body heal itself, developing new therapies
that target inflammation and growth pathways to repair the musculoskeletal system.
For example, HSS scientists have identified molecules and pathways important
for the function of cells that repair bones, cartilage, and muscles.
They are using this knowledge to develop new therapeutic approaches to restore function
to patients with arthritis and prevent major surgical complications
such as implant loosening.
At the Center for Tissue Regeneration we seek to cure the incurable.
Working with tissue damage too advanced for current medicines to treat,
we combine disciplines from orthopedics, tissue engineering, developmental biology, epigenetics,
stem cell reprogramming, and imaging.
We seek to rejuvenate and replace destroyed tissues to restore mobility,
truly enabling healthy longevity.
In one current project scientists at HSS are developing new biomaterials such as scaffolds
and hydrogels that can be seeded with stem cells to create replacements for injured
or degenerated menisci and tendons.
These biomaterials are customized and integrate seamlessly into the native knee.
We are also developing approaches to reprogram cells to reverse the effects of trauma,
degeneration, or even aging on musculoskeletal cells
and tissues such as spine discs and tendons.
This has the promise to create a young tissue environment which will transform the lives
of patients suffering from back pain and tendinopathy.
Every day the HSS Research Institute
and its research centers are unlocking possibilities once deemed unthinkable.
Together with our generous supporters and leaders across the enterprise,
HSS will further advance the field of musculoskeletal health so people
across the globe can move better and live healthier,
more fulfilling lives for generations to come.