Medical Advisory Board

Joshua Hyman, MD, Chair

Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Columbia University
Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Columbia University, Attending Physician at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and Director of Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery. Dr. Hyman’s research focuses on methods of measuring quality of life in children. He is also actively involved in research trials on clubfoot, scoliosis and neuromuscular diseases in children. Dr. Hyman did his orthopedic surgical training at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Bibek Banskota, MBBS, MRCS, MS (Ortho)

Dr. Bibek Banskota is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon in Nepal. He serves as the executive director of the Hospital and Rehabilitation Center for Disabled Children (HRDC). Dr. Banskota attended undergraduate school in India before pursuing medical training in the UK, Nepal, the US (where he was a research fellow at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia), and Switzerland. He returned to Nepal to work alongside his father, Dr. Ashok Banskota, to continue the HRDC founding mission: to provide treatment to physically disabled children from underprivileged backgrounds. Dr. Banskota has published extensive research on the Ponseti method, including longterm outcomes in older walking-age children.

Robert Cady, MD

Emeritus Professor of Orthopedics and Pediatrics, Upstate Medical University
Dr. Robert Cady is a semi-retired pediatric orthopedic surgeon in Naples FL. He received his AB degree from Hamilton College (67) and MD degree from Upstate Medical University in Syracuse NY (71).  After an orthopedic residency at Upstate and pediatric orthopedic fellowship at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, he developed the section of pediatric orthopedics at Upstate where he is currently an Emeritus Professor of Orthopedics and Pediatrics. He has always had an interest in preventive orthopedics through the early diagnosis and treatment of many of the common orthopedic problems of infancy and early childhood such as hip dysplasia and clubfeet. Over the past six years he has been developing a clubfoot treatment program in Haiti with CURE Clubfoot Worldwide. There are now nine Ponseti clubfoot clinics throughout Haiti managed by Haitian cast technicians and supervised by Haitian orthopedic surgeons. He has also done Ponseti clubfoot training in Guatemala, China, and Ethiopia. He is an Advisory Council Member for Global Clubfoot Initiative.

Matthew B. Dobbs, MD

Orthopedic Surgeon and Director of the Dobbs Clubfoot Center at The Paley Orthopedic & Spine Institute
Dr. Matthew B. Dobbs is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon who specializes in the treatment of pediatric foot deformities and has been listed in Best Doctors in America. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation and has served on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, and the Missouri State Orthopaedic Association. He is nationally recognized for his skill at treating all pediatric foot disorders, including the use of the Ponseti method of clubfoot correction, as well as for a minimally invasive approach toward the treatment of congenital vertical talus for which he developed. Additional clinical interests include the surgical management of scoliosis, limb length discrepancies, and the treatment of pediatric orthopedic trauma. He and his team are actively searching for the genetic factors responsible for clubfoot, scoliosis, and other musculoskeletal anomalies. Along with Dr. Christina Gurnett, Dr. Dobbs is co-director of the Washington University Musculoskeletal Genetics Laboratory which is NIH RO1 funded. Dr. Dobbs earned his medical degree from the University of Iowa in Iowa City in 1995. Following a residency in orthopedic surgery at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics, he completed a fellowship in pediatric orthopedic surgery at Shriners Hospital for Children in St. Louis.

Jennifer Eimers Everhart

Physical Therapist, Former Director of Programs, MiracleFeet
In addition to serving as the Director of Programs for MiracleFeet, Jennifer’s experience includes serving in the Peace Corps in Cote d’ Ivoire providing community-based rehabilitation to underserved populations, serving as the physiotherapy coordinator in Angola for landmine victims, and managing a rehabilitation project in Niger with the country’s first Ponseti clinic. She received her Bachelors in Biology from State University of New York-Oswego and her Master of Physical Therapy at Western Carolina University.

Steven L. Frick, MD

Professor and Vice Chair, Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine
Chief, Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital
Dr. Steven Frick is an orthopedic surgeon in Palo Alto, California and is affiliated with Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford. He received his medical degree from Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine and has been in practice for more than 20 years.

Chris Lavy, MD

Professor of Orthopaedics and Tropical Surgery, University of Oxford
Dr. Lavy has been interested in clubfoot for the last 17 years since he was taught the Ponseti technique in Malawi by Shafiq Pirani. Chris helped to set up the Malawi Clubfoot Programme, then the CURE Clubfoot Programme. Currently in the UK, Dr. Lavy is a spine surgeon. Clubfoot remains a passion and he is Director of Oxford University’s Africa Clubfoot Training Programme.

Norgrove Penny, MD

Orthopedic Surgeon and Senior Advisor for Physical Impairment, CBM International
Dr. Norgrove Penny is Senior Advisor for Physical Impairment, CBM International. Dr. Penny completed his medical degree at the University of Alberta in 1973 and qualified as an orthopaedic specialist in 1977.  He then did postgraduate fellowship training in sports medicine at the Wellesley Hospital, University of Toronto; Children’s orthopedics and Sports Medicine at the Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Harvard University, Boston; and Children’s Orthopedics at the AI du Pont Institute, Thomas Jefferson University, Wilmington Delaware. He has a pediatric orthopedic surgery and sports medicine practice in Victoria, BC. Dr. Penny has had a long term interest in international orthopedics. Early in his career he did several volunteer assignments in Africa. With his family, he then lived and worked full time for six years in Uganda setting up a country-wide children’s orthopedic rehabilitation program. Using this experience, he now consults in developing countries around the world and has a part-time position as Senior Advisor in Physical Impairment issues for a non-governmental organization, CBM International, concerned with the problems disabled people face in some of the world’s poorest countries. He has been an advisor to the World Health Organization’s Disability and Rehabilitation Team. Among his clinical and research interests are Ponseti treatment for babies and children with clubfoot deformity, structural birth defects, chronic osteomyelitis, and prevention of childhood disability in developing countries. With CBM he has a research collaboration with the International Center for Evidence in Disability at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Dr. Penny is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia and is an active member of the Branch for International Surgery and the Canadian Network for International surgery. He is a member of the Order of Canada.

Coleen S. Sabatini, MD, MPH

Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, University of California – San Francisco
Dr. Coleen Sabatini is an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of California San Francisco where she serves as the Medical Director and Chief of Orthopaedics at the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland.  Dr. Sabatini received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, San Diego and her Doctorate of Medicine (MD) and Masters of Public Health (MPH) from Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health, respectively. She completed her residency training in Orthopaedic Surgery at the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program and fellowship training in Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.  Now a pediatric orthopedist specialist at the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, Dr. Sabatini runs the clubfoot program and specializes in the treatment of pediatric lower limb/foot deformities and pediatric orthopaedic trauma.   Her research focuses on clinical outcomes, pediatric trauma prevention and treatment, access to care, and eliminating disparities in care. She is active in international orthopaedic work with emphasis on education and research and a particular focus in Uganda.

Greg Schmale, MD

Associate Professor, Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine
Dr. Schmale is an associate professor in the Department of Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine at the UW. He has a specialty interest in pediatric and adolescent sports medicine. He is a graduate of the UW School of Medicine and did his residency in orthopaedic surgery at the University of North Carolina hospitals. He also completed a fellowship in pediatric orthopaedics at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and Children’s Hospital in Denver. He is board-certified in orthopaedics. Dr. Schmale has been involved in training and supporting orthopedic surgeons in Nicaragua for many years which is where he and MiracleFeet connected.

Rick Schwend, MD, PhD

Clinical Professor of Orthopedics, University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Medicine
Clinical Professor of Orthopedics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine and University of Kansas Medical Center. Dr. Schwend attended St. Louis University School of Medicine and Harvard University, where he was the Chief Resident at the Children’s Hospital in Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery. In addition, Dr. Schwend has served on the POSNA Committee on Underserved Regions since 2009 and has done extensive medical missions to Ecuador and Haiti.

David Andrew Spiegel, MD

Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pennsylvania
Dr. David Spiegel works as a pediatric orthopaedic surgeon at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia specializing in neuromuscular diseases, trauma, and spinal deformities and is a Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and a PENN Center for Global Health (CGH) Scholar. He attended Duke University undergrad, medical school, and orthopaedic surgical residency training, and then completed both a research and a clinical fellowship in pediatric orthopaedics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He has served as an Honorary Consultant in Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at the Hospital for Rehabilitation and Disabled Children in Banepa, Nepal for 25 years and is an Honorary Professor at the University of Basrah, Iraq. He has served on many national committees including Children’s Orthopaedics in Underdeveloped Regions of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA), the Bone and Joint Decade committee (POSNA), the Global Courses Committee (POSNA), and the International Committee of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons where he directed the international scholars program. He has been on the Advisory Board of Orthopaedics Overseas, Global-HELP, the Ponseti International Association, MiracleFeet, and the Global Clubfoot Initiative. He was awarded the President’s Call to Service Award (2006) by the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation for 4,000 hours of community service, the Golden Apple Award by Health Volunteers Overseas (2009), and an AAOS achievement award (2014). He received the Humanitarian Award from the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (2013), the Walter P. Blount Humanitarian award from the Scoliosis Research Society (2016), and the humanitarian award from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (2017). He has served as a consultant for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Mongolia and Somalia and was on the steering committee for the WHO’s Global Initiative for Emergency and Essential Surgical Care. He has delivered more than 300 invited lectures, mostly at international venues including Nepal, Iran, Iraq, China, Pakistan, Tanzania, Mongolia, and Somalia. He has also co-edited Global Orthopaedics: Caring for Musculoskeletal Conditions and Injuries in Austere Settings.

Anna D. Vergun, MD

Pediatric Orthopedist, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Dr. Vergun’s clinical focus is on hip dysplasia, clubfoot, limb deformity, and limb deficiencies. Her training began at Smith College for her undergraduate degree in Chemistry.  Subsequently, she worked on the Human Genome Project at Stanford University and then completed medical college at Cornell University. She joined University of California Los Angeles for orthopedic surgery residency and then completed her fellowship in Pediatric Orthopedics at Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Her research interests include clubfoot bracing and the genetics of congenital limb reductions and other limb anomalies. She also has a strong interest in international issues regarding pediatric orthopedics and access to care. In addition to working with MiracleFeet, she volunteers for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and organizes the Pediatric Orthopedic Education and Training program in Ramallah to enhance orthopedic surgery resident education in Palestine. She is an active member of the Association of Children’s Prosthetics and Orthotics Clinics, the Pediatric Orthopedic Society of North America, and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. In her spare time, she enjoys her three children and the great outdoors.

Lewis E. Zionts, M.D.

Clinical Professor (Step VI) of Orthopaedics. David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Dr. Lewis Zionts is a semi-retired pediatric orthopaedic surgeon in Los Angeles, CA. He is currently a Clinical Professor of Orthopaedics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and is Director of the Orthopaedic Institute for Children Clubfoot Clinic. He received his medical degree from Northwestern University Medical School and completed his orthopaedic residency at Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical School. He completed a pediatric orthopaedic fellowship at the Alfred I. duPont Institute in Wilmington, DE. Dr. Zionts has been in practice for more than 30 years.