The Jesse T. Nicholson Fund at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) sponsors research and teaching activities including an annual visiting professorship. Nationally and internationally recognized physicians specializing in pediatric orthopedic surgery are invited to visit CHOP in order to share their experiences, accomplishments and endeavors.

The Nicholson Visiting Professorship provides a unique opportunity for our medical staff to gain exposure to alternative methods of care and treatment. It also offers a didactic forum where new insights and enriched understanding are gained. 

Among the many topics discussed are: new and improved surgical techniques, alternative methods for improved evaluation of orthopedic anomalies, and alternative theories of care and management of the pediatric orthopedic patient. The knowledge gained from these forums is invaluable to our medical staff in their efforts to find the optimal means of treating and caring for our patients at CHOP.

Since 1986, CHOP has hosted 34 Nicholson Visiting Professors. Visiting professors are nominated by current CHOP staff, as well as past visiting professors, and are ultimately chosen by the division chief. 

About Jesse T. Nicholson, MD

The Nicholson Fund was founded to honor Jesse T. Nicholson, MD, the longest-tenured chief of CHOP's Orthopedic Center (1936-1968).

Born in 1903 in Camden, NJ, Jesse T. Nicholson was raised in a medical family. His father, Joseph L. Nicholson, was a chief surgeon at Cooper Hospital in Camden. 

Nicholson was educated by Camden's public schools and attended Harvard College, graduating in 1925. He was admitted into the second year at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Medicine and awarded his MD in 1928. Nicholson joined Deforest Willard, MD, at the Graduate School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

In 1935, Charles Merrill, MD, CHOP's first orthopedic division chief, recruited Dr. Nicholson to CHOP. After Merrill's death,  Nicholson was named orthopedic division chief. For the next three decades, Nicholson continued to grow and develop the hospital's pediatric orthopedic program. 

An orthopedic pioneer in the Philadelphia region, Nicholson also served in leadership positions at Graduate Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia General Hospital and Lankenau Hospital.

Nationally, Nicholson served as president of the President of the American Orthopaedic Association, chairman of the orthopedic section of the American Medical Association, and treasurer of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. Nicholson died in 1987.

Nicholson Visiting Professors

• 2019 — David L. Skaggs, MD, MMM, Los Angeles, CA
• 2018 — James J. McCarthy, MD, MHCM, Cincinnati, OH
• 2017 — Dennis R. Wenger, MD, San Diego, CA
• 2016 — Lori A. Karol, MD, Dallas, TX
• 2015 — Vincent S. Mosca, MD, Seattle, WA
• 2014 — James O. Sanders, MD, Rochester, NY
• 2013 — Daniel Sucato, MD, Dallas, TX
• 2012 — Peter Waters, MD, Boston, MA
• 2011 — James Roach, MD, Pittsburgh, PA
• 2010 — Randall T. Loder, MD, Indianapolis, IN
• 2009 — Mininder Kocher, MD, Boston, MA
• 2008 — Colin Moseley MD, Los Angeles, CA
• 2007 — James Kasser, MD, Boston, MA
• 2006 — Dror Paley, MD, West Palm Beach, FL
• 2005 — Chad Price, MD, Orlando, FL
• 2004 — R. Baxter Willis II, MD, New Orleans, LA
• 2003 — James Beaty, MD, Memphis, TN
• 2002 — Alvin Crawford, MD, FACS, Cincinnati, OH
• 2001 — Perry L. Schoenecker, MD, St. Louis, MO
• 2000 — Robert M. Campbell Jr., MD, San Antonio, TX
• 2000 — Melvin D. Smith, MD, San Antonio, TX
• 1999 — Paul D. Sponseller, MD, MBA, Baltimore, MD
• 1998 — G. Dean MacEwen, MD, Philadelphia, PA
• 1998 — Stephen J. Tredwell, MD, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 
• 1998 — Katsuru Tomita, MD, Takaramachi-Tsuruma, Japan
• 1997 — Vernon T. Tolo, MD, Los Angeles, CA
• 1994 — John H. Wedge, MD, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• 1993 — Norris Carroll, MD, FRSC, Chicago, IL
• 1992 — Stuart L. Weinstein, MD, Iowa City, IA
• 1991 — Thomas S. Renshaw, MD, Columbia, SC
• 1990 — Paul P. Griffin, MD, Baltimore, MD
• 1988 — John A. Herring, MD, Dallas, TX
• 1988 — Robert N. Hensinger, MD, Ann Arbor, MI
• 1987 — Kaye E. Wilkins, MD, San Antonio, TX
• 1987 — Mercer Rang, MB, FRCS, FRCSC, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• 1986 — Harry L. Shufflebarger, MD, Miami, FL
• 1986 — John E. Hall, MD, Boston, MA

Reviewed by: Orthopedic Center
Date: October 2013