Elizabeth Hofheinz, M.P.H., M.Ed.
Leesa M. Galatz, M.D., Professor and Chair of the Leni and Peter W. May Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Mount Sinai Health System, has received the 2021 Women’s Leadership Forum Award from The Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS). According to the ORS, the annual award is given to a “woman biologist, clinician, or engineer who has made significant contributions to the understanding of the musculoskeletal system and musculoskeletal diseases and injuries. Honorees also demonstrate outstanding leadership through service to the professional community and mentorship of colleagues and trainees.”
Dr. Galatz, named Chair of Orthopedics at Mount Sinai in 2015, is a shoulder and elbow surgeon who was previously the Chief of the Shoulder and Elbow Service at Washington University in St. Louis.
An active researcher, Dr. Galatz is participating in two NIH-funded projects on the basic science of rotator cuff disease and tissue engineering strategies for tendon healing. Along with colleagues, she is also engaged in clinical projects with colleagues providing shoulder and elbow service and colleagues in the Department of Population Health Science and Policy at Icahn Mount Sinai.
Some of Dr. Galatz’s awards for her work include the Charles S. Neer Award for Basic Science Research from the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons in 2009, and the 2014 Kappa Delta Ann Doner Vaughan Award given by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons for research on the natural history of rotator cuff disease. Dr. Galatz was a European Shoulder and Elbow Traveling Fellow in 2007, sponsored by American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons, and an American British Canadian Traveling Fellow in 2009. She has served as a Member at Large on the Board of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and as a Delegate on the Board of the American Optometric Association.
Dr. Galatz earned her MD degree at George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, DC. Following an internship and residency at George Washington University Hospital, Dr. Galatz pursued a fellowship in shoulder and elbow surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. In 1999, upon completion of her training, she was appointed to the faculty of Washington University in St. Louis.
“I am incredibly honored to receive this award,” said Dr. Galatz to OSN. “The ORS is a highly regarded specialty society in our field, and these awards are very competitive. To be recognized by them means a great deal to me personally. This award has given me inspiration. It has given me energy and confidence during this difficult time to continue to push for excellence in my department and in orthopedics at large.”
Asked about her thoughts on leadership, she noted, “To me, being a leader means turning the focus from myself to the people I lead. It is my responsibility to create an environment in which my faculty can attain their highest levels of excellence, to foster their hopes and dreams, and to bring their aspirations to reality. No day is perfect, but every day I try to get closer to perfection.”
