Dr. Daniel B.F. Saris Recognized for Orthobiologics Research

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) announced that Daniel B. F. Saris, M.D., Ph.D., as the inaugural recipient of the Arnold I. Caplan Award for Distinguished Research in Orthobiologics (Caplan Award).

This award celebrates the legacy of Arnold Caplan, Ph.D.—considered a pioneer in orthobiologics and Medicinal Signaling Cells (MSCs)—by honoring his contributions over more than five decades to advance biologics solutions for musculoskeletal injuries or pathologies.

Dr. Caplan was often called the ‘godfather of MSCs’—a critical thinker and scientist who spent decades exploring ways to translate stem cell biology to the clinic,” commented Jason L. Dragoo, M.D., who chairs the AAOS Committee on Devices, Biologics and Technology. “It is a pleasure to work with the Caplan family to honor his unwavering dedication to scientific advancement. This award will recognize those who embody Dr. Caplan’s spirit of innovation and excellence, and we are confident it will continue to fuel the future of orthobiologics.”

The Arnold I. Caplan Award recognizes Dr. Saris for developing and testing the knee joint restoration procedure RECLAIM (Recycled Cartilage Auto/Allo Implantation). The procedure debrides a patient’s knee defect by removing cartilage from the knee or hip, mincing the pieces into smaller fragments and extracting cartilage cells through chemical digestion to the level of the chondron. The recycled autologous chondrons are combined with allogeneic donor MSCs and injected into the patient’s knee defect with a mixture of the patient’s cells. This procedure enables the patient’s body to repair the cartilage defect, something it otherwise would be unable to do.

“Dr. Caplan’s work opened a new terrain of therapeutic options. My research carries on from his legacy by demonstrating that combining native cartilage cells and allogeneic MSCs can be a good partnership,” said Dr. Saris, professor of Orthopaedics and Regenerative Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and professor of Reconstructive Surgery at the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands. “We were able to show it is possible to recycle a patient’s own cartilage if you add donor MSCs to the mix. The donor MSCs clean the environment and the growth factors allow the patient’s own cartilage to grow. Our clinical work proved what Caplan discovered is actually possible in the human knee.”

The Caplan Award, created through the Caplan family’s generosity with funding overseen by the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation, recognizes excellence in orthobiologics research. The award includes a desktop recognition piece and a $10,000 monetary prize. Dr. Saris will be honored at the AAOS 2025 Annual Meeting next month in San Diego.

“Dr. Caplan laid the groundwork by revolutionizing our understanding of MSCs and their therapeutic uses. Now, Dr. Saris and his team are taking that foundational lab research and advancing it further, showing the same innovative spirit in their mission to improve patients’ quality of life,” Dragoo stated.

With more than 39,000 members, the AAOS is the world’s largest medical association of musculoskeletal specialists. The organization advances musculoskeletal health and provides comprehensive education to help orthopedic surgeons and allied health professionals best treat patients. The AAOS is the source for information on bone and joint conditions, treatments, and related musculoskeletal healthcare issues; and it leads the healthcare discussion on advancing quality.