Women in Arthroplasty Committee
Providing mentorship, professional development and networking for the growing membership of women in AAHKS HomeApply Today for the 2023 AAHKS Women in Arthroplasty Traveling Fellowship
Designed to encourage the promotion of women surgeons in the American Association of Hip & Knee Surgeons (AAHKS) through networking, mentorship, education, research, and practice management opportunities this fellowship will afford two recipients the opportunity to participate in this very special travelling fellowship. At host sites, traveling fellows will observe operating rooms, learn new surgical techniques alongside accomplished surgeons, and present their own research and clinical experiences. The program encourages the promotion of women surgeons with networking, mentorship, education, research and practice management opportunities.
Fellowship Applicant Criteria
- Woman orthopaedic surgeon
- Either board certified or board eligible by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery
- Availability to travel for two weeks in the fall months (September-November)
- Able to attend the AAHKS annual meeting following the fellowship
2023 Sites
1. Boston, MA
- Antonia Chen, MD: Director of Arthroplasty Research, Brigham and Womens Hospital/Harvard
- Ayesha Abdeen, MD: Chief, Division of Hip and Knee Arthroplasty, BMC
- Eric Smith, MD: Chief of Arthroplasty, New England Baptist Hospital
2. Philadelphia, PA
- Cara Cipriano, MD: Chief Orthopaedic Oncology, University of Pennsylvania
- Danielle Ponzio, MD: Rothman Orthopaedic Institute
- Chad Kruger, MD: Rothman Orthopaedic Institute
Contact Eileen Lusk, WIA staff liaison at eileen@aahks.org or 847-430-5071.
AAHKS gratefully acknowledges
Smith+Nephew, Stryker, and Zimmer Biomet for their generout support of this program.
Surgeons Raise Awareness of Gender Bias in Follow Up Video
“I didn’t know they let girls in orthopaedics; do you actually do the surgery?” This is one of several actual comments said to female orthopaedic surgeons brought to light in our follow up video from the AAHKS Women in Arthroplasty Committee (WIA). The video features female and male surgeons reading derogatory comments out loud in front of the camera with examples of how male leaders or colleagues can support female surgeons.
Like we have done in the past, the project involved collecting actual comments from WIA peers that they had heard from their employers, colleagues and patients.
“Our hope is that the video will bring awareness in the orthopaedic workplace so that everyone is more aware of their inherent biases, eliminates them and ultimately encourages more women to be successful in this field,” said Audrey K. Tsao, MD, WIA Chair.
For next steps after watching the video, watch the WIA/RJOS webinar, “Harassment is Everyone’s Issue: Optimizing Your Work Environment,” moderated by Antonia F. Chen, MD, MBA.
Mission
Objectives
- Build mentorship pipeline programs for women students, residents and fellows
- Build a knowledge-based culture of inclusion in AAHKS
- Develop meaningful data-driven and feasible diversity and inclusion goals across AAHKS
- Promote education, leadership and professional development for women in arthroplasty
- Increase membership of women in AAHKS
- Assess and influence perception of women in arthroplasty
- Diversify our arthroplasty workforce to create an inclusive environment to counteract potential subconscious bias

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Committee Members
Rina Jain, MD, FRCSC, Chair
Linda I. Suleiman, MD, Vice Chair
Cara A. Cipriano, MD, MSc
Kerry S. Hale, MD
Elizabeth A. Klag, MD
Claudette M. Lajam, MD
Jessica H. Lee, MD
Elizabeth G. Lieberman, MD
Adam S. Olsen, MD, MS
Eric L. Smith, MD
Audrey K. Tsao, MD, Past Chair
Committee Liaisons
Jaime L. Bellamy, DO
Digital Health and Social Media, Arthroplasty Today-Social Media Editor
Jenna A. Bernstein, MD
Young Arthroplasty Group (YAG)
Antonia F. Chen, MD, MBA
Program Committee Chair, Arthroplasty Today-Associate Editor
Anna Cohen-Rosenblum, MD
RJOS
Elizabeth B. Gausden, MD
Quality Measures
Rinelda M. Horton, MD
Diversity Advisory Board (DAB), Gladden Society for WIA
Claudette M. Lajam, MD
Advocacy
Jessica H. Lee, MD
Industry Relations
Alexandra Stavrakis, MD
Patient and Public Relations
Kim K. Tucker, MD
Board of Directors (BOD), Member-at-Large
Wendy W. Wong, MD
Practice Management
Committee Volunteers
Meghan A. Brown, MD
Diane S. Litke, MD
Leslie M. Manohar, MD
Cecilia Pascual-Garrido, MD, PhD
Danielle Y. Ponzio, MD
Christine M. Pui, MD
Amy Steinhoff, MD
Sara J. Wallace, MD, MPH