Todd J. Albert

Todd J. Albert is the Surgeon-in-Chief and Medical Director and Korein-Wilson Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Hospital for Special Surgery, and the Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College. Albert is an orthopaedic surgeon, who previously served as the President of The Rothman Institute and The Richard Rothman Professor and Chairman of Orthopaedics at Thomas Jefferson University Medical College.

Education

Albert is a graduate of the Taft School, where he played high-school football and was on the honor roll. In 1983 Albert then graduated from Amherst College where he played football with a BA, Magna Cum Laude in neuroscience, and from the University of Virginia, School of Medicine in 1987. Following this he pursued his residency in Orthopaedic Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where he was named the outstanding chief resident. Following this he completed a fellowship in spinal surgery at the Minnesota Spine Center, and was then awarded the John J. Fahey Orthopaedic Association Memorial North American Traveling Fellowship from the American Orthopaedic Association.

Research

Albert has written about 300 papers, seven books, and forty book chapters over his career. His books include Surgical Approaches to the Spine, Mastercases: Spine Surgery, Spine Surgery: Tricks of the Trade, Physical Examination of the Spine, Spinal Deformities: The Essentials, Measuring Quality in Spinal Care, and The Spine. He has also served as the deputy editor of The Spinal Deformity Journal, an associate editor for Spine, and on the editorial boards of other journals including the Journal of Spinal Disorders and Techniques and the Orthopaedic Technology Review.

Albert’s research has been funded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Research and the National Institute of Health—which awarded him a $15 million National Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial grant, for which he was co-primary investigator. The subject matter of his research has covered medical conditions including ankylosing spondylitis, kyphosis, herniated discs, scoliosis, spinal cord injuries, and post-op spinal infections. For his research, Albert has been awarded the Arthritis Foundation’s Charley Award for contributions to orthopaedics.

Faculty appointments

Albert joined the faculty of Thomas Jefferson University in 1993 and in 2007 he became the James Edwards Professor and Chairman of the department of orthopaedics at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Albert then served as President of The Rothman Institute, where he led a group of twenty surgical centres and 65 physicians. During his tenure, Albert expanded the Institute’s number of centres and surgeons.

Albert later served as the Richard H. Rothman Professor at Jefferson Medical College, where his lab also produced research into disc degeneration. At Thomas Jefferson, Albert also served as co-director of reconstructive spine service and the spine fellowship program. In July 2014, he was named Surgeon-in-Chief and Medical Director and Korein-Wilson Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. He continued to actively work as a surgeon during these roles.

Professional associations and board memberships

Albert is a Past President of The Cervical Spine Research Society and Past Chair of The International Meeting of Advanced Spinal Techniques and is now Vice President for the Scoliosis Research Society. He has also been the chair of the development committee for the American Orthopaedic Association, as well as a member of the Scoliosis Research Society, International Society for Study of the Lumbar Spine, and North American Spine Society. Albert has also served as Medical Advisor for In Vivo Therapeutics and Trans1, and as a Member of the Surgical Advisory Board at Gentis.