To fund innovative research that improves musculoskeletal health, support investigators throughout their careers, and collaborate with others to drive improvements in clinical practice.
A defining feature of Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation grantmaking is its mix of large translational awards and smaller investigator-development grants. Recent support reaches from $400,000 for The Hospital for Special Surgery’s JUPITER 4.0 study on failure of isolated MPFL reconstruction to $398,996 for Washington University in St Louis’s work on optimizing outcomes of hip surgery in borderline acetabular dysplasia. The foundation also backs multi-project research efforts, including Washington University in StLouis’s 2023 award for studies on biologic age in adult spinal deformity, wearable sensors after brachial plexus reconstruction, and mediators of the osteoarthritis cascade in the pre-arthritic hip. Its portfolio aligns with a stated goal of funding innovative research that improves musculoskeletal health, supporting investigators throughout their careers, and collaborating to improve clinical practice. The mix includes clinical questions in joint stability, fracture repair, infection, and perioperative recovery, alongside biologics and translational work. Grantees range from academic medical centers to research institutes and hospital systems, indicating a funding model built around musculoskeletal research infrastructure rather than individual patient aid.
The foundation supports a wide range of orthopaedic research questions through named awards and project grants. In osteoarthritis and joint preservation, it gave $50,000 to The Regents of the University of California Los Angeles for Functional Impact of Intra-articular ALK1-Fc Therapy in Osteoarthritis, and $49,378 to The University of Iowa for Platelet Rich Plasma for Osteoarthritis: Role of Exosomes in Effectiveness. In biologics and tissue regeneration, it awarded $100,000 to University of Washington for Magnetic Microgels for Composite Musculoskeletal Tissue Regeneration and $50,000 to The Regents of the University of California on Behalf of its Davis Campus for Decellularized Skeletal Muscle Matrix for Open Fractures with Muscle Loss. It also funds sports and recovery research, including $50,000 to Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium - The Henry Jackson Foundation for Dynamic Gait-Synchronous Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction, and $25,000 to University of Florida for Educational tools for injury prevention guidelines for baseball caregivers.
$912K
$20M
$4.7M
$6.2M
Most grants fall between $20K and $100K, with a median of $50K.
25th Percentile
$20K
Median
$50K
75th Percentile
$100K
About 3% of grants go to recipients in NY.
Andrew N Pollak MD
Top 2 recipient countries by grant volume for Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation.
| Rank | Country | Grants | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United StatesDomestic | 63 | $5M | 98.4% |
| 2 | Canada |
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Typical grant size clusters around a median of $49,992, with a lower quartile of $20,000 and an upper quartile of $100,000. The recent record shows both one-off project awards and repeated support to the same institutions across multiple years, including The Hospital for Special Surgery and Washington University in StLouis. The foundation operates as a grantmaker rather than a program that funds individuals, and it does not make program-related investments. Several active programs accept unsolicited applications, including the OREF Mentored Clinician Scientist Grant, OREF Clinical Research Award, OREF/MTF Biologics Research Grant, OREF/ASES/Rockwood Clinical Shoulder Research Grant, and the youth sports injury prevention research grant.
Grant recipients are overwhelmingly in the United States, with one recent grant in Canada. New York, St Louis, New Haven, Coral Gables, and Boston appear among the recipient locations, along with Hyattsville, Lebanon, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Iowa City. The foundation’s top state by grant count is Virginia, while 0% of grants in the recent dataset went to Illinois, its headquarters state. Canadian funding appears in Ontario through London Health Sciences Centre Research Inc.
Its active programs and recent grants focus on musculoskeletal research, including orthopaedic surgery, osteoarthritis, trauma, biologics, hip and knee care, spine, foot and ankle, pediatric orthopaedics, musculoskeletal oncology, health disparities, and pain management. Recent projects also include infection, imaging, 3D planning, tendon healing, and sports-injury prevention.
The recent grant-size distribution centers on a median of $49,992, with a p25 of $20,000 and a p75 of $100,000. The recent list also includes awards at $20,000, $25,000, $50,000, $75,000, and $100,000, plus larger project grants above that range.
Yes for several programs. The OREF Mentored Clinician Scientist Grant, OREF Clinical Research Award, OREF/Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation Biologics Research Grant, OREF/ASES/Rockwood Clinical Shoulder Research Grant, and OREF Prevention of Musculoskeletal Youth Sports Injuries Research Grant all accept unsolicited applications. The OREF-OTA Trauma Research Grant and OREF/RegenMed Collaboration do not.
No. Most recent grants went to U.S. recipients, but one recent grant was awarded in Canada to London Health Sciences Centre Research Inc in Ontario. The geographic scope of giving is national, with additional global activity through the Shimomura/OREF/SICOT Travel Awards program.
It funds organizations rather than individuals. The foundation’s grants go to universities, hospitals, research institutes, and medical consortia, such as The Hospital for Special Surgery, Washington University in St Louis, Yale University, and MedStar Health Research Institute.
2026
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2026.
| 1 |
| $150K |
1.6% |
Recipient country reflects the grantee's headquarters per IRS 990-PF and Schedule F filings, not the program's implementation country.
Current and upcoming funding from Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation that your nonprofit may be able to apply for.
Who can apply: Specific eligibility requirements were not provided in the scraped content.
Deadline: RFA Release Date: 7/15/2026; Application Deadline: 10/15/2026
Who can apply: Specific eligibility requirements are listed in the grant description.
Deadline: RFA Release Date 07/15/2026; LOI Deadline 08/13/2026; Application Deadline 10/15/2026
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Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MAYO CLINIC ROCHESTER MN | Rochester, MN | $300,000 | 2026 | Evaluation of Phage Dosing for Periprosthetic Joint Infection Treatment |
| Scottish Rite for Children | Dallas, TX | $149,654 | 2026 | Understanding Factors Influencing Attrition in Orthopedic Surgical Training |
| MAYO CLINIC ROCHESTER MN | Rochester, MN | $50,000 | 2026 | How Many Dexamethasone Doses Should Be Given in TKA? - A Prospective RT |
| New York, NY |
| $50,000 |
| 2026 |
| The Role of Cellular Senescence in Joint Stiffness |
| Scottish Rite for Children | Dallas, TX | $49,999 | 2026 | Establishing a RTP test battery for patients post shoulder stabilization |
| The Regents of the University of California on Behalf of its Davis Campus | Davis, CA | $49,908 | 2026 | CHAT-OA: Conversations in Health-Literacy using AI for Osteoarthritis Pts |
| The University of Utah | Salt Lake City, UT | $49,698 | 2026 | Synovial lining macrophages in OA: Defining their fate in obesity |
| Emory University | Atlanta, GA | $25,000 | 2026 | Elucidating cancer resistance of naked mole rats |
| Daniel Saris | Chicago, IL | $20,000 | 2026 | Optimizing Patient Outcomes Following Osteochondral Allograft Transplantation - The Impact of 25 Years of Translational and Clinical Research |
| The Regents of the University of California San Francisco | San Francisco, CA | $20,000 | 2026 | Addressing Cross-Cultural Adaptation of PROMs for Distal Radius Fractures |
| University of Connecticut Health Center | Farmington, CT | $20,000 | 2026 | Evaluation of Cartilage Integrative Healing in Osteochondral Allografts |
| The Hospital for Special Surgery | New York, NY | $20,000 | 2026 | Characterizing the cellular composition of bone marrow aspirate concentrate |
| The Ohio State University | Columbus, OH | $20,000 | 2026 | Transformative Solutions for Reducing Frequent 911 Fall Calls in the Homes |
| Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago | Chicago, IL | $20,000 | 2026 | RED KARD: Reducing Disparities in Knee Arthroscopy for Adolescents |
| Washington University in StLouis | St Louis, MO | $20,000 | 2026 | Identification & Imaging of Skeletal Muscle Response to Graded Nerve Crush |
| Washington University in StLouis | St Louis, MO | $20,000 | 2026 | Mediators of the OA Cascade in the Pre-Arthritic Hip |
| The Hospital for Special Surgery | New York, NY | $17,810 | 2026 | Knee-Flexion Angle Effects on Joint Mechanics After Meniscus Root Repair |
| MAYO CLINIC ROCHESTER MN | Rochester, MN | $10,000 | 2026 | RECLAIM: Allogenic MSCs Facilitation of Autologous Cartilage Recycling, Our Multidisciplinary Moonshot to Innovate Patient Care by Leveraging MSC Function, The Bench-to-Bedside Journey |
| The Hospital for Special Surgery | New York, NY | $300,000 | 2025 | Objective TKA Laxity: Correlation with Patient Perceptions of Instability? |
| MedStar Health Research Institute | Hyattsville, MD | $149,948 | 2025 | Treating Cauda Equina Syndrome from a Health Care Disparities Perspective |
| London Health Sciences Centre Research Inc | Ontario | $149,943 | 2025 | Fixation for Fractures Around the Ankle in the Frail or Compromised Elderly |
| University of Washington | Seattle, WA | $100,000 | 2025 | Magnetic Microgels for Composite Musculoskeletal Tissue Regeneration |
| The Regents of the University of California on Behalf of its Davis Campus | Davis, CA | $50,000 | 2025 | Decellularized Skeletal Muscle Matrix for Open Fractures with Muscle Loss |
| Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium - The Henry Jackson Foundation for | Summerville, SC | $50,000 | 2025 | Dynamic Gait-Synchronous Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction |
| Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium - The Geneva Foundation | Summerville, SC | $50,000 | 2025 | Objective Dynamic and 3D Knee Assessment Medical Device to Improve Recovery and Accelerate Return to Readiness of Members with Knee Pain |
| The Hospital for Special Surgery | New York, NY | $50,000 | 2025 | Characterizing the effects of corticosteroids in rotator cuff tendinopathy |
| University of Florida | Gainesville, FL | $25,000 | 2025 | Educational tools for injury prevention guidelines for baseball caregivers |
| MAYO CLINIC ROCHESTER MN | Rochester, MN | $20,000 | 2025 | Osteoarthritis Gene Therapy: A 30-Year Journey from Concept to Clinical Trials |
| Boston Children's Hospital | Boston, MA | $20,000 | 2025 | Effect of vitamin D in prevention and treatment of pediatric fractures |
| The Ohio State University | Columbus, OH | $20,000 | 2025 | Transformative Solutions for Reducing Frequent 911 Fall Calls |
| Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis | Saint Louis, MO | $20,000 | 2025 | Mediators of the OA Cascade in the Pre-Arthritic Hip |
| Washington University in StLouis | St Louis, MO | $20,000 | 2025 | Identification & Imaging of Skeletal Muscle Response to Graded Nerve Crush |
| Columbia University Irving Medical Center | New York, NY | $20,000 | 2025 | Enhanced Enthesis Regeneration via Gli1+ Enthesis Stem Cell Treatment |
| Yale University | New Haven, CT | $19,980 | 2025 | Mid-Substance PCL Tear: A Novel Arthroscopic Direct Repair Technique |
| The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA | $18,290 | 2025 | Validating the use of Next-Generation Sequencing in Open Fracture Care |
| The Hospital for Special Surgery | New York, NY | $400,000 | 2024 | JUPITER 4.0: Risk factors for failure of isolated MPFL reconstruction |
| Washington University in StLouis | St Louis, MO | $398,996 | 2024 | Optimizing Outcomes of Hip Surgery in Borderline Acetabular Dysplasia |
| Boston Children's Hospital | Boston, MA | $299,745 | 2024 | CT Rigidity Analysis for the Assessment of Regenerate Bone Strength |
| The Hospital for Special Surgery | New York, NY | $150,000 | 2024 | Modulating pro-fibrotic signaling after ligamentous knee injury |
| Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic | Lebanon, NH | $150,000 | 2024 | Flurorescence-based identification of necrotizing soft-tissue infection |
| The Curators of the University of Missouri | Columbia, MO | $100,000 | 2024 | Characterization of Graft Types for Acetabular Labrum Reconstruction |
| The Regents of the University of California Los Angeles | Los Angeles, CA | $50,000 | 2024 | Functional Impact of Intra-articular ALK1-Fc Therapy in Osteoarthritis |
| The Research Foundation for The SUNY on behalf of University at Buffalo | Amherst, NY | $50,000 | 2024 | Optimizing Antibiotic-Cement Efficacy in Peri Prosthetic Shoulder Infection |
| The University of Iowa | Iowa City, IA | $50,000 | 2024 | Regional Nerve Blocks to Improve Recovery in Elderly Spinal Fusion Patients |
| University of Maryland Baltimore | Baltimore, MD | $50,000 | 2024 | The Role of CCN2 in Tendon Healing |
| University of Southern California - Keck School of Medicine | Los Angeles, CA | $49,985 | 2024 | Efficacy of Dextromethorphan for Pain Management in Total Knee Arthroplasty |
| Washington University in StLouis | St Louis, MO | $40,000 | 2024 | Pro-inflammatory macrophage phenotype in synovium during hip OA progression |
| University of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh, PA | $25,000 | 2024 | Musculoskeletal Oncology Virtual Evaluation Study (MOVES) |
| Steadman Philippon Research Institute | Vail, CO | $20,000 | 2024 | 2023 - Clinical Research Award - Hip Chondrolabral Dysfunction: the Road for Excision to Repair, Replacement, and Regeneration |
| Yale University | New Haven, CT | $20,000 | 2024 | Personal Surgical Planning to Avoid THA dislocation: concept of safe zone |
Evaluation of Phage Dosing for Periprosthetic Joint Infection Treatment
Understanding Factors Influencing Attrition in Orthopedic Surgical Training
How Many Dexamethasone Doses Should Be Given in TKA? - A Prospective RT
The Role of Cellular Senescence in Joint Stiffness
Establishing a RTP test battery for patients post shoulder stabilization
The Regents of the University of California on Behalf of its Davis Campus
$49,908CHAT-OA: Conversations in Health-Literacy using AI for Osteoarthritis Pts
The University of Utah
$49,698Synovial lining macrophages in OA: Defining their fate in obesity
Daniel Saris
$20,000Optimizing Patient Outcomes Following Osteochondral Allograft Transplantation - The Impact of 25 Years of Translational and Clinical Research
The Regents of the University of California San Francisco
$20,000Addressing Cross-Cultural Adaptation of PROMs for Distal Radius Fractures
University of Connecticut Health Center
$20,000Evaluation of Cartilage Integrative Healing in Osteochondral Allografts
Characterizing the cellular composition of bone marrow aspirate concentrate
The Ohio State University
$20,000Transformative Solutions for Reducing Frequent 911 Fall Calls in the Homes
RED KARD: Reducing Disparities in Knee Arthroscopy for Adolescents
Identification & Imaging of Skeletal Muscle Response to Graded Nerve Crush
Mediators of the OA Cascade in the Pre-Arthritic Hip
Knee-Flexion Angle Effects on Joint Mechanics After Meniscus Root Repair
RECLAIM: Allogenic MSCs Facilitation of Autologous Cartilage Recycling, Our Multidisciplinary Moonshot to Innovate Patient Care by Leveraging MSC Function, The Bench-to-Bedside Journey
The Hospital for Special Surgery
$300,000Objective TKA Laxity: Correlation with Patient Perceptions of Instability?
MedStar Health Research Institute
$149,948Treating Cauda Equina Syndrome from a Health Care Disparities Perspective
London Health Sciences Centre Research Inc
$149,943Fixation for Fractures Around the Ankle in the Frail or Compromised Elderly
University of Washington
$100,000Magnetic Microgels for Composite Musculoskeletal Tissue Regeneration
The Regents of the University of California on Behalf of its Davis Campus
$50,000Decellularized Skeletal Muscle Matrix for Open Fractures with Muscle Loss
Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium - The Henry Jackson Foundation for
$50,000Dynamic Gait-Synchronous Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction
Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium - The Geneva Foundation
$50,000Objective Dynamic and 3D Knee Assessment Medical Device to Improve Recovery and Accelerate Return to Readiness of Members with Knee Pain
Characterizing the effects of corticosteroids in rotator cuff tendinopathy
University of Florida
$25,000Educational tools for injury prevention guidelines for baseball caregivers
Osteoarthritis Gene Therapy: A 30-Year Journey from Concept to Clinical Trials
Effect of vitamin D in prevention and treatment of pediatric fractures
The Ohio State University
$20,000Transformative Solutions for Reducing Frequent 911 Fall Calls
Mediators of the OA Cascade in the Pre-Arthritic Hip
Identification & Imaging of Skeletal Muscle Response to Graded Nerve Crush
Enhanced Enthesis Regeneration via Gli1+ Enthesis Stem Cell Treatment
Mid-Substance PCL Tear: A Novel Arthroscopic Direct Repair Technique
Validating the use of Next-Generation Sequencing in Open Fracture Care
The Hospital for Special Surgery
$400,000JUPITER 4.0: Risk factors for failure of isolated MPFL reconstruction
Washington University in StLouis
$398,996Optimizing Outcomes of Hip Surgery in Borderline Acetabular Dysplasia
CT Rigidity Analysis for the Assessment of Regenerate Bone Strength
The Hospital for Special Surgery
$150,000Modulating pro-fibrotic signaling after ligamentous knee injury
Flurorescence-based identification of necrotizing soft-tissue infection
The Curators of the University of Missouri
$100,000Characterization of Graft Types for Acetabular Labrum Reconstruction
The Regents of the University of California Los Angeles
$50,000Functional Impact of Intra-articular ALK1-Fc Therapy in Osteoarthritis
The Research Foundation for The SUNY on behalf of University at Buffalo
$50,000Optimizing Antibiotic-Cement Efficacy in Peri Prosthetic Shoulder Infection
The University of Iowa
$50,000Regional Nerve Blocks to Improve Recovery in Elderly Spinal Fusion Patients
University of Maryland Baltimore
$50,000The Role of CCN2 in Tendon Healing
Efficacy of Dextromethorphan for Pain Management in Total Knee Arthroplasty
Pro-inflammatory macrophage phenotype in synovium during hip OA progression
Musculoskeletal Oncology Virtual Evaluation Study (MOVES)
2023 - Clinical Research Award - Hip Chondrolabral Dysfunction: the Road for Excision to Repair, Replacement, and Regeneration
Personal Surgical Planning to Avoid THA dislocation: concept of safe zone