Wayne McIlwraith, BVSc, PhD, DSc, FRCVS, Dipl. ACVS, a Colorado State University (CSU) Distinguished Professor and founding director of the CSU Orthopaedic Research Center, became the first veterinarian honored with a prestigious career award from the Orthopaedic Research Society last weekend.

McIlwraith, a famed equine orthopaedic surgeon, received the Marshall R. Urist, MD, Award for excellent and sustained contributions to tissue regeneration research as it relates to the musculoskeletal system. McIlwraith received the award and a $5,000 honorarium at the 2014 Orthopaedic Research Society annual meeting in New Orleans, and delivered a lecture to meeting attendees.

McIlwraith is world-renowned for pioneering arthroscopic surgery in the horse and for research in translational medicine that provides insights for horse and human health. He earned the Marshall R. Urist, MD Award for a career of outstanding achievements in cartilage repair and regeneration, and for his role in educating and training the next generation of orthopaedic researchers.

“Your research has had a profound and lasting impact on our understanding of joint pathology and repair, the development and validation of animal models of joint diseases, surgical technologies, intra-articular therapies, cartilage resurfacing, gene therapy for osteoarthritis, and the use of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine strategies,” the Orthopaedic Research Society Awards and Recognition Committee wrote