Board of Directors

Eric Edmonds, MD, FAOA

Rady Children's Hospital
San Diego, CA

Dr Eric Edmonds is faculty at Rady Children's Hospital San Diego serving as the Director of Orthopedic Research and Director for the 360 Sports medicine program.  He is also a Professor of Clinical Orthopedic Surgery with the University of California San Diego. His clinical interests include youth sports medicine and musculoskeletal trauma.

He has over 120 peer-reviewed publications and has written more than 20 book chapters.  He actively participates in many multi-center research teams, including: the ROCK (osteochondritis dissecans), FACTS (clavicle fractures), MEMO (medial epicondyle fractures), PLUTO (pediatric ACL), and JUPITER (patella instability).  He has received multiple research awards including the Provost Undergraduate Award for Research and Excellence from the Johns Hopkins University, the distinguished St Giles Young Investigator, and the Arthur H. Huene Memorial Awards from the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America. He has served as an At-large Member on the PRISM (Pediatric Research in Sports Medicine society) Board of Directors, and previously Chaired the Elbow RIG and the UCL RIG.

Outside of medicine, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two kids traveling the country and the world. When not on a 7000 mile road trip visiting the National Parks and Monuments, he and the family enjoy backpacking, jeeping, rockhounding, digging for fossils, Boogie boarding, birding and learning about native edible plants. Of course, a good nap is always welcome.

David Howell, PhD

Children's Hospital Colorado                           Aurora, CO

David R. Howell, PhD, ATC is the Lead Researcher at the Children's Hospital Colorado Sports Medicine Center, and an Assistant Professor and the Assistant Director of Clinical Research in the Department of Orthopedics at the University of Colorado, School of Medicine. He received his PhD in 2014 from the University of Oregon in biomechanics and neurophysiology and completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital in 2017.

His research program primarily investigates the topics of pediatric concussion and human movement analysis. He has authored over 130 publications in peer-reviewed journals across the fields of sports medicine, biomechanics, neuroscience, rehabilitation, and pediatrics. He received the New Investigator Award from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association in 2019, and from the American College of Sports Medicine in 2020. 

Donna Merkel, DPT SCS  
CSC

MLHS                                                           Coatesville, PA

Donna Merkel has 30 years of experience in physical therapy, with most of her career devoted to sports medicine in the young athlete. Additionally, she specializes in the management of concussions, female athletes, endurance athletes and artistic athletes. She is a board-certified sports clinical specialist and a certified strength and conditioning specialist since 2002. In addition to working as full-time clinician, Donna is an adjunct lecturer for both Arcadia and Widener University’s physical therapy programs. Donna has been teaching sideline management of the injured athlete since 2009 and has been an instructor for Cogentsteps, LLC continuing education company since 2015. Her professional achievements include both journal and textbook publications in pediatric and adolescent sports medicine, sideline management of acute injuries, and prevention of eating disorders in ice skaters.  Donna has been a PRiSM member since 2015 and has served on the Board of Directors as Director at large, and on the Education, Nominating, Scientific Programing and Awards committees. 

Cordelia Carter, MD

NYU School of Medicine
New York, NY

Cordielia W. Carter, MD, is a clinical associate professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at NYU School of Medicine and the co-director of the Center for Young Athletes and the director of the Women’s Sports Health Center at NYU Langone Medical Center.  Carter graduated from Yale College with a degree in Behavioral Neuroscience and subsequently earned her medical degree from the Yale University School of Medicine.  She completed her orthopaedic surgery residency at New York-Presbyterian Hospital (Columbia University), followed by fellowships in pediatric orthopaedic surgery at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (University of Southern California) and pediatric sports medicine at Children's Hospital Boston (Harvard University).

Carter has had a lifelong interest in sports medicine: in addition to her own participation in athletics as an Academic All-American collegiate field hockey player and avid runner, she has coached track and field, lacrosse and field hockey teams at a wide range of scholastic levels.  She is currently a team physician for the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) and an incoming member of the medical pool for the United States Ski and Snowboard Team.  She has previously enjoyed being a team physician for Yale Athletics and for the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA)-sponsored Connecticut Open. Carter has been actively involved with PRiSM from early in its establishment and has served as an abstract reviewer for the Annual Meeting (2017-2019); as a member of the Scientific Awards Committee (2016-2017); as society Secretary (2016-2018); as a member of the Diversity workgroup; as co-chair of the Annual Meeting Scientific Program Committee (2019); and as a member of the Female Athlete Research Interest Group.

 
Tina Master, MD

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA

Dr. Master is Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine where she is a member of the Academy of Master Clinicians with over 30 years of experience in clinical pediatrics.  Dr. Master is board-certified in pediatrics, sports medicine, and brain injury medicine, caring for over five hundred children with concussion annually in her clinical practice. She is the founding co-director of the Minds Matter Concussion Program, which provides clinical care, community outreach and education, and conducts cutting-edge translational clinical research in youth concussion which has influenced both national and international guidelines for concussion care in children and adolescents. Her particular research has focused on concussion-related vision disorders and identifying objective physiological biomarkers of concussion, in order to target active interventions to improve outcomes for youth with concussion. She has been a member of PRISM and attending annual meetings since 2015 and has been active in the Concussion Research Interest Group. She has served on the Scientific Presentation Award Committee and is now completing her second term on the Board of Directors. She is passionate about the unique professional space that PRISM occupies in the field of sports medicine and the tremendous impact that PRISM members are able to have by conducting ground-breaking research that optimizes outcomes in youth athletes. FAAP, CAQSM, FACSM, FAMSSM

Henry B. Ellis, Jr., MD

Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children
Dallas, TX

Henry Bone Ellis, Jr., M.D., is an Associate Professor at the UT Southwestern Medical School. He has been instrumental in the development and growth of the Scottish Rite for Children Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center in Frisco, Texas where he treats children, teens and young adults with sport-related injuries, hip conditions and other injuries and condition affecting the joints. As the Medical Director of Clinical Research, Ellis provides administrative leadership for the organization as well as leading many projects focused on pediatric sports medicine.  Ellis shares his leadership outside of the institution in a variety of settings. In 2023-24, Ellis will serve as the Texas Orthopedic Association (TOA) President where he served on the Board of Councilors 2020-22. He participated in the 2018-2019 American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) Leadership Fellows Program and now serves on the AAOS Evidence-Based, Quality, and Value committee. He is a founding member of the Pediatric Research and Sports Medicine (PRiSM) Society and actively contributes in multiple forums. He created, secured funding for, and continues to lead the Sports Cohort Outcomes Registry (SCORE), a large multi-center pediatric arthroscopy complications registry. He contributes to many multi-center projects including the Research in Osteochondritis Dissecans of the Knee (ROCK) group.  Ellis received his medical degree from the UT Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas. He completed both his internship in general surgery and residency in orthopaedic surgery at the UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas. There, he received the W. Brandon Carrell Distinguished Physician Award and was elected Chief Resident. He completed fellowships in pediatric orthopedics at the Hospital for Sick Children at the University of Toronto and sports medicine at the Steadman Philippon Research Institute in Vail, Colorado.

James MacDonald, MD MPH

Nationwide Children's Hospital/Ohio State University
Columbus, OH

Brief Bio 2023
James MacDonald M.D., M.P.H. has been a physician in the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Division of Sports Medicine for thirteen years and is currently a Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Pediatrics at Ohio State University College of Medicine. His current research interests include salivary miRNAs as biomarkers of concussion, and pediatric exercise and inactivity, most especially the safety and efficacy of resistance training in youngsters. He has been Deputy Editor of one of his specialty's premier journals, the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, for ten years. He completed the Ohio State Faculty Leadership Institute program in 2021 – 22 and was awarded the Satiani award. Other awards include the Traveling Fellowship of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) in 2015 and the Global Research Exchange Fellowship of the AMSSM in 2022; for both he traveled to South Africa. He has completed the American Academy of Family Physician’s (AAFP) Leading Physician Wellness certificate program and is currently training with the AAFP as a well-being educator. He is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (FACSM), the AAFP (FAAFP), and the Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland (FSEM IRE). He is currently the Team Physician for Bexley (OH) High School and was previously Team Physician for the University of California, Santa Cruz and Ohio Dominican University.

Melissa Christino, MD FAAOS

Boston Children's Hospital
Boston, MA

Melissa A. Christino, MD, is a board certified pediatric sports medicine surgeon at Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. Christino is passionate about caring for athletes of all ages and has special research interests in the psychological aspects of injury, ACL reconstruction, and healthcare team well-being.  She’s the Director of Sports and Mental Skills Research at Boston Children’s as well as the President-Elect of the Medical Staff. Dr. Christino has been an enthusiastic member of PRISM since 2015 and has been active in the Female Athlete and Sport Specialization RIGS, the Awards Committee, the Research Ad Hoc Committee, and the Nominating Committee.

Bianca Edison, MD MS FAAP

Children's Orthopaedic Center, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, USC
Los Angeles, CA

Bianca Edison, MD, MS is an attending physician in the Jackie and Gene Autry Orthopedic Center, and is assistant clinical professor of Orthopedics at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. Dr. Edison’s clinical interests and experience include orthopedic conditions affecting young children and athletes, such as dance injuries, sports-related concussion, injury prevention, and biomechanics.

Dr. Edison is a team doctor for various sports teams throughout Los Angeles. She brings a personal understanding to the challenges facing young athletes, as she grew up with a passion for sports and participated in ballet, tennis and track, and currently enjoys tennis, swimming, skiing, hiking, running and yoga. Dr. Edison is on the Positive Coaching Alliance-LA Chapter Board.

Jeffery Nepple, MD

Washington University Orthopedics
St. Louis, MO

Jeffrey J. Nepple, MD, MS from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis specializes in pediatric and adolescent sports medicine, as well as young adult hip disorders.  Dr. Nepple grew up in the small town of Templeton, Iowa.  He graduated with summa cum laude honors from Truman State University, where he also was a student-athlete on the basketball team.  He completed medical school and then orthopaedic surgery residency at Washington University School of Medicine.  Dr. Nepple then completed a sports medicine fellowship at the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado, followed by pediatric orthopaedic fellowship at Washington University.  He subsequently complete a Master’s degree program in clinical investigation at Washington University.  He is the founder and Director of the Washington University and St. Louis Children’s Young Athlete Center, as well as Co-Director of Hip Preservation at Washington University Orthopaedics.  He has clinical interests in pediatric sports medicine and  adolescent and young adult hip disorders.  Dr. Nepple is an active researcher in young adult hip disease with over 100 publications to date.  He serves on the editorial boards of the American Journal of Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy Journal.  He previously served as the chair of the research committee for PRISM.  Dr. Nepple is an active member of several multicenter research groups including ANCHOR, PLUTO, ROCK, FACT, and PRISM pelvic avulsion study.  He and his wife, Sarah, have 3 children (Hannah 14, Lily 12, and Emily 8).

Joseph Janosky, DrPH MSc PT ATC

Hospital for Special Surgery                              Canton, MA

Dr. Joseph Janosky is the Director of Athlete Health at Hospital for Special Surgery and holds leadership positions with the American Public Health Association, the National Council of Youth Sports, and the Pediatric Research in Sports Medicine (PRiSM) Society. He has authored several research manuscripts and book chapters related to athlete health promotion, sports injury prevention, and physical literacy, and lectured nationally and internationally about the intersection of sports medicine and public health. Additionally, Dr. Janosky has been recognized for his contributions to sports injury prevention research, having received the Best Research Abstract Award from the Young Athlete Forum Foundation in 2017, the PRiSM Society’s Hank Chambers Award for Best Scientific Presentation in 2021, and the PRiSM Society’s National Physical Therapy Achievement Award in 2023.

 

Marc Tompkins, MD

University of Minnesota                              Minneapolis, MN

Dr. Tompkins is an orthopedic sports medicine surgeon and Associate Professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Minnesota and a faculty for the orthopedic sports medicine fellowship at TRIA Orthopedic Center. Clinical interests for Dr. Tompkins are in complex reconstructive and joint preservation surgery in the knee and shoulder.  In addition to an adult practice, he is the co-director of the pediatric sports medicine program at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare. Areas of research focus are in patellofemoral surgery, chondral and meniscal pathology, complex ligamentous reconstruction, and rehabilitation.

Dr. Tompkins is a frequent reviewer for orthopedic journals, and sits on the Editorial Board for AJSM, KSSTA, and Sports Health. He serves on multiple committees and in leadership positions for several orthopedic organizations, including PRISM, AAOS, AOSSM, ISAKOS, the ROCK group, and IPSG. He has been involved in on field sports medicine coverage at all levels of sports. He has participated in both AOSSM and Patellofemoral Foundation/ISAKOS traveling fellowships. In addition to his clinical expertise, he has expertise in leveraging technology, including mixed reality applications and wearables, to help facilitate surgical education and patient rehabilitation. Dr. Tompkins commits as much time as possible to Global Health pursuits as part of his practice, particularly education and capacity building. He is married with three young children, and enjoys spending as much time as possible with his family.

Sophia Ulman, PhD

Scottish Rite for Children                                     Frisco, TX

Dr. Sophia Ulman is the Division Director of Movement Science at Scottish Rite for Children, leading a motion capture laboratory that focuses on biomechanical risk factors of sports medicine patients and healthy athletes to answer clinical questions related to rehabilitation, recovery, and injury prevention. She also holds two faculty appointments at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and in the School of Health Professions. Her research focuses on lower extremity injuries and conditions, injury risk reduction strategies, as well as risk factors associated with sport specialization and overtraining. Within the Pediatric Research in Sports Medicine (PRiSM) Society, she holds numerous leadership positions, including Chair of the Injury Prevention Research Interest Group and Co-Chair of the Scientific Planning Committee. Previously, Dr. Ulman has led the Sports Specialization Research Interest Group and the Diversity Committee.