Harvard Fellowship Selects First Ever DO

Harvard Fellowship Selects First Ever DO Arianna Gianakos, DO

In this issue of the LECOM Connection, we have met Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) scholars and alumni, practitioners and professionals, who, in their academic achievements and explorations, and in their daily work stir the heart of their Alma Mater with great pride.

In that continued spirit, LECOM extends congratulations to Arianna Gianakos, DO, a 2016 graduate of LECOM Bradenton and currently an orthopedic resident at Robert Wood Johnson Barnabas Health Medical Center in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Recently, Dr. Gianakos matched into her top choice fellowship at Harvard-Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. The fellowship is a foot and ankle specialty. Dr. Gianakos is the first Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine ever selected for the prodigious program. The Harvard-Massachusetts General Hospital Foot and Ankle Fellowship is one of the most highly regarded fellowships in the United States.

A bevy of important research has buoyed Dr. Gianakos’ success. To date, she has submitted 31 orthopedic surgery peer-reviewed publications, eight orthopedic surgery book chapters, 15 podium presentations, and 27 poster presentations.

She was the lead author of a piece entitled, Sex-Specific Analysis in the Orthopaedic Literature as a feature article in the journal, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. Her work analyzed and evaluated gender disparity in orthopedic surgery.

Dr. Gianakos also was lead author of an article entitled, Microfracture May Reduce Radiologic and Clinical Outcomes of Ankle Distraction Arthroplasty at Medium Term Follow Up, featured in a podcast series offered by the journal, Foot and Ankle International.

Dr. Gianakos was named Resident Scholar in several estimable medical organizations, including the Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society (RJOS), the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS), and the Arthroscopy Association of North America (AANA).

As a life-long learner, Dr. Gianakos recognizes the importance of her role models and mentors; leaders in medicine from LECOM and throughout the country who have become the pillars of her career.

“Moreover, I am deeply grateful to wonderful professors who helped guide my medical school training so that I would be confident in myself as a physician as I entered residency,” averred the LECOM alumna. “Dr. Richard Heibel, my LECOM Bradenton supervisor and mentor played a very key role in supporting me throughout my medical school training. He continues to stay in touch with me to help guide me as I progress through residency and into fellowship; and it is this relationship that is a testament, both to him as a mentor and to LECOM as an institution,” she affirmed.

Dr. Gianakos recalled very fond memories of her time spent at LECOM Bradenton. “The Problem-Based Learning curriculum focusing upon case-based presentations prepared me well for my residency so that I was accustomed to situations that I would encounter during my professional career,” explained the accomplished graduate. “LECOM Bradenton also was incredibly flexible and supportive when I opted to take a year off between my third and fourth year of medical school to pursue a Metabolic Bone Disease Research Fellowship at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City,” she furthered.

LECOM has been ever committed to advancing the educational paradigm, an objective highly praised by Dr. Gianakos. “I believe that education always should be evolving.”

Motivated by three factors that make a great orthopedic surgeon – a foundation of sound medical education, clinical knowledge, and research – Dr. Gianakos explained that her goal as a rising foot and ankle fellow is to utilize the skills that she has gained as a physician-scientist to continue her commitment to remain in the forefront of research in the field of foot and ankle surgery.

There exists a tight-knit community with a common history and a shared purpose at LECOM; one that takes keen note of its progeny. Dr. Arianna Gianakos’ dedication to a life of service and a willingness to take an oath to that mission are evocative of that proud history.