In memoriam: Adele L. Boskey, PhD

Abstract

The orthopaedic and musculoskeletal research communities this year lost one of the pioneers, great mentors, and leaders of our field: Adele L. Boskey, Ph.D. Adele was a crystallographer by training and she applied that expertise to advance both knowledge of fundamental musculoskeletal biology as well as clinical knowledge for the benefit of patients. She received her B.S. in chemistry from Barnard College and her Ph.D. from Boston University and launched her career with a post-doctoral fellowship at the Imperial College in London. Adele was a passionate and dedicated researcher for more than 45 years at The Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. During her tenure at HSS, she held the Starr Chair in Mineralized Tissue Research and in addition to professorships in the Weill Cornell Medical College, the Weill Graduate School of Medical Science, CUNY and, Cornell University. She also served as Director of Research from 1993 to 2002 and is credited as having initiated and led a research renaissance at HSS. She was President of the Orthopaedic Research Society in 1996–1997. Adele is best known for her contributions to our fundamental understanding of biomineralization and to our understanding of bone disorders such as osteoporosis and osteogenesis imperfecta. She demonstrated that imaging techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy could be applied to biological tissues to better understand their chemistry and composition. As evidence of her outstanding abilities and passion for her research, she was continuously supported by the National Institutes of Health throughout her decades-long career. Many of her nearly 300 publications form a seminal and enduring body of literature on biomineralization. Adele was also an extraordinary mentor and leader. She mentored untold numbers of students, residents, post-doctoral fellows, and new investigators. Adele was generous with her time and gracious with her constructive and valuable wisdom, be it about a scientific hypothesis or work-life balance, or everything in-between. More tangibly, Adele was the first woman to serve as president of the Orthopaedic Research Society. She and Linda Sandell, the second woman to be president, furthered the advancement of inclusive excellence in the society by founding the Women's Leadership Forum of the ORS. In all that she did, Adele set an extraordinary example through her quiet yet effective leadership that clearly and emphatically valued ethical behavior, equitable opportunity and respect for pursuit of the highest quality musculoskeletal research. For her scholarship, mentorship, and leadership, Adele was recognized with many of the highest honors that can be received in our field. She received an AAOS/ORS Kappa Delta Award, the ORS/AAOS Alfred R. Shands, Jr. Award, the Lawrence G. Raisz Award of the ASBMR, and Distinguished Investigator Award of the ORS/OREF and the Pioneer in Orthopaedics Award of the ORS. On a more personal note, we both had the great fortune to have known and collaborated with Adele. Barbara and Adele formed an enduring friendship with Adele when they were postdoctoral fellows, both funded by the National Institute for Dental Research to investigate aspects of biomineralization. It was not long before they involved Cathy Raggio in their work and a research partnership was born. As always, Adele's generosity was in evidence. She brought Barbara into the ORS and soon Clare Rimnac was added to the team. For years, these four women shared their personal and scientific aspirations, meeting at the ORS as roommates and colleagues. Adele had a force of character that brought people together. She was a sister and mentor to all of us in ORS.