Orland Bethel Family Musculoskeletal Research Center //
About Us
Message from the Executive Director
Welcome to the Orland Bethel Family Musculoskeletal Research Center (BMRC). Our mission is to support scientific curiosity, discovery, education and the dissemination of ideas within the field of musculoskeletal research and to improve patients’ lives.
It has been reported that about 50% of young post-doctoral researchers leave academic careers within five years of completing their PhDs. This departure is due, in part, to the challenges of obtaining funding for their research interests. Early to mid-career researchers and clinician scientists often struggle to obtain significant government funding as they lack preliminary research data to apply for larger grants. They are discouraged from pursuing what are regarded as “risky” yet high-yield projects for fear of failure.
One focus of the BMRC is to support those young, early-career researchers and trainees so that their ideas and talents can produce breakthrough treatments for musculoskeletal ailments. The center will work to change how we approach the big questions and allow creativity to solve musculoskeletal problems with outside-the-box solutions.
The BMRC’s second focus is to support the education of young undergraduate, PhD and medical students in pursuit of translational research. We aim to fund research interests in the early stages of education in the hope of fostering and propagating future career scientists.
The third focus is the dissemination of knowledge. We hope to bring together scientific collaborations via research seminars and timely publication of new and relevant data.
The center was established in October 2023 through the generosity of one of my patients, Orland Bethel, founder of Hillandale Farms.
With his exceptional gift, matched by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Mr. Bethel and his family have begun a foundational and generational change in the way we support musculoskeletal research here at the University of Pittsburgh. It is nothing short of transformative.
Warm regards,
Joon Y. Lee.
Joon Y. Lee, MD
Executive Director, Orland Bethel Family Musculoskeletal Research Center
Clinical Director, Ferguson Laboratory for Orthopaedic and Spine Research
Orland Bethel Endowed Professor, (Division of Spinal Surgery) Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
BMRC Celebration, Oct. 27, 2023
A reception at Alan Magee Scaife Hall on Oct. 27, 2023, celebrated the establishment of the Bethel Musculoskeletal Research Center in the School of Medicine. Speakers included Dr. Anantha Shekhar, Dr. MaCalus Hogan, Dr. Joon Lee and Mr. Orland Bethel.
Our Mission
The mission of the BMRC is to:
- Support and foster investigators to pursue careers in translational, clinical and basic science research in musculoskeletal-related fields.
- Encourage and support the education of trainees interested in musculoskeletal clinician scientist pathways.
- Support the discovery and sharing of scientific knowledge to benefit the musculoskeletal research community.
Our immediate goal is to support a collaborative community of scientists and trainees to share knowledge, tools and models to perform high-impact musculoskeletal research.
To this end, BMRC will:
- Support existing and new musculoskeletal investigators, with emphasis on early- and mid-phase clinician scientists, to pursue and continue careers in translational research.
- Encourage early-phase musculoskeletal scientific projects that are high-risk and high-reward.
- Create and support education programs through scholarships, research symposiums and seminars to disseminate new musculoskeletal research findings.
Our long-term goal is to develop an international reputation in musculoskeletal research by creating a one-of-a-kind research environment to promote and preserve musculoskeletal health.
For more information, contact bethel@pitt.edu.