Contributor

Dr. Mary I. O'Connor

Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla.

Mary I. O'Connor, MD, is Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL. She is also an Associate Professor of Orthopaedics at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and member of the Executive Operations Team at Mayo Clinic Florida. She serves as the co-chair for Movement is Life.

Dr. O'Connor received her MD from the Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1985. She completed her residency in orthopaedics at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN in 1990 and her fellowship in orthopaedic oncology at the same institution in 1991. During medical school she was awarded the Eva Fernandez Fox Award for Personal Integrity, the Alma D. Morani Prize in Gross Anatomy and the National Health Policy Fellowship at the Department of Health and Human Services. During her residency she received the Mark B. Coventry Award for Outstanding Clinical Research. She joined the staff at the Mayo Clinic in 1991, and in 2004 she was honored with the Mayo Clinic
Florida Distinguished Clinician Award. In 2005, she was named a "Local Legend" by the American Women's Medical Association and the National Library of Medicine as part of the "Changing the Face of Medicine" project co-sponsored by both institutions.

In addition to clinical duties, Dr. O'Connor has been active in research and education. She is the past Associate Dean for Surgery Education at Mayo Clinic Florida and has published leading research on limb salvage in the management of sarcomas involving the pelvic and shoulder girdles. Additional areas of publication include metastatic bone disease and soft tissue tumors. Dr. O'Connor also has an active interest in research
related to computer-assisted navigation in total knee arthroplasty and minimally invasive surgery for hip and knee arthroplasty.

Dr. O'Connor was the first female member of both the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) and the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS). She is the President of the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons, immediate Past President of the AAHKS and member of the Board of Trustees of Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. She is past President of the MSTS and the Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society and past Chair of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Women's Health Issues Advisory Board – the latter two groups are committed to promoting women in the field of orthopaedic surgery and advancing the care of women's musculoskeletal health in the United States.