Nicole Rynecki Baker, MD

My research is built around one goal: getting patients back to the sports and activities they love, ready both physically and mentally.

Much of my work is on the kneecap. When it dislocates again and again, surgery can stabilize it. I study which operation is right for which patient, and how quickly people can safely get back on their feet and back to sport afterward.

I also study the hip. Using results from patients followed for 5 and 10 years after hip arthroscopy, I look at what predicts who is still doing well years later, and which patients are likely to need more.

In the shoulder, I study shoulders that dislocate and the surgery used to stabilize them, including what helps an athlete feel ready to compete again, not just healed enough to.

I am a co-investigator on a national trial testing whether a common blood pressure medication can prevent the stiffness and scar tissue that sometimes follow ACL reconstruction. The trial is funded by the Arthroscopy Association of North America.

I have published more than 40 peer-reviewed articles and serve on the editorial board of Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic and Related Surgery and on the Communications and Marketing Committee of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine.

Selected awards and honors:

• Richmond Arthroscopy/Sports Medicine Travel Award, Eastern Orthopaedic Association, 2026
• NextGen Bursary Award, International Society of Hip Arthroscopy, 2026
• Marian Frauenthal Sloane Clinical Research Award for Outcomes in Hip Arthroscopy, NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital, 2025
• Annual Meeting Resident Scholarship, Arthroscopy Association of North America, 2025
• Orthopaedic Video Theater Award, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 2025
• Best Residents/Fellow Program Paper Presentation, Arthroscopy Association of North America, 2023
• Orthopaedic Video Theater Honorable Mention, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 2023
• Member, Alpha Omega Alpha and the Gold Humanism Honor Society