The Musculoskeletal Epidemiology Unit (MEU) maintains its clinical research base at the Hospital for Joint Diseases and its academic base at the New York University School of Medicine. The mission of the MEU is threefold: research, teaching, and service. Among the MEU's key research associations with HJD's Department of Orthopaedics are a longstanding collaboration with the Occupational and Industrial Orthopaedic Center and close involvement with the Hip Fracture Research Group.

The MEU also collaborates in funded research with members of the Department of Rheumatology and investigators from other institutions worldwide. Teaching activities include instruc-tional courses for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the Public Health Service's Clinical Directors Network as well as lectures to HJD Orthopaedic and Rheumatology residents and fellows, NYU graduate and medical students, and fellows at NYU's Rusk Rehabilitation Center. The service activity of the MEU enhances clinical research at HJD by providing consultation in research design and data analysis to the house staff, attending physicians, and other research groups.

Rudi Hiebert, Interim Director