I started my practice with UBMD Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine after completing my foot and ankle fellowship. My focus is on foot and ankle reconstruction, trauma surgery, wound care management, amputee care, diabetic care, women’s care/osteoporosis management and general orthopaedics. I integrate my six years of work experience in physical therapy into my daily medical practice, and I feel that this sets me apart from other physicians. I apply my physical therapist background in orthopedic care, wound care, pediatric neurologic rehabilitation and sports rehabilitation to help care for my patients, and I spend considerable time educating my patients to position them for successful recovery and self-care. My goals are to treat patients and families with compassion, educate patients and family, provide the best care available to my patients and participate in research. While working toward my undergraduate degree in physical therapy, I was encouraged by a professor to think of medicine as a career. Spending time in the operating room at Women & Children’s Hospital and in pediatric offices opened my eyes to a career as a surgeon. I discovered a love of the operating room because of its complex and rewarding challenges. Each step resembles a puzzles that demands a solution to help restore function and get patients back on their feet. I am currently doing research on the effects of ankle fracture pattern on peak contact pressure and contact area in the ankle. I am working with UB medical students and John Marzo, MD, an orthopaedics colleague. During my orthopaedic residency, research was an integral part of my practice. I performed studies involving joint replacement, sports medicine topics, arthroscopy, tendon and meniscus repair and dermatology journals regarding psoriatic arthritis. As a daughter of a second-grade teacher, I have a passion for teaching. And as a faculty member at both UB and Daemen College, I enjoy teaching medical students and residents as well as physician assistant students and physical therapy students.