Jennifer Moriatis Wolf, MD, PhD, has been named as the Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine, effective October 1, 2024.
Wolf is an orthopaedic hand surgeon with expertise in the surgical and non-surgical treatment of bone, nerve, tendon and ligament injuries caused by trauma or overuse. Wolf has been on the faculty of the University of Chicago Medicine since 2016, serving as Vice Chair of Faculty Development and Diversity as well as the DCAM OR Surgical Director. She has clinical and research interests in the treatment of osteoarthritis of the base of the thumb and has received grant funding from the U.S. Department of Defense to study the role of vitamin D in bone and joint problems, as well as NIH funding in the study of distal radius fractures. She has recently been awarded funding from the International Institute for Research in Paris to support her global studies in gunshot trauma care and outcomes.
Wolf received her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and completed an internship, residency, and trauma fellowship at Brown University, followed by a hand surgery fellowship at the Mayo Clinic. She later earned a PhD in hand surgery from Lund University in Sweden. Dr. Wolf has been awarded the prestigious Bunnell Fellowship from the American Society for Surgery of the Hand, as well as the American-British-Canadian Traveling Fellowship from the American Orthopaedic Association. She is the past president of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand and currently serves on the board of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.
As Chair, Wolf will continue to expand clinical musculoskeletal services in key strategic markets throughout Chicago, the suburbs, and northwest Indiana. She succeeds Tessa Balach, MD, who has served as Interim Chair of the department since February 2023. During her tenure, Balach recruited seven new physicians and four advanced practice providers, expanded the pediatric subspecialty group, and extended our orthopaedic practice to new health system locations. She also promoted several faculty members into leadership roles in the department, continued to develop research infrastructure, and supported recruitment of diverse residents and fellows to the department’s educational programs.
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