Michael Parks Named AAOS Board Treasurer

Michael L. Parks, M.D., FAAOS, is the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons’ (AAOS) new treasurer. One of three voting members, the treasurer chairs the 39,000-member organization’s Finance Committee, which oversees AAOS’s finances and fiscal health. 
 
Parks is associate attending at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) and associate professor of Clinical Orthopaedic Surgery at Weill Cornell College of Medicine in New York, N.Y. He specializes in reconstructive surgery for hip and knee arthritis. He has led several research projects at HSS, with a particular interest in socioeconomic and racial disparities in access to arthritis care and total joint replacement surgery. His research has published numerous journal articles related to joint replacement outcomes and racial differences.
 
Parks has also been recognized for his expertise in numerous publications throughout his career, receiving top doctor rankings in Black Enterprise and Money magazines. He has also been recognized in such publications as The Network Journal, The New York Times Magazine, and Castle Connolly’s Best Doctors: New York Metro. In 2019, he was the recipient of the AAOS’ Diversity Award. 
 
Parks has served as president of the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF) and is a past president of the New York State Society of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He previously served on the AAOS Board of Directors and the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS) Board of Directors. Parks is active in the AAOS and has served on the Annual Meeting Committee, Board of Councilors, and chair of the AAOS Resolutions Committee. He served on the former Publications Committee and was a member of the 2003 class of Leadership Fellows Program. He has also been actively involved with the Movement is Life Caucus, a multi-stakeholder group devoted to decreasing musculoskeletal healthcare disparities.
 
Parks graduated from Duke University with a bachelor of arts degree in chemistry and earned his medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, where he received the President’s Clinical Science Award. After completing an internship in general and thoracic surgery, followed by an orthopaedic residency at Duke University Medical Center, he continued his training at HSS with a fellowship on the Hip and Knee Service where he remains in practice today.
 
With more than 39,000 members, AAOS is the world’s largest medical association of musculoskeletal specialists. It provides comprehensive education to help orthopaedic surgeons and allied health professionals treat patients in their daily practices. The AAOS is the source for information on bone and joint conditions, treatments, and related musculoskeletal health care issues, and it leads the health care discussion on advancing quality.