Gregory Elmar Lutz, M.D., one of the world's leading experts in interventional ortho biologics, passed away on Tuesday, March 5th in New York City after a courageous battle with terminal cancer. He was 61 years old.

A driving force in the field of regenerative medicine, Dr. Lutz touched the lives of the thousands of patients whom he helped—as well as the fellows he trained and the many friends he made along the way. He was a pioneer, inventor, entrepreneur, life-long athlete, and beloved by his family and friends. He lived life to the fullest, with a generous spirit and a noble heart.

Dr. Lutz was born in Camden, NJ on July 26th, 1962 to Dr. Elmar Gregor Lutz and Barbara Jane Donnelly. He enjoyed sports from an early age, competing in basketball and bodybuilding, ultimately winning Mr. Teenage New Jersey. In 1984, Dr. Lutz graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Drew University, where he met the love of his life, Paula Gibson. 

Dr. Lutz graduated from Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1988 and was awarded the Dr. Margaret M. Kenrick Achievement Award for Excellence in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. He went on to pursue his specialty training in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at the Mayo Clinic, before completing an Orthopedic Sports Medicine Fellowship at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in 1993. In 1997, Dr. Lutz founded the Department of Physiatry at HSS, serving as its first Physiatrist-in-Chief from 1997-2012. During Dr. Lutz's 15-year tenure, he grew the department into one of the largest outpatient musculoskeletal practices in the nation. He also established the Spine & Sports Medicine Fellowship and mentored more than 60 fellows as a Professor of Clinical Rehabilitation Medicine at Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

In 2016, Dr. Lutz opened the Regenerative SportsCare Institute (RSI+), a state-of-the-art center for regenerative orthopedic medicine in Manhattan’s Upper East Side that is committed to providing best-in-class patient care. Over the past eight years, Dr. Lutz grew RSI+ into one of the leading interventional orthopedic practices globally. His enthusiasm for harnessing the body’s innate ability to heal itself led him to pioneer novel, non-surgical approaches in the management of chronic low back pain (LBP) and other musculoskeletal disorders that had previously been considered incurable. 

Dr. Lutz popularized the use of intradiscal biologics, publishing the first double-blind, randomized controlled trial that demonstrated the clinical efficacy of intradiscal platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy for a subset of patients with chronic LBP. He was a firm believer in truth, transparency, and the scientific process, and co-authored more than 60 publications throughout his career. Through his research and experience performing more than 1,000 intradiscal ortho-biologic procedures, Dr. Lutz invented the DiscCathTM medical device. He also launched the Regenerative SportsCare Foundation (RSF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization whose mission is to find a cure for degenerative disc disease, and co-founded Orthobond Corporation, a biotechnology company focused on developing antimicrobial nanosurfaces for medical devices. 

In 2023, Dr. Lutz published Heal Your Disc, End Your Pain: How Regenerative Medicine Can Save Your Spine. In his book, Dr. Lutz chronicles his decades-long journey to develop better solutions for patients with LBP—helping many of them avoid drugs and surgery. His relentless pursuit to go above and beyond for his patients is a testament to the man he was—a devoted husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, physician, mentor, and friend. 

Patient care and spending time with his family and friends were his greatest passions. When not seeing patients, one would find him lifting weights, skiing, golfing, or walking in the woods with his dog, Theo. Dr. Lutz is survived by his loving wife, Paula; his three adult children, Anna (Paul), Cole (Tracey), and Olivia; his grandson, Kuno Gregor; and siblings Mary Bernadette, Michael, and Christopher.

Donations can be made in his memory to the Regenerative SportsCare Foundation or Hands Together.