The Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF) is the one foundation serving the entire orthopaedic community. In 1955, leaders of the major professional organizations in the specialty—the American Orthopaedic Association, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the Orthopaedic Research Society—established OREF as a means of supporting research and education to build the scientific base of clinical practice. Since 1955, the Foundation has provided nearly $150 million in research grant and research-related educational funding to support orthopaedic research.