2025 Alumni Award Recipients

Andrew R. Burgess, MD ’75, named 2025 Distinguished Alumnus

Andrew R. Burgess, MD ’75, has been named Albany Medical College 2025 Distinguished Alumnus, an award honoring an alumnus who has earned national recognition for outstanding leadership in health care. He received the award and presented a lecture during the college’s reunion weekend in April.

Dr. Burgess, a member of the class of 1975, is Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, Texas, as well as former Chief of Orthopaedic Trauma at UTHealth Houston.

Dr. Burgess has devoted much of his career to the study and treatment of musculoskeletal trauma with an emphasis on the management of complex orthopaedic injuries, limb reconstruction, high-energy extremity and pelvic fractures. He has been referred to as the “pioneer in categorizing pelvic fractures.” He has been actively involved in the education and training of trauma surgeons, serving as Chief of Orthopaedic Trauma, and Professor at the University of Maryland’s R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Unit.

Prior to attending Albany Medical College, Dr. Burgess received a B.A. from Hanover College. He did his residency at Albany Medical Center, later completing two Orthopaedic Trauma fellowships, one at R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at Maryland Institute of Emergency Medical Services System, Baltimore, and an AO fellowship at Kantonsspital in Chur, Switzerland.

He is a founding member and past president of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association, and his affiliations include the Motor Vehicle Safety Research Advisory Committee, and the Committee on Trauma of the American College of Surgeons. He is widely published and has been recognized with many honors and awards throughout his career.