Jenifer Jowsey, Ph.D.
Bone biology | Metabolic bone disease | Research mentorship | Scientific legacy
Jenifer Jowsey, Ph.D., was a pioneering bone biologist at Mayo Clinic whose work helped advance the understanding of bone structure, remodeling, and metabolic bone disease. She became known internationally for expertise in bone histology and trained investigators who carried that work into academic orthopedics and skeletal research, contributing to nearly 230 publications.
Her influence remains visible in Mayo Orthopedic Surgery through the Jenifer Jowsey, Ph.D., Award for Excellence in Research by a Research Fellow. Including Dr. Jowsey recognizes an earlier generation of scientific leadership and underscores the department’s longstanding commitment to discovery as a foundation for clinical progress.
Mary I. O’Connor, M.D.
Orthopedic oncology | Joint reconstruction | Health equity | National leadership
Mary I. O’Connor, M.D., completed residency and orthopedic oncology fellowship training at Mayo and joined the staff in 1991. Her career has spanned musculoskeletal oncology, complex joint reconstruction, academic leadership and health equity.
She later chaired Orthopedic Surgery at Mayo Clinic in Florida and became the first woman elected president of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons. A former leader of Yale’s Center for Musculoskeletal Care, co-founder and chief medical officer of Vori Health, and a leader of Movement is Life, she has combined clinical leadership with sustained work to improve access and outcomes in musculoskeletal care.
Kristy L. Weber, M.D.
Sarcoma care | Scientific leadership | Professional service | Mentorship
Kristy L. Weber, M.D., completed research and clinical fellowship training in orthopedic oncology at Mayo before building and leading multidisciplinary sarcoma programs at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Pennsylvania.
In 2019, she became the first woman to serve as president of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Board of Directors. Her service has included leadership in the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society, Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society, International Orthopaedic Diversity Alliance and Perry Initiative. In 2026, she became the first woman to receive the AAOS William W. Tipton Jr., M.D., Leadership Award.
Diane L. Dahm, M.D.
Sports medicine | Arthroscopy | Team care | Humanitarian excellence
Diane L. Dahm, M.D., received the Joseph M. Janes Humanitarian Award during residency and returned to Mayo after sports medicine fellowship training. Her practice has focused on athletic injuries, ACL reconstruction, shoulder and knee surgery and complex arthroscopic care.
She has served as a physician for Olympic and professional sports teams, including the Minnesota Timberwolves and Lynx, while contributing to sports medicine research, biomechanics and physician education. Her career reflects the Janes Award ideals of compassion, surgical competence and devotion to the specialty.
Claudette M. Lajam, M.D.
Adult reconstruction | Quality and safety | Health equity | Professional leadership
Claudette M. Lajam, M.D., has combined primary and revision hip and knee replacement with leadership in quality, safety and equitable access to orthopedic care. At NYU Langone, she serves in quality and patient-safety leadership within orthopedics and adult reconstruction.
She became the first Latina and second woman to chair the AAOS Board of Councilors and is among the few women elected to The Knee Society. In 2019, she became the first woman and first orthopedic surgeon to receive the Mayo Clinic Alumni Association Professional Achievement Award.
Amy L. McIntosh, M.D.
Pediatric orthopedics | Scoliosis | Patient safety | Education
Amy L. McIntosh, M.D., completed Mayo’s orthopedic surgery residency and fellowship training in pediatric orthopedics and scoliosis at Scottish Rite for Children before joining Mayo’s Pediatric Orthopedic Division. Her work has included scoliosis, trauma, sports medicine and care of children with complex musculoskeletal conditions.
She now serves as medical director of patient safety and as a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Scottish Rite for Children and is a professor at UT Southwestern Medical Center. In 2026, she received the Frank Sim, M.D., Alumni Society distinguished alumni honor.
Emilie V. Cheung, M.D.
Shoulder and elbow reconstruction | Complex revision surgery | Arthroplasty | Research and education
Emilie V. Cheung, M.D., completed Mayo Clinic’s upper extremity reconstructive surgery fellowship in 2006 after orthopedic surgery residency at Drexel University. She joined Stanford the same year, where she is an associate professor of orthopaedic surgery specializing in shoulder and elbow surgery, including joint replacement, complex revision surgery, fracture fixation, arthroscopy, rotator cuff repair and ligament reconstruction.
Her research has focused on outcomes after revision shoulder and elbow arthroplasty and complications of complex reconstruction. She received an American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons research grant and is an active member of ASES and the Association of Clinical Elbow and Shoulder Surgeons. Through clinical investigation, national teaching and mentorship of the next generation, she extends the Mayo tradition of subspecialty expertise joined with scholarship and education.
A. Noelle Larson, M.D.
Pediatric spine | Surgical innovation | Research leadership | Institutional leadership
A. Noelle Larson, M.D., has become a national leader in pediatric spine surgery and evidence-based innovation. After Mayo residency and fellowship training in pediatric orthopedics and scoliosis, she returned to Rochester and developed a program focused on safer, motion-preserving options for children with scoliosis.
Her work includes vertebral body tethering, dynamic distraction, low-dose imaging, navigation and robotics. A professor of orthopedic surgery and department quality chair, she became Chair of Mayo Clinic Children’s in Rochester in 2026. She has authored more than 240 peer-reviewed articles and received the 2026 IMAST Innovation Award.
Courtney E. Sherman, M.D.
Orthopedic oncology | Adult reconstruction | Quality | Mentorship
Courtney E. Sherman, M.D., translated consecutive Mayo residency and fellowship experiences into a practice spanning orthopedic oncology and adult reconstruction at Mayo Clinic in Florida. She treats bone and soft-tissue tumors, sarcomas, complex hip and knee disease and challenging revision arthroplasty.
Her work also includes scientific publication, surgical-quality initiatives and mentorship. She leads an annual Perry Initiative program encouraging young women to consider careers in orthopedic surgery and engineering and has received institutional recognition for clinical care and research.
Melissa M. Erickson, M.D., M.B.A.
Complex spine | Motion preservation | Education | Perioperative leadership
Melissa M. Erickson, M.D., M.B.A., completed Mayo’s spine fellowship with broad exposure to complex cervical and lumbar deformity, tumor, trauma, motion-preservation procedures and minimally invasive surgery. She carried that training to Duke, where her practice spans cervical, thoracic and lumbar disorders.
At Duke, she became an associate professor, medical director of Duke University Hospital Perioperative Services and co-director of the Combined Complex Spine Fellowship, combining operative expertise, hospital operations and education. She is returning to Mayo Clinic Rochester as Spine Division faculty in late 2026.
Jennifer Tangtiphaiboontana, M.D.
Orthopedic trauma | Shoulder and elbow | Clinical research | Education
Jennifer Tangtiphaiboontana, M.D., combines orthopedic trauma training with Mayo fellowship expertise in shoulder and elbow reconstruction. Now an orthopedic surgeon at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, she treats acute fractures and complex sequelae including stiffness, nonunion, malunion and post-traumatic arthritis.
Her scholarship connects clinical questions directly to patient care. She received the Charles S. Neer Clinical Science Award for a randomized, double-blind trial evaluating nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications after rotator cuff surgery.
Krystin A. Hidden, M.D.
Orthopedic trauma | Nonunion reconstruction | Education | Patient-centered care
Krystin A. Hidden, M.D., is an orthopedic trauma surgeon at Mayo Clinic in Rochester whose practice includes pelvic and acetabular trauma, upper and lower-extremity injuries, malunions, and nonunions. She completed orthopedic surgery residency at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and orthopedic trauma fellowship at Harborview Medical Center in 2021.
At Mayo, residents and fellows selected her as back-to-back 2023 and 2024 Teacher of the Year in Orthopedic Surgery. She also received the Mayo Clinic Trauma Center Gold Coin Award in 2026. Her work combines complex fracture reconstruction, education, and individualized patient care.
Elizabeth B. Gausden, M.D., M.P.H.
Hip and knee reconstruction | Orthopedic trauma | Outcomes research | Patient-centered care
Elizabeth B. Gausden, M.D., M.P.H., brought prior orthopedic trauma experience to her Mayo hip and knee fellowship, developing particular expertise in periprosthetic fractures, post-traumatic arthritis and deformity alongside primary and revision joint replacement.
She is an attending orthopedic surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery, an associate professor at Weill Cornell Medical College and an associate orthopedic surgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Her research focuses on improving outcomes after periprosthetic fractures, and she has authored more than 50 journal articles in addition to book chapters and international presentations.
