After receiving life-changing treatment from University of Pittsburgh and UPMC scientists and doctors for incapacitating pain, the founder of Hillandale Farms has pledged $25 million through the Orland Bethel Family Foundation to create a musculoskeletal research center at the University.

Pitt will match the donation for a total of $50 million to create the Orland Bethel Family Musculoskeletal Research Center (BMRC), which hopes to attract and retain top scientists as well as advance leading-edge research and make musculoskeletal medicine — including osteoporosis, degenerative arthritis, fragility fractures and spinal pathology — a major focus alongside cancer and neuroscience at the Pitt School of Medicine and the other five schools of the health sciences.

Orland Bethel started Gettysburg-based Hillandale Farms, one of the top egg producers in the company, in 1958.  

He was suffering debilitating spinal pain from back to neck from spinal stenosis in 2014, when he sought treatment from Joon Y. Lee of Pitt’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and UPMC. He underwent successful surgery and treatment to restore function and motion.

“My family and I are pleased to offer our support to the spectacular work of Dr. Joon Lee and the other surgeons, physicians and researchers within the department led by Dr. MaCalus V. Hogan through the creation of the Orland Bethel Family Musculoskeletal Research Center,” Bethel said. “I know how the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC changed my life and can only imagine how the lives of others — worse off than I was — will be improved thanks to the ongoing research at this new center.”

Shekhar said the gift makes Pitt “poised to develop potential breakthroughs in therapeutics through clinical and basic science research in musculoskeletal diseases and orthopaedic surgery. The center will support clinicians, investigators, trainees and students in areas that will bring hope to the hundreds of thousands who face these problems every day.”

The gift will launch an array of programs under the new center’s umbrella: the BMRC Core Laboratories, Bethel Research Fellows and an annual conference and seminar where scientists will share their work and discover new opportunities for collaboration. Among the participating entities in the center are the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the School of Medicine, the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, the Department of Bioengineering in the Swanson School of Engineering, and the Pittsburgh Center for Pain Research.

Half of the gift will be put to use immediately, with the remainder scheduled to launch an endowment that will support the initiative in perpetuity.

The new center — expected to open in 2024 — will provide multiyear commitments to support such areas as:

• Understanding molecular, genetic and biological mechanisms in spine-related diseases

• Understanding the influence of gender and age on disease and recovery from musculoskeletal disorders

• Developing therapies for osteoarthritis

• Using stem cells to repair and recover from peripheral nerve injuries

• Applying machine learning algorithms for orthopaedic issues

“With this exceptional gift, Orland Bethel and his family are supporting and advancing our continuum of work, from basic science to patient care,” Pitt Chancellor Joan Gabel said. “I am grateful for the confidence they have placed in Pitt and for how this gift will help to elevate musculoskeletal research through the development of world-class talent and transformational discovery."

In a prior gift, Bethel and his foundation created the Orland Bethel Chair in Spine Surgery, which is held by Lee. As part of the new award, the University will place the center’s name on the entrance to the Biomedical Science Tower Complex, where it will be housed.

“This generous gift is nothing short of transformative. This investment will have both immediate and generational impact. With the help of Mr. Bethel and his family, we can work to immediately change how we approach the big questions, improve cross campus collaboration and allow creativity to solve musculoskeletal problems ‘outside-the-box,’” Lee said. “The influence of this gift will be felt across the entire system — from young medical school students, through accomplished researchers, on to improvements in patient care.”