Joseph Zuckerman

Joseph D. Zuckerman, MD, is the Walter A. L. Thompson Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and Chair of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at NYU Langone Health. A graduate of Cornell University and the Medical College of Wisconsin, where he earned his MD in 1978 as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, Dr. Zuckerman completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at the University of Washington Affiliated Hospitals from 1979 to 1983. He then pursued a fellowship in adult reconstructive surgery and arthritis research at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 1984, followed by a visiting clinician role in shoulder surgery at the Mayo Clinic. Board-certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery since 1986, he joined the faculty of the Hospital for Joint Diseases in 1984, directed the orthopedic residency program from 1990 to 2006, became chair of the department there in 1994, and assumed the chairmanship at NYU School of Medicine in 1997, leading the merger of the two departments. He also served as president of the medical staff at Bellevue Hospital Center from 1999 to 2003 and as surgeon-in-chief at NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital.

Dr. Zuckerman specializes in hip and knee reconstruction, shoulder and elbow surgery, and joint replacement surgery for the shoulder, hip, and knee, having performed over 5,000 such procedures. His research focuses on outcomes of shoulder replacement surgery, treatments for shoulder fractures in older adults, hip fractures, and improvements in orthopedic resident education; he founded the Hip Fracture Research Group and Shoulder Research Group at NYU Langone. A prolific scholar, he has authored or edited over 36 textbooks, contributed more than 120 book chapters, and published over 450 peer-reviewed articles in journals such as the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery and Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery. His contributions have earned him numerous honors, including the first American Orthopaedic Association Pillar of the Orthopaedic Profession award in 2021, five-time NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases Teacher of the Year, New York University Distinguished Teaching Medal in 2011, Master Educator Award from NYU School of Medicine in 2013, Distinguished Educator Award from the AOA in 2015, Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation Clinical Research Award in 2002, and Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arthritis Foundation New York Chapter. In leadership, he has served as president of the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons, president of the AAOS Board of Directors in 2009-2010, chair of the AAOS Council on Education, and currently chairs the AAOS Committee on Outside Interests while sitting on multiple editorial boards and acting as an AAOS spokesman.

Professional Email: joseph.zuckerman@nyulangone.org