Dr. Gergo Merkely is an orthopaedic surgery resident in the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Residency Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and a research mentor at Harvard Medical School. His clinical and research interests center on cartilage repair, ACL biomechanics, and the application of machine learning to sports medicine imaging, with a particular focus on elite athlete care.

Assistant Professor, Yale School of Medicine · Orthopaedic Surgeon

Dr. Gianakos is a foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeon and Assistant Professor at Yale School of Medicine. She completed her fellowship at Harvard–MGH and became the world's first International In-Office Needle Arthroscopy and Sports Medicine fellow, training across New York, London, Amsterdam, and Bologna with elite football, basketball, and ballet athletes. She is pursuing a PhD at the University of Amsterdam focused on sex-based differences in foot and ankle outcomes

Dr. Escalante is a Professor of Kinesiology and the Associate Dean for the College of Natural Sciences at Califoy State University San Bernardino. He currently serves as the President of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.

Foot & Ankle Orthopaedic Surgeon · Massachusetts General Hospital

Dr. Waryasz is a triple fellowship-trained foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital, with subspecialty training in trauma, sports medicine, and foot and ankle surgery. A certified strength and conditioning specialist, he has served as team physician for the New England Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins, and Revolution, and currently consults for professional soccer players and collegiate athletic programs.

Rector, Semmelweis University · Budapest, Hungary

Dr. Béla Merkely is a Hungarian interventional and sports cardiologist serving as Rector and Chairman of the Heart and Vascular Centre at Semmelweis University. A former Vice-President of the European Society of Cardiology, his clinical focus spans heart failure, arrhythmias, and cardiac assessment of elite athletes. He oversees one of Europe's largest heart transplant programs and has held leadership roles in cardiology societies across Europe and the United States.

Chief of Surgery · Aspetar Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Hospital, Qatar

Dr. D'Hooghe is a Senior Consultant in Orthopaedic Surgery at the Fortius Clinic in London, a Visiting Orthopaedic Surgeon at Aspetar in  Doha — where he previously served as Chief Medical Officer, and an Associate Professor at Weill Cornell Medical College. He specializes in arthroscopic surgery and tendon injuries in elite athletes, and has served as team physician at the FIFA World Cup, Arab Cup, and Asian Cup. He has recently been appointed Director of the  UEFA Team Physician Course 2026

Foot & Ankle Orthopaedic Surgeon · Massachusetts General Hospital

Dr. Waryasz is a triple fellowship-trained foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital, with subspecialty training in trauma, sports medicine, and foot and ankle surgery. A certified strength and conditioning specialist, he has served as team physician for the New England Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins, and Revolution, and currently consults for professional soccer players and collegiate athletic programs.

Foot & Ankle Surgeon · MGH · Director, Harvard–MGH Foot & Ankle Fellowship

Dr. Guss is a foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital, an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, and Director of the Harvard–MGH Foot and Ankle  Surgery Fellowship. He earned his MD from Harvard Medical School and an MBA from Harvard Business School. A core investigator within FARIL, his clinical focus includes minimally invasive surgery, sports-related trauma, and Lisfranc injuries in athletes.

Professor & Chair, Orthopaedic Surgery · Amsterdam UMC

Ankle Cartilage Injuries in Elite Football

Dr. Kerkhoffs is Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine at Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, and founder of both the Academic Center for Evidence-Based Sports Medicine (ACES) and the Amsterdam Collaboration for Health and Safety in Sports (ACHSS), an IOC Research Center. His clinical expertise centers on osteochondral defect treatment, ankle and knee arthroscopy, and sports traumatology in elite footballers. He is a past President of the Dutch Arthroscopy Association and a long-standing collaborator with FARIL.

Dr. Smith is an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in disorders of the foot and ankle. His goal is to help patient’s who are experiencing pain and other limitations from their foot and ankle injuries and conditions. Dr. Smith cares for patients with a wide variety of foot and ankle problems and has a particular interest in sports medicine, traumatic injuries, ankle and foot deformity, arthritic conditions, and minimally invasive surgery. Dr. Smith grew up in the Boston area and then attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick Maine, where he was a four-year letter winner for the varsity soccer and squash teams. He then received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School. After medical school, Dr. Smith completed his orthopaedic training at the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Residency Program and then a Fellowship in Foot and Ankle Surgery at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital.   Dr. Smith is an Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School and is the Director of the Harvard Brigham Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Fellowship. He cares for many young athletes and is a team physician for Stonehill College. He is also an accomplished researcher and has published more than 80 peer-reviewed publications. Many of these relate to the conditions he treats. Dr. Smith sees patients at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital, the Mass General Brigham Foxboro Health Care Center, and 1285 Beacon Street in Brookline.

Professor, Harvard Medical School · Chief Emeritus, Foot & Ankle, MGH

Dr. DiGiovanni is a Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School, Chief Emeritus of the Foot and Ankle Service at Massachusetts General Hospital, and co-founder of FARIL. A Past President of the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society, he has served as consulting physician for U.S. Olympic, NFL, NBA, MLB, and PGA programs. He is internationally recognized for advancing minimally invasive foot and ankle surgery and has trained surgeons worldwide.

Associate Professor, PM&R · Harvard Medical School · Spaulding Rehab

Dr. Tenforde is a non-operative sports medicine physician and Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School, practicing at the Spaulding National Running Center. A former All-American distance runner at Stanford and Olympic Trials qualifier, his clinical and research focus spans stress fractures, tendinopathy, and return-to-sport protocols, with particular expertise in bone health and overuse injury management in athletes.

Instructor in Orthopaedic Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School. Dr. Taseh is an Instructor in Orthopaedic Surgery at Harvard Medical School and an Investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he serves as Associate Director of the Foot and Ankle Research and Innovation Laboratory (FARIL). He leads the laboratory’s Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Artificial Intelligence research initiatives, with scholarly interests spanning foot and ankle biomechanics, foot orthosis development, fall injury prevention, and advanced medical image analysis. His work integrates translational science, advanced analytics, and clinical research to develop innovative solutions that improve patient outcomes and advance musculoskeletal care.

Primary Care Sports Medicine Physician · Mass General Brigham

Dr. Bodine is a board-certified sports medicine and osteopathic manipulative medicine physician at Mass General Brigham and Medical Director and Head Team Physician at Merrimack College, where he oversees care for over 750 Division I athletes. He has lectured internationally on OMT integration in primary care sports medicine and has contributed to national position statements on athlete care through the American Osteopathic Academy of Sports Medicine

Clinical Specialist, Mass General Brigham Sports Physical Therapy

Dr. Figueroa is a Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Orthopedic Physical Therapy and Certified Athletic Trainer with 25 years of orthopedic and sports medicine experience. She has practiced at Mass General Hospital Physical Therapy for nearly two decades, specializing in the rehabilitation of foot and ankle injuries, with particular expertise in postoperative Achilles tendon rehabilitation and return to sport for elite and recreational athletes.  Marie is frequently entrusted with the rehabilitation of patients with complex foot and ankle conditions, including challenging postoperative cases and surgical revisions. Over the past decade, she has collaborated closely with foot and ankle surgeons to develop, implement, and refine evidence-based rehabilitation protocols that promote consistent, high-quality care and a seamless patient experience. Dr. Figueroa is also a member of the FARIL clinical research team investigating the effects of blood flow restriction therapy during rehabilitation following Achilles tendon repair, contributing to the clinical implementation of the study, and advancing the translation of emerging research into clinical practice.

Dr. Daneshvar is Director of the HealthSpan Lab, which investigates the biological, behavioral, and environmental factors that influence lifelong health and long-term brain function. The lab takes a systems-level approach to uncover early markers of decline, identify mechanisms responsible for risk and resilience, and develop interventions to prevent disease before it begins. Dr. Daneshvar has authored and co-authored over 100 scientific papers including in JAMA, Nature Communications, and Brain, for which he received the 2024 National Neurotrauma Society Rising Star Award. His work has been featured broadly including in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, and ESPN.

He also founded Team Up Against Concussions, the first scientifically validated concussion education program for kids, for which he received the 2016 Excellence in Public Health award from the United States Public Health Services. He is the Director of the Institute for Brain Research and Innovation at TeachAids, which created CrashCourse: a free, scientifically validated virtual reality and computer-based concussion education program, for which he received the 2021 Dean’s Community Service Award from Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Daneshvar received his S.B. from MIT, and completed his M.D./Ph.D. at Boston University, where his research resulted in the first dissertation in history to study CTE. He completed residency at Stanford University before joining the faculty at Harvard Medical School.

Assistant Professor of PM&R, Harvard Medical School

Director, MGB Nonoperative Sports Medicine Chief Medical Officer and Head Team Physician, Boston Legacy FC (inaugural season!) FIFA Venue Medical Officer Boston, World Cup 2026