American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Honors UCSF’s Brian Feeley, MD, for breakthrough research on muscle atrophy that could lead to new treatments.
Brian T. Feeley, MD, FAOSS, UCSF orthopaedic surgeon and researcher, has been awarded the 2025 Kappa Delta Elizabeth Winston Lanier Award by American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). He was recognized for his pioneering work on muscle degeneration in rotator cuff injuries.
The annual award is of the highest honors in orthopaedic research and recognizes groundbreaking research achievements in musculoskeletal disease or injury with significant potential to improve patient care. The award was recently presented to Feeley at the Orthopaedic Research Society’s annual meeting.
Feeley, a professor of orthopaedic surgery and chief of the Division of Sports Medicine and Shoulder Surgery at UCSF, has conducted research over the last 15 years that has uncovered the biological mechanisms behind fatty infiltration, a process that leads to muscle atrophy and can limit recovery after rotator cuff repair. In collaboration with UCSF’s Xuhui Liu, MD, a leading expert in muscle biology, this research provided critical insights into how muscle degeneration occurs at a cellular level and has opened the door to potential new treatments aimed at promoting muscle regeneration and improving surgical outcomes.
“Our central premise was that fatty infiltration is fundamentally an intramuscular cellular problem in which something within the muscle was turning into fat. We didn’t think fat would infiltrate the muscle, as it is inherently lazy,” said Feeley. “The second premise was that there has to be a reason that fatty infiltration is occurring. Fat is normally a store for energy, so we thought that perhaps the muscle is storing energy for possible regeneration.”
“Dr. Feeley is an exceptional surgeon, researcher and mentor,” said C. Benjamin Ma, MD, chair of the UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. “His unwavering dedication to advancing the field of orthopaedic surgery, combined with his commitment to training the next generation of surgeons and scientists, reflects his passion for both patient care and scientific discovery. His curiosity and relentless pursuit of answers to complex clinical challenges are an inspiration to us all.”
Feeley specializes in arthroscopic procedures for shoulder and knee injuries and is co-director of UCSF’s MITO (Muscle Injury and Translational Orthopedic) Laboratory. Since joining UCSF in 2008, he has served in multiple leadership roles within the department’s residency and fellowship programs.
Feeley earned his medical degree at Stanford University and completed his orthopedic surgery residency at UCLA. He also completed a fellowship in sports medicine and shoulder surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. He has published more than 300 peer-reviewed studies and co-hosts the sports medicine podcast, Six to Eight Weeks: Perspectives on Sports Medicine.
About the AAOS
With more than 39,000 members, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons is the world’s largest medical association of musculoskeletal specialists. The AAOS is the trusted leader in advancing musculoskeletal health. It provides the highest quality, most comprehensive education to help orthopaedic surgeons and allied health professionals at every career level to best treat patients in their daily practices. The AAOS is the source for information on bone and joint conditions, treatments and related musculoskeletal health care issues; and it leads the health care discussion on advancing quality.
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