How Did You Get Your Start?

My career was a series of mentorships.

My dad was a podiatrist. I loved watching him interact with patients and knew that’s what I wanted to do.

Being a family doctor was interesting to me, but in college at Amherst my good friend on the football team invited me to stay with him for a weekend and meet his dad. 

His dad happened to be a very famous orthopedic surgeon (was the dean at Penn State) and became a mentor to me. He’s in his 90’s now and is still a mentor.

After med school at UVA, I got another mentor in residency. This guy Nick Rothman at the Rothman institute in Philadelphia.

I was hired there, and ultimately became the chairman. From there I moved to the Hospital for Special Surgery and was the Surgeon in Chief.

I am where I am because of mentorships and the intersection of great people who helped and inspired me.

I still practice spine surgery, but I’m also involved in developing medical instrumentation, helped start a Private Equity firm, and am the CMO and co-founder of SeeAll AI, a surgical imaging company.