Thunderous applause filled the halls of the American Museum of Natural History one evening this past June. At the Hospital for Special Surgery’s (HSS) annual Tribute Dinner, hundreds rose to honor a man who had changed their lives.

      Dr. Todd J. Albert ’79 was receiving the HSS Lifetime Achievement Award for his groundbreaking contributions to spinal surgery and his distinguished leadership.

      “As a surgeon, he is world-class—calm under pressure, able to make every patient feel like they’re part of his family,” says his colleague Dr. Sheeraz Qureshi. “As a leader, his résumé is almost fictional.”

      Albert’s career backs that claim. He is surgeon-in-chief emeritus at HSS and a professor of orthopedic surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College, where he once chaired the department. He previously served as president of the Rothman Institute and is the only orthopedic surgeon ever to head two of the world’s premier spine societies. A neurosurgical scholarship bears his name.

      “The most remarkable thing about Todd is that none of that changed who he is,” Qureshi says. “Todd has remained humble, warm, generous, human.”

      Albert’s humility and sense of care trace back to his childhood. His father was a podiatrist in Waterbury, Connecticut, and Albert often visited the practice, marveling at the trust he built with patients. “His relationship with his patients was something that was enamoring to me and made me want to have that similar relationship,” Albert says.

      He knew early he wanted to be a doctor, but not necessarily a surgeon. In some ways, Taft set him on that course. Football played an important role. “It defined a direction for me in life that was really significant,” Albert says.

      As a freshman, he was a guard on the offensive line. The late Jerry Romano, one of his first mentors, encouraged him to switch to center, a specialized position that would make him more recruitable.

      “I was working in the summer at Taft as a carpenter to make extra money, and I would go every day at lunch and snap balls to Mr. Romano,” Albert recalls. “It made a difference.”

      Recruiting letters poured in, and Albert matriculated at Amherst College. There, a teammate introduced him to his father, a prominent orthopedic surgeon. Albert spent a weekend with the family and left convinced he wanted to follow the same path.

      Today, Albert is known for his innovative approach and dedication to patients and colleagues. He has patented several medical devices and helped pioneer spinal disc replacement, which has produced better long-term outcomes than spinal fusions.

      In 2024, he cofounded See All AI, a company using artificial intelligence to revolutionize intraoperative surgical imaging. Surgeons rely on special X-rays to navigate a patient’s body during procedures, much like GPS. The most advanced machines, however, use heavy radiation and are exceedingly rare.

      “Those machines are only available in a few hundred hospitals around the world,” Albert says.

      See All has developed a system that uses two X-rays to create 3D images on platforms found in every hospital. “We can get the same type of imaging with 3,000 times less radiation per procedure,” says Albert, who serves as chief medical officer.

      The company recently raised $33 million and is pursuing FDA approval, with clinical use expected by the end of 2026.

      Some wondered if the lifetime achievement award signaled retirement, but Albert has no plans to slow down. In addition to his work with See All, he meets with patients every Monday, performs surgery on Tuesdays and every other Wednesday, and always makes time to mentor younger doctors and savor moments with his family.

      As his colleagues made clear at the tribute dinner, Albert’s career is defined not only by surgical breakthroughs and visionary leadership, but also by a relentless devotion to the people around him. For Albert, the real achievement has always been the lives he touches.