Suzanne A. Maher PhD

Dr. Suzanne A. Maher, Ph.D. is an Associate Director in the Department of Biomechanics at the Hospital for Special Surgery. She received her bachelor's and master's degrees in Mechanical Engineering from University College Dublin, Ireland. She was awarded a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Trinity College Dublin, after which she came to Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) as a post-doctoral fellow.

Her early research focused on the pre-clinical evaluation of materials for total joint replacement, but she gradually morphed that expertise to focus on developing models to quantify knee joint contact mechanics and the functional performance of materials for meniscal/ chondral repair. Using a combination of cadaveric, computational, statistical, and imaging approaches, she identified common loading patterns on articular cartilage during simulated gait and gathered intriguing clinical data indicating that changes in contact mechanics after meniscal surgery may be predictive of the likelihood of developing osteoarthritis. She is using this knowledge to develop intra-operative sensors and pre-and post-operative imaging approaches to predict and quantify clinically meaningful changes in joint mechanics. Dr. Maher's NIH-funded studies have resulted in polymer technology which led to a spin-out life sciences company, the first in the history of HSS, focused on commercializing a non-degradable implant for the treatment of cartilage defects.

Dr. Maher is committed to the training and advancement of scientists and clinician-scientists in the field of musculoskeletal research. As co-PI on an NIH-funded Training Grant, she actively mentors graduate and post-graduate students, clinical fellows, and residents. Dr. Maher has an adjunct appointment in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University (CU) through which she acts on thesis committees for graduate students, facilitates cross-campus collaborations through a summer Clinical Immersion Program, and is the co-founder of a newly revitalized HSS-CU Center for Advanced Materials and Engineering in Orthopaedics (CAMEO). She co-directs the HSS Orthopaedic Soft Tissue Research Program, is Associate Director for the Department of Biomechanical Engineering, and is committed to leveraging her academic positions to integrate expertise and personnel across the disciplines of biology, mechanics, and materials science towards improving the clinical care of patients with musculoskeletal diseases.