PITTSBURGH, October 20, 1997 — Freddie H. Fu, M.D., has been selected as chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Fu will serve as interim chairman until Jan. 1, when he succeeds current chairman James Herndon, M.D., who will leave Pitt to become chief of orthopaedic surgery at Harvard University.
Dr. Fu, who had been the department’s executive vice chairman for more than two years, is a professor and Blue Cross Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Pitt’s School of Medicine, associate professor at the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences , head team physician for Pitt’s Department of Athletics, and medical director of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Center for Sports Medicine.
He is known worldwide for his pioneering surgery to treat sports-related injuries to the knee and shoulder and extensive scientific and clinical research in the biomechanics of such injuries. Dr. Fu will continue to perform surgery at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and treat patients at its Center for Sports Medicine.
"Dr. Fu is a distinguished clinician and researcher with an international reputation as a leader in orthopaedic surgery and sports medicine," said Thomas Detre, M.D., senior vice chancellor for Health Sciences, University of Pittsburgh. "His extensive community involvement is evidence of his strong commitment to Pittsburgh and the University. Under Dr. Fu’s leadership and guidance, I am confident the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, already considered one of the foremost in the country, will continue to gain increased recognition for its educational, research and clinical activities," Dr. Detre added.
Dr. Fu received undergraduate and post-graduate degrees at Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, NH, before earning his medical degree at the University of Pittsburgh in 1977. Continuing his training at Pitt, he completed a residency in orthopaedic surgery and a fellowship in orthopaedic research. In addition, Dr. Fu completed an internship in general surgery at Brown University in Providence, R.I., and an international fellowship at the Hanover Trauma Center in West Germany.
He joined the Pitt’s School of Medicine faculty in 1982 as assistant professor of orthopaedic surgery and director of sports medicine. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Sports and Preventive Medicine Institute in 1985; and under Dr. Fu’s medical directorship since then, the facility has grown into the region’s largest, most comprehensive sports medicine clinic, now called the Center for Sports Medicine.
Dr. Fu became the head team physician for the Department of Athletics in 1986, clinical vice chairman of orthopaedic surgery in 1990 and executive vice chairman in 1994.
He is the editor of eight major orthopaedic textbooks and author of 60 book chapters on the management of sports injuries. He has contributed to at least 150 international research publications and has given more than 300 national presentations to his peers. Former president of the Pennsylvania Orthopaedic Society, he is a member of nearly 40 other professional and academic medical organizations.
More than 50 professional awards and numerous major research grants garnered by Dr. Fu are the result of his efforts in clinical, basic scientific and biomechanical research concerning sports medicine and orthopaedic surgery. Two of the honors include the 1990 Vector’s Pittsburgh Man of the Year in Science and in 1996, the National Athletic Trainers Association President’s Challenge Award for his tutelage in advancing the quality of health care related to sports medicine. At Pitt, Dr. Fu has endowed an athletic training scholarship of $100,000, awarded annually to one student for graduate education.
Dr. Fu also directs Pitt’s Sports Medicine Fellowship Program, which in the past 10 years has attracted more than 100 surgeons who travel from countries around the world to learn surgical techniques and conduct research with Dr. Fu and his colleagues in orthopaedic surgery and Pitt’s Musculoskeletal Research Center.
Dr. Fu’s current extensive involvement in community activities includes service as chairman of the board and executive medical director of the City of Pittsburgh Marathon Inc., company physician and member of the board of directors for the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, team physician for Mt. Lebanon High School, member of the honorary board of the Parental Stress Center and ongoing support of the Children’s Festival Chorus as well as Competitive Employment Opportunities, a non-profit employment and support agency for people with disabilities. In November, Dr. Fu will be honored with the 1997 Humanitarian Award by United Cerebral Palsy of Pittsburgh.
Born in Hong Kong, Dr. Fu has made Pittsburgh his home. In 1994, he declined a prestigious appointment as chairman of orthopaedic surgery at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, citing his fondness and heart-felt attachment to Pittsburgh. Dr. Fu and his wife, Hilda, live in Point Breeze with their daughter, Joyce, who is a junior at Shadyside Academy. Their son, Gordon, is a junior at Dartmouth College, Dr. Fu’s alma mater.