Our mission is to find new and innovative methods to improve functionality of patients with ailments of the musculoskeletal system through translational research as well as helping educate future researchers at the university level.
The Fellowship of Orthopaedic Researchers (FOR) was founded in 2000 by Stephen D. Cook, PhD, with the purpose of developing novel techniques to simulate and study the biomechanics of disc replacement devices in the lumbar and cervical spine.
FOR was approved with a 501(c)(3) nonprofit status in April 2000 and received a grant from the Joe and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation to develop a lumbar intervertebral disc replacement. Since its founding, expansion of laboratory staff, research space, and capabilities have allowed growth of research to include: investigations of the latest in bone grafting and bone morphogenetic protein technologies, the application of novel biomaterials for the reconstruction of cartilage and bone defects, and the development of a magnetic prosthetic attachments and magnetic implants.
FOR is also devoted to supporting educational growth, through mentoring biomedical engineering students from Tulane University and providing research rotations for orthopaedic surgery residents through its affiliation with the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center.