VAIL, Colo., Oct. 29, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orthopaedic surgeon Ali Noorzad, M.D., is the newest member of the surgical team at The Steadman Clinic. But despite being new to the full-time staff, he is a very familiar face at both The Steadman Clinic and Steadman Philippon Research Institute (SPRI).
Dr. Noorzad completed his second fellowship at the Clinic this summer. He first came to Vail in the summer of 2022 to serve a 12-month sports medicine fellowship, where he rotated between the Clinic’s attending faculty in several areas, including knee, shoulder and hip sports medicine. Upon completion of that fellowship, Dr. Noorzad stayed for an additional year and served as a hip preservation and reconstruction fellow, under the mentorship of co–directors Marc J. Philippon, MD and Joel M. Matta, MD.
“Dr. Noorzad had the rare opportunity to spend two years with us as a fellow and work with our special team of orthopaedic surgeons,” said Dr. Philippon, The Steadman Clinic managing partner and chairman of SPRI. “We have several members of our staff that have served as fellows here at The Steadman Clinic, and Dr. Noorzad is the second surgeon to join the team directly from completing his fellowships. He is a very gifted young physician and will get the chance to work as both a sports medicine surgeon and a hip preservation and reconstruction specialist.”
Dr. Noorzad feels honored to be joining The Steadman Clinic staff as a full-time member of the world-class surgical team.
“The Steadman Clinic is a world-renowned brand that has become synonymous with excellence,” said Dr. Noorzad. “Not just in medicine, but in any industry, I think it’s extremely rare to find an organization in which every member of the team participates in a culture of excellence. Every aspect of the workday is executed with intention and purpose. To say that I simply feel honored to be working among them would be a major understatement.
“Dr. Philippon and Dr. Matta are titans within our field,” noted Dr. Noorzad, “with Dr. Matta in the realm of PAO (periacetabular osteotomy) surgery and anterior hip replacements and Dr. Philippon as a leader in hip arthroscopy. There are few surgeons who have made as much individual advancement within their respective areas of specialization than these two doctors. Their ingenuity and innovations have brought life back to their patients. I could not have trained under better surgeons and teachers than Dr. Philippon, Dr. Matta, and the sports faculty here in Vail.”
Dr. Noorzad came to Vail for his first fellowship after completing his orthopaedic surgery residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. During his time there, he had the opportunity to work closely with both fellows and faculty at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Institute.
The Philadelphia native graduated from medical school at Northeast Ohio Medical University. He completed his undergraduate degree at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, graduating magna cum laude from the Psychology Honors Program.
During his undergraduate studies, Dr. Noorzad was invited to try out for the National Olympic Basketball Team of Afghanistan and was one of the youngest members on the roster. He played professional basketball overseas, competed in several regional Olympics, and helped lead his team to a gold medal victory in the 2010 South Asian Olympics—Afghanistan’s first-ever gold medal in a team event.
Unbeknownst to him at the time, those international experiences would prove useful in the future.
“Playing professional basketball overseas was an invaluable experience that, for me, really ended up transcending sport. Having played in multiple regional Olympic Games, donning the Olympic Rings as an athlete, and now as an official medical provider of Olympic athletes—this is the type of ‘full-circle’ honor that I don’t take for granted. Having been there, I’m intimately familiar with the trials and triumphs, the setbacks and comebacks that revolve around high-level competition. At that level, I feel we all speak the same language, and it’s a truly valuable asset when caring for them as patients. It really is a privilege.”
Dr. Noorzad began seeing patients at The Steadman Clinic in mid-August. He focuses on Orthopaedic Sports Medicine, Hip Preservation and Hip Reconstruction at The Steadman Clinic in Vail and Frisco, Colorado.
For further information, contact Lynda Sampson, vice president of external affairs at The Steadman Clinic/SPRI (lsampson@sprivail.org).
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