The Ira N. Wolfe Sports Medicine Lecture
Annual lecture honoring a long-time friend of NYOH
To register for the lecture please email, Theresa Milianta at trm2104@cumc.columbia.edu(link sends e-mail). Or, register here for Zoom access.
Established in 2011, the Ira N. Wolfe Sports Medicine Lecture is a highlight of Columbia Orthopedics' grand rounds.
A native of North Bergen, NJ, Wolfe was a talented athlete who turned his love of sports into a successful career training, coaching, and teaching in his hometown. His relationship with Columbia began when he met chair emeritus Dr. Louis U. Bigliani, then a chief resident at the New York Orthopaedic Hospital (now Columbia Orthopedics), after a North Bergen High School basketball game. What resulted was a relationship with Columbia Orthopedics that would span 40 years.
Wolfe’s interest in sports medicine rehab for the knee and shoulder would lead him to take a year-long sabbatical from his job to become a fellow with Dr. Bigliani and Dr. Charles S. Neer II, the father of modern shoulder surgery, at Columbia Orthopedics. During his sabbatical, he focused on shoulder and knee exercise and rehab. He attended shoulder clinics, knee clinics, and worked with children with spina bifida at Helen Hayes Hospital. Eventually, Wolfe became a member of the Orthopedics Research Society and published numerous research articles. Back in the gym, Wolfe applied his research to athletes working to get back on the field after injury.
“He would devise non-stressful rehab exercises that strengthened the injured area, yet was not to stressful on the patient,” said Dr. Bigliani. “His techniques really increased muscle tone and strength across the injured joint.”
Wolfe often participated in orthopedic grand rounds on Thursday mornings, sometimes bringing students from North Bergen who were interested in medicine. He even presented a live demo featureding atheletes from North Bergen who illustrated, in real time and in slow motion, some of the common ways atheletes are injured in football, weight lifting, and wrestling.
"It opened up a new way to look at my profession that I never had before," said Wolfe.
His relationship with Columbia Orthopedics and North Bergen continued to evolve over the years. Many residents at Columbia Orthopedics, including chief of sport medicine Dr. Christopher Ahmad, spent time covering games in North Bergen as part of their residency.
Wolfe devoted much of his lengthy career to the treatment of athletic and orthopedic injuries, as well as caring for disabled teenagers.
"My experience with Columbia, the department, and the great doctors I worked with like Dr. Neer, was life changing," he said. And with a career lasting more than 50 years, Wolfe credits his relationship with Dr. Bigliani
and Columbia Orthopedics for helping him grow. "It gave me a whole new outlook on life and I wanted to give something back."
Wolfe’s generous donation endowed the annual lecture named in his honor, as well as an annual resident research award in sports medicine.
LECTURERS
2024: William N. Levine, MD
- Developing a Successful Sports Medicine Program
2024 Ira N. Wolfe Lecture
7 am, Thursday, April 18
Columbia University
Hammer 401, 4th Floor
701 W 168th St.To register for the lecture please email, Theresa Milianta at trm2104@cumc.columbia.edu.
Or, register here for Zoom access.William N. Levine, MD, is a nationally and globally renowned specialist in arthroscopic and open shoulder, elbow, and knee surgery, and sports medicine. He is Chair of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he holds the Frank E. Stinchfield Professorship in Orthopedic Surgery, and serves as Chief of the Orthopedics Service at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Levine previously served the Department as Vice Chairman for Education, Residency and Fellowship Director, Chief of the Shoulder Service, and Co-Director of the Center for Shoulder, Elbow and Sports Medicine.
For 25 years, Dr. Levine served as Head Team Physician for Columbia University and was responsible for providing care for 31 Columbia intercollegiate athletic teams. Under his guidance, the department's surgeons also function as Team Physicians for the New York Yankees, Major League Soccer's (MLS) New York City Football Club, the Rockland Boulders, Fordham University, City College of New York, as well as over 25 high schools. Dr. Levine is a consultant for the National Hockey League Players' Association and chairs the Shoulder and Elbow subcommittee for the National Football League. As a former teaching tennis professional and the starting goalie for Stanford University's club hockey team, Dr. Levine is passionate about sports medicine and dedicated to patient care. He has been repeatedly named a “Top Doctor in Sports Medicine” by Castle Connolly and New York Magazine, and one of the top 25 shoulder surgeons in the country by Orthopedics This Week.
Dr. Levine is a past member of the Executive Committee of the American Orthopedic Association, the world’s first orthopedic association and the organization that was primarily responsible for the development of orthopedics as a discipline separate from general surgery. He also served on the Board of Directors of the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery, the governing body that oversees licensure and training of orthopedic surgeons. Dr. Levine assumed the role as Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons in January 2016. He also received the prestigious American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeon's Traveling Fellowship. Dr. Levine is a member of all the field’s major professional societies, including the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, and the Herodicus Society. He has made substantial contributions to research, having published more than 150 peer-reviewed articles, written over 50 book chapters, edited 11 textbooks, and given over 200 scientific presentations in the United States and abroad. He holds multiple patents and research grants.
A native of Fargo, North Dakota, he received a B.A. in Human Biology from Stanford and his Doctor of Medicine degree from Case Western Reserve. He was a resident in orthopedic surgery at New England Medical Center, and held fellowships at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in Shoulder Surgery and the University of Maryland in Sports Medicine. He joined Columbia's Department of Orthopedic Surgery in 1998, became Residency Director in 2002, and in 2006 was awarded the Charles S. Neer, M.D. Teacher of the Year Award for his enthusiasm, passion and dedication to resident education. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and two daughters.
2023: Michael J. Stuart, MD
- Concussion in Sport: Objective Diagnosis and the Effects of a Brain Health Supplement
Michael J. Stuart, MD, is a Professor of Orthopedic Surgery and Past Chair of Sports Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.
He has received numerous awards and honors throughout his career including the Distinguished Clinician Award, Individual Award for Excellence, Outstanding Faculty Award and the Karis Award at Mayo Clinic, the Hughston Award from the American Journal of Sports Medicine, the “Doc†Counsilman Science Award for Ice Hockey from the U.S. Olympic Committee, the Excellence in Safety Award and the President's Award from USA Hockey. He received the 2022 Thomas A. Brady Award from the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) in recognition for service and dedication to sports medicine.
Dr. Stuart is internationally known for his commitment to sports safety and his expertise in complex knee surgery. He is the Chief Medical for USA Hockey and the Chair of the Safety and Protective Equipment Committee. He has served as the team physician for many National, Olympic, World Championship and World Cup Hockey Teams. Dr. Stuart is a Second Medical Opinion Physician for the NHL/NHLPA. He is a member of the Medical Committee and a Medical Supervisor for the International Ice Hockey Federation. He also is a member
of the Minnesota State High School Sports Medicine Advisory Committee. He is a founder and President of the Rochester Mustangs Sled Hockey program.Dr. Stuart has published 375 journal articles and 50 book chapters. His research interests include knee ligament reconstruction, meniscus repair, total knee arthroplasty, lower extremity biomechanics, sports concussion, ice hockey injuries as well as the epidemiology and prevention of sports injuries.
Dr. Stuart and his wife Nancy have four children, Michael, Colin, Mark, and Cristin. All the Stuart children played Division 1 ice hockey and all three boys were drafted and played in the National Hockey League. Their ten grandchildren are now a focal point in their lives.
2022: Jo Hannafin, MD, PhD
2021: James Tibone, MD
2020: Cancelled (COVID)
2019: Brian J. Cole, MD
2018: Lee M. Kaplan, MD
2017: James P. Bradley, MD
2016: Robert A. Arciro, MD
2015: Bert Mandelbaum, MD
2014: Freddie H. Fu, MD
2013: Russell F. Warren, MD