Dr. Francis Lee Advocates for Medical Research on Capitol Hill

August 2009

Francis Y. Lee, MD, PhD, Chief of Tumor and Bone Disease, Division of Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, joined nearly 70 orthopaedic surgeons, researchers, and patients at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) 2009 annual Research Capitol Hill Days in Washington, D.C. this past spring. The Research Capitol Hill Days event raises awareness of the chronic, debilitating, and costly musculoskeletal diseases and disorders afflicting our nation and serves as a platform to request continued support for musculoskeletal research.

Participants had the opportunity to meet with U.S. senators and representatives on Capitol Hill to personally advocate for the future of musculoskeletal care. In particular, they were there to urge Congress to continue to build on the $10.4 billion investment in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Musculoskeletal conditions have an enormous impact on Americans and on the United States health care system:

The annual direct and indirect costs for bone and joint health are $849 billion—7.7 percent of the gross domestic product.

Musculoskeletal conditions represent the greatest cause of medical bed days and lost workdays in the United States. One in six working Americans reported missing work as a result of musculoskeletal conditions totaling nearly 437.6 million lost workdays in 2005.

Musculoskeletal conditions accounted for 50 percent of bed days and lost workdays in 2005.
“Nearly one-third of the population suffers from a musculoskeletal disorder,” says Dr. Lee, who is also the Vice Chairman of Research in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia. “But despite such a high incidence, research projects for these disorders are very few. The NIH appropriates nearly $20 billion from the U.S. Congress. NIAMS, which is part of the NIH, only receives about $5 million from this funding. There’s a big discrepancy between the impact of these disorders on the nation and available federal funding for research. While the budget of the NIH was doubled over the course of the last decade, the NIAMS budget did not reflect the same level of support.”

Dr. Lee, an Associate Professor of Clinical Orthopaedic Surgery at Columbia University College of Physician and Surgeons, specializes in pediatric orthopedic surgery, including spine deformity, complex developmental disorders, musculoskeletal tumors, and bone disease. A noted clinician-scientist, he conducts both basic and clinical studies on musculoskeletal disorders, and was recently awarded a four-year $1.8 million research RO1 grant—one of only a handful ever given to an orthopedic surgeon—by NIAMS. It is Dr. Lee’s second R01 grant. He is a member of the Research Development Committee of the AAOS, and is a member of the Program Committee for the Orthopaedic Research Society. Dr. Lee is also a past recipient of the AAOS/Orthopaedic Research Education and Foundation Clinician Scientist Traveling Fellowship Award.

“During the Research Capitol Hill Days, I had the opportunity to visit with representatives from New York and New Jersey to help educate them about the impact of musculoskeletal conditions and the need for greater research,” adds Dr. Lee. “This is an ongoing effort. The collaborative efforts of the orthopaedic and musculoskeletal community over the past 10 years no doubt helped in the NIH receiving the research stimulus package. We have to keep raising our voice.”