About Brian Feeley, MD

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 300 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 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 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."