Welcome to the third issue of volume 7 of the HSS Journal. This issue, once again, presents a wide variety of articles exploring rheumatic disease, musculoskeletal radiology, and orthopedic surgery. The HSS Journal is now a well-established forum for publication of manuscripts from all aspects of musculoskeletal science and medicine. We are excited that authors from around the world—both HSS alumni and authors who have not been affiliated with the hospital—continue to view the HSS Journal as a forum for their work.

As in the past years, this issue features the abstracts of the four research papers that were selected as award papers for the 2011 graduating resident and fellow classes. Han Jo Kim, MD received the Lewis Clark Wagner Award for Excellence in Orthopaedic Clinical/Translational Research and Sommer Hammoud, MD the Russell F. Warren Award for Excellence in Orthopaedic Basic/Translational Research for best resident papers; Aaron Krych, MD received the Philip D. Wilson Award for Excellence in Orthopaedic Surgery Research and Catherine Hayter, MBBS received the Charles L. Christian Award for Excellence in Musculoskeletal Research for the best papers presented by a fellow. Drs. Krych and Hammoud present exciting work in bioengineering of cartilage and illustrate the sophistication of the work being done in the tissue engineering laboratory of Suzanne Maher, Ph.D. Han Jo Kim, MD completed a methodologically rigorous, prospective, randomized trial which evaluated the usefulness of a thrombin-based hemostatic agent in lowering blood loss following total knee arthroplasty. Dr. Hayter presents a very provocative compilation of the findings of MRI examinations of painful metal on metal surface replacements. The work of all four investigators is remarkable for its quality, and we extend our most heartfelt congratulations for their success.

These papers present an example of HSS' commitment to the support and advancement of research performed by residents and fellows during their tenure at the hospital. Under the leadership of Thomas Sculco, M.D., surgeon-in-chief and Mathias P. G. Bostrom, M.D., director, residency program and with the support of numerous individuals, including Robert Marx, M.D., Timothy Wright, Ph.D., Adele Boskey, Ph.D., and others, the program for resident and fellow research has been formalized into a key component of postgraduate training. During the PGY 1 through PGY 3 years, residents are encouraged to choose a topic for study and are required to write a grant proposal that can be submitted for extramural funding. A mock study section provides feedback and critique for each proposal and reinforces grant-writing skills. During the PGY 4 and PGY 5 years, resident research rotations of 6 weeks duration are built into the schedule, providing each resident protected time to work on and complete their projects. Endowed chairs as well as the Surgeon-in-Chief Fund provide seed money to support these projects, and each year, several of the residents and fellows receive extramural funding in support of their grant proposals.

These commitments have lead to outstanding research by our residents and fellows. It is clear that, with this type of institutional commitment, orthopedic residents and fellows can be trained to perform both basic science and clinical research. The HSS commitment to resident and fellow research has produced many important contributions exemplified by these four abstracts and has prepared many of our graduates for careers as both scientists and clinicians.