Brian Feeley, MD

Professor in Residence
M_Orthopaedic Surgery
+1 415 353-7566

Dr. Brian Feeley is an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in using arthroscopic (minimally invasive) procedures to address injuries of the shoulder and knee in both athletes and non-athletes. In the shoulder, he treats rotator cuff tears, impingement, labral tears, and other causes of instability, as well as clavicle fractures and shoulder arthritis, and he performs shoulder replacement surgery too, specializing in reverse shoulder replacements. In the knee, he treats ligament injuries (ACL, MCL, PCL, etc.), meniscus tears, cartilage injuries and early arthritis. He is chief of the UCSF Division of Sports Medicine and Shoulder Surgery and director of the MITO Lab (Muscle Injury and Translational Orthopedics Laboratory).

After earning a bachelor's degree in biology and medical degree at Stanford University, Dr. Feeley completed a residency in orthopedic surgery at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. He then did a fellowship in sports medicine and shoulder surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery, where he served as an assistant team physician for the New York Giants football team.

Since joining UCSF in 2008, Dr. Feeley has served in a variety of leadership roles in the UCSF orthopedic surgery residency program and the sports medicine fellowship program.

Dr. Feeley’s research focuses on how muscle injury and recovery affect orthopedic outcomes. His research group evaluates muscle progenitor cells and how they respond to different types of injury and degeneration, especially rotator cuff tears. They evaluate and innovate both physical and pharmacological strategies to promote muscle regeneration. This research has been funded by the NIH, the VA, CIRM, and philanthropic donations.

Dr. Feeley has published more than 320 peer-reviewed articles, review studies, and book chapters, as well as a textbook on rotator cuff injuries. He serves on the Musculoskeletal Committee for the National Football League and several national orthopedic research and leadership committees, including in an editorial capacity. In his early career, Dr. Feeley received young investigator awards from the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation, and Western Orthopaedic Association. He has also received a teaching award from the UCSF School of Medicine. More recently, he received research awards from the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons. In 2025, he won the prestigious Elizabeth Lanier Kappa Delta Award which recognizes outstanding research, namely “a large body of cohesive scientific work reflecting years of investigation.”

Dr. Feeley serves as a team physician for the San Francisco Giants and the St. Ignatius College Preparatory High School. An avid surfer, he especially enjoys the waves at San Francisco's Ocean Beach, in San Diego, and on Kauai. In his spare time, he runs with his wife Gail Cornwall-Feeley, reads alongside his five children, and co-hosts the Podcast "Six to Eight Weeks: Perspectives on Sports Medicine."

Research Summary
We are a diverse group of scientists and surgeons who seek to answer the questions—why would muscle turn into fat, and can this phenomenon be leveraged to promote muscle regeneration following musculoskeletal injury and repair?

Publications

The Reply.

The American journal of medicine

Goetzl EJ, Feeley B

Rotator cuff tears.

Nature reviews. Disease primers

Bedi A, Bishop J, Keener J, Lansdown DA, Levy O, MacDonald P, Maffulli N, Oh JH, Sabesan VJ, Sanchez-Sotelo J, Williams RJ, Feeley BT

Factors Associated With Humeral Avulsion of Glenohumeral Ligament Lesions in Patients With Anterior Shoulder Instability: An Analysis of the MOON Shoulder Instability Cohort.

Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine

Freshman RD, Zhang AL, Benjamin Ma C, Feeley BT, Ortiz S, Patel J, Dunn W, Wolf BR, Hettrich C, Lansdown D, MOON Shoulder Group collaborators, Baumgarten KM, Bishop JY, Bollier MJ, Brophy RH, Bravman JT, Cox CL, Cvetanovich GL, Grant JA, Frank RM, Jones GL, Kuhn JE, Mair SD, Marx RG, McCarty EC, Miller BS, Seidl AJ, Smith MV, Wright RW

Predictors of Bone Loss in Anterior Glenohumeral Instability.

The American journal of sports medicine

Hettrich CM, Magnuson JA, Baumgarten KM, Brophy RH, Kattan M, MOON Shoulder Group, Bishop JY, Bollier MJ, Bravman JT, Cvetanovich GL, Dunn WR, Feeley BT, Frank RM, Kuhn JE, Lansdown DA, Benjamin Ma C, Marx RG, McCarty EC, Neviaser AS, Ortiz SF, Seidl AJ, Smith MV, Wright RW, Zhang AL, Cronin KJ, Wolf BR

Beach Chair Versus Lateral Decubitus Position: Differences in Suture Anchor Position and Number During Arthroscopic Anterior Shoulder Stabilization.

The American journal of sports medicine

Baron JE, Duchman KR, Hettrich CM, Glass NA, Ortiz SF, MOON Shoulder Group, Baumgarten KM, Bishop JY, Bollier MJ, Bravman JT, Brophy RH, Carpenter JE, Cox CL, Feeley BT, Frank RM, Grant JA, Jones GL, Kuhn JE, Lansdown DA, Benjamin Ma C, Marx RG, McCarty EC, Miller BS, Neviaser AS, Seidl AJ, Smith MV, Wright RW, Zhang AL, Wolf BR

Male Sex, Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index Score, and Sport as Predictors of Large Labral Tears of the Shoulder: A Multicenter Orthopaedic Outcomes Network (MOON) Shoulder Instability Cohort Study.

Arthroscopy : the journal of arthroscopic & related surgery : official publication of the Arthroscopy Association of North America and the International Arthroscopy Association

Cronin KJ, Magnuson JA, Wolf BR, Hawk GS, Thompson KL, Jacobs CA, MOON Shoulder Group, Hettrich CM, Bishop JY, Bollier MJ, Baumgarten KM, Bravman JT, Brophy RH, Cox CL, Feeley BT, Frank RM, Grant JA, Jones GL, Kuhn JE, Ma CB, Marx RG, McCarty EC, Miller BS, Neviaser AS, Seidl AJ, Smith MV, Wright RW, Zhang AL

Descriptive Epidemiology of the MOON Shoulder Instability Cohort.

The American journal of sports medicine

Kraeutler MJ, McCarty EC, Belk JW, Wolf BR, Hettrich CM, Ortiz SF, MOON Shoulder Instability Group, Bravman JT, Baumgarten KM, Bishop JY, Bollier MJ, Brophy RH, Carey JL, Carpenter JE, Cox CL, Feeley BT, Grant JA, Jones GL, Kuhn JE, Kelly JD, Ma CB, Marx RG, Miller BS, Sennett BJ, Smith MV, Wright RW, Zhang AL

Erratum.

Arthroscopy : the journal of arthroscopic & related surgery : official publication of the Arthroscopy Association of North America and the International Arthroscopy Association

Smucny M, Shin EC, Zhang AL, Feeley BT, Gajiu T, Hall SL, Ma CB, MOON Shoulder Group

AOSSM Early Sport Specialization Consensus Statement.

Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine

LaPrade RF, Agel J, Baker J, Brenner JS, Cordasco FA, Côté J, Engebretsen L, Feeley BT, Gould D, Hainline B, Hewett T, Jayanthi N, Kocher MS, Myer GD, Nissen CW, Philippon MJ, Provencher MT