2022-2023

Richard Amendola, MD
Residency: SUNY Upstate Medical University

Dr. Amendola was born in London, Ontario, Canada but was raised in the Hawkeye state through high school, specifically, Iowa City, Iowa. He attended the University of Iowa where he completed his undergraduate degree and master’s degree in biomedical engineering. Following a short stint as a research engineer, he attended the University of Iowa Medical School. He graduated with research distinction his research efforts earned him the Michael Bonfiglio Award for Orthopedic Research. Following medical school, he moved on to Orthopedic Residency at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse New York.

Dr. Amendola is eager for the opportunity to train at The Steadman Clinic and Steadman Philippon Research Institute. Interests outside of orthopedics include snowboarding, golfing, cycling, following Hawkeye sports and spending time with his wife, Kimberly and their two little girls, Rose and Annabelle. The family is excited to explore Vail Valley.

 

Matthew Anderson, MD
Residency: Columbia University

Matt was born and raised in San Diego, California as the second eldest of seven children. He attended Francis Parker for high school before heading east to Duke University for college. At Duke, Matt played varsity football and lacrosse, winning the NCAA national championship in lacrosse his senior year. Matt graduated from Duke University Magna Cum Laude with a B.S. in Biological Anthropology and Anatomy.

After college, Matt spent three years working in the software industry prior to enrolling in medical school at Mount Sinai. Matt graduated from Mount Sinai with AOA Honors and Distinction in Research, matching at Columbia Orthopedics for residency. During residency, Matt developed a passion for sports medicine, providing physician team coverage for Columbia University, Manhattan College, and several local high schools. Matt also conducted research within the field of sports medicine, producing numerous journal articles and book chapters related to shoulder instability, ACL reconstruction, and UCL reconstruction.

Outside of medicine, Matt enjoys surfing, snowboarding, and golf. He will be moving to Vail with his wife Jillian and their two young children. Matt is excited to spend a year living in the beautiful Vail Valley while training under world-class orthopedic surgeons at SPRI.

 

John (Yianni) Apostolakos, MD, MPH
Residency: Hospital for Special Surgery

Born and raised in Rochester, NY, Yianni completed his undergraduate education at the University of Connecticut. During his time as a student athlete, UConn's football team participated in four consecutive bowl games, culminating in the BCS Tostito's Fiesta Bowl his senior season. After a series of injuries sustained on the gridiron, Yianni began pursuing a career in medicine. He spent several years participating in laboratory, clinical, and biomechanical research in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at UConn before matriculating into the UConn School of Medicine.

Following medical school, Yianni completed his orthopaedic surgery residency at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. During residency, Yianni's research interests continued to evolve as he earned several research grants including the Joseph M. Lane, MD Metabolic Bone Resident Research Grant for the proposal entitled, "Differential Patterns of Muscle Activation in Glenohumeral Osteoarthritis". In addition to his research endeavors while at HSS, Yianni provided physician coverage for several athletics teams including: the Lafayette High School varsity and JV football teams, the FDNY Bravest SemiProfessional football team, as well as the NCAA Division I Iona Men's and Women's basketball teams.

Yianni is moving to Vail with his wife Vicky and their children Olivia and Charlotte. Their family is excited to enjoy the various outdoor activities that the area has to offer. Outside of work Yianni enjoys football, golfing, traveling, and trying out new restaurants with his family.

 

Peter Chang, MD
Residency: Washington University

Peter spent his early childhood around the Orlando, Florida area. His family then moved to South Dakota which became his home in his teens. He graduated summa cum laude from Arizona State University with the Biochemistry Award his senior year. He then went to medical school back home in South Dakota at the University of South Dakota School of Medicine. He graduated medical school summa cum laude, a member of the AOA honor society, and with a Dean commendation for distinction in research.

Peter completed his residency in St. Louis, at Wash U. While in residency he enjoyed covering local highschool football. During his time in residency, he received an OREF research grant for his work on 3-D printing and the Wash U resident research award for his work on the meniscal roots.

His wife, Tamanna is a pediatric anesthesiologist and will stay on as faculty at Wash U. Although she will not be joining Peter for the year, she looks forward to frequent visits to Vail and learning how to ski.

 

Matthew Deasey, MD
Residency: University of Virginia

Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA Matt was a decorated high school scholarathlete. He played four years of varsity baseball and earned All-American honors in water polo. Basketball was his true passion; his efforts on the court and in the classroom were recognized with the Markward Club of Philadelphia’s top scholar-athlete-award. He attended the University of Virginia, where he fulfilled his dream of playing college basketball as a member of the Men’s Varsity Basketball team and an Academic All-ACC performer. His academic and athletic achievement, along with his commitment to the Charlottesville community earned him the privilege of living on the University’s historic Lawn in a room endowed for the top pre-medical student.

After college, he moved back to Philadelphia to pursue his interest in teaching and coaching. He taught science and coached basketball at the Haverford School, and spent his summers as the basketball program director at Sports Challenge Leadership Academy. His passion for medicine never dimmed, and he enrolled in medical school at Temple University, where he was a member of the Gold Humanism Honor Society, and the Alpha Omega Honor Society. Matt jumped at the opportunity to return to Charlottesville and the University of Virginia for residency training. He remains the first and only resident to receive the U-Team Award, a health-system wide award give to recognize exemplary patient care. The Emergency Department named him the Consult Resident of the Year and he was names the UVA Orthopaedic Resident of the Year. He served as the state of Virginia’s resident representative at the AAOS National Orthopaedic Leadership Council. His academic interests span the breadth of Sports Medicine, from shoulder arthroplasty to complete knee and hip arthroscopy. Thanks to the outstanding mentorship he received at UVA he was able to publish a dozen peer-reviewed papers and a half-dozen book chapters.

Matt loves to run, bike, and spend time with his family. Matt, and his wife Lindsey, their daughters Maggie and Eleanor, and Otis the dog cannot wait for their adventure in the Rockies and look forward to making the most of their time in the Vail Valley.

 

Jonathan Haskel, MD
Residency: New York University Langone Health

Born and raised in Morristown, NJ, Dr. Haskel eventually made his way to North Carolina for college and graduated with distinction from Duke University. As an undergraduate, Dr. Haskel rowed on the Duke Men's Crew Team, captained the Men's Novice Team, and was a member of the Sigma Xi Research Honor Society. He then came back to New Jersey to attend Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, where he was president of the orthopedic interest group and co-founded a medical start-up company with four of his closest medical school buddies.

He went on to complete his orthopedic surgery residency training at the NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital, where he was he was selected as an Administrative Chief Resident and an American Orthopedic Association Emerging Leader. He published multiple peer-reviewed articles and textbook chapters on hip arthroscopy outcomes, shoulder instability, and return to play following arthroscopic knee surgery.

Jon and his wife Jess are incredibly ecstatic to spend a year in the Vail Valley and plan to take on every form of adventure that the Colorado high country has to offer.

 

Ali Noorzad, MD
Residency: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Ali was born in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and eventually moved to South Jersey, where he graduated from Cherry Hill High School East. After high school he attended George Mason University where he was a member of the Psychology Honors Program, and graduated Magna Cum Laude.

During his undergraduate studies, he was invited to try out for National Olympic Basketball Team of Afghanistan, and was inaugurated onto the team as one of the youngest members on the roster. He played professional basketball overseas, competing in various countries which included China, Taiwan, and Qatar, and competed in several regional Olympic competitions during his tenure. He’s competed in multiple professional basketball tournaments throughout the world and lead his team to a Gold Medal victory in the 2010 South Asian Olympics after beating India—recording Afghanistan’s first ever Olympic Gold Medal in a team event.

Ali went on to attend medical school at Northeast Ohio Medical University where he graduated as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. After medical school, he completed his Orthopaedic Surgery Residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, where he published several peer reviewed articles that have been presented nationally. During his time there, he had the opportunity to work closely with both fellows and faculty at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Institute.

Ali will be joined in Vail by his wife Salma, and their little ones, Zara and Sami Dean. They love food, basketball, hiking, biking, and kayaking. They are super excited to immerse themselves in the unparalleled beauty and outdoor activities that Vail Valley has to offer.

 

Claire Ryan, MD
Residency: University of Texas at Austin – Dell Medical School

Born and raised in Chicago, Dr. Claire Ryan completed her undergraduate education at Northwestern University, graduating cum laude with a BS in Social Policy. After college, she completed a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship in France where she taught English and worked on curriculum development for the Department of Education. Upon moving home to the US, Claire completed her postbaccalaureate pre-medical education at University of Illinois in Chicago while also working as a clinical research coordinator at Lurie Children’s Hospital. She then received her medical degree from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City where she fell in love with the field of Orthopedics.

She completed her residency training at University of Texas at Austin. During her time in Austin, she was able to be involved in care of athletes ranging from the high school to professional level. She also worked on several research studies focused on healthcare utilization, psychosocial determinants of health and value-based care.

Claire is very honored and excited to continue her training as a fellow at the Steadman Philippon Research Institute. In Vail, Claire will be joined by her husband, Burak, as well as their baby daughter and two beloved dogs. Together, they are looking forward to exploring all Vail has to offer with their family.

 

Benjamin Kuhns, MD
Residency: University of Rochester

Ben Kuhns was born in Chicago, Illinois and grew up in the northern suburbs. He was active in athletics through high school participating in football, wrestling, rugby, and crew and played for the all state under 18 rugby team for Illinois. He spent his undergraduate years at Colgate University where he continued to play rugby and majored in chemistry with a minor in history. He then returned to Chicago where he received a Master's degree in Neuroscience from Northwestern before attending medical school in Cleveland, Ohio at Case Western Reserve University school of medicine. He developed an interest in hip preservation surgery in medical school during a research year and graduated with an distinction in research after being inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. He continued to develop his passion for comprehensive hip care while in residency at the University of Rochester Medical Center participating in both clinical and basic science research projects.

He is honored to be participating in the hip preservation fellowship at the Steadman-Philippon Research Institute where he will continue his education and research in comprehensive hip surgery. He will be joined by his wife Katie and their golden retriever Jasper. Outside of the hospital, Ben enjoys live music, slow-cook barbecue, vinyl records, and is looking forward to exploring everything the Vail Valley has to offer.

 

Garret Garofolo, MD
Residency: Maimonides Medical Center

Garret Garofolo was born and raised in Commack, New York. Growing up, Garret played competitive ice hockey across the continent and whose appears in the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame. Although his ice hockey career was cut short due to a freak accident, the care he received from a prior SPRI alumnus opened his eyes to the rewarding field of orthopaedic surgery, sports medicine and lower extremity trauma. After graduating from high school, Garret attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he majored in biomechanics, neuroscience, and applied physiology, and graduated with Honors.

Garret completed his medical training at AUC School of Medicine and his residency training in orthopaedic surgery at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, an affiliate of Northwell Health. Garret’s residency training included a trauma surgery rotation at Shock Trauma in Baltimore, Maryland, a pediatrics rotation at Connecticut Children’s Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, and a Foot and Ankle rotation at Medstar Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.

Garret has always been passionate about education and research. During medical school, Garret was on the Dean’s list and a member of the honor society, received multiple peer nominated awards for teaching, and graduated at the top of his class. Additionally, Garret published numerous peer reviewed articles and presented his research at both national and international meetings. Garret's particular academic interests include the management of shoulder, knee, ankle and hip pathology in non-elite and elite athletes, optimizing surgical and nonsurgical outcomes in sports medicine, and shoulder arthroplasty.

Following residency, Garret completed an orthopedic sports medicine fellowship in Los Angeles at the prestigious Southern California Orthopedic Institute. Garret is looking forward to additional subspecialty training in sports medicine foot and ankle and lower extremity trauma this year at the world-renowned Steadman Clinic.

Garret will be joined by his wife, Laurel S. Fensterstock, Esq., and their newborn son, Bennett, in Vail. Garret and Laurel, and we suspect Bennett will soon, enjoy skiing, snowboarding, hiking, playing golf and hanging around a campfire. Together, they are excited to join SPRI for the incredible training and mentorship it has to offer, and once in a lifetime opportunity to live in Vail.