Dr Arianna Gianakos: Innovation and Trailblazing Paths in Orthobiologics

Arianna Gianakos, DO, an assistant professor of medicine in orthopedics and rehabilitation, Yale School of Medicine, discusses the innovation in orthobiologics and trailblazing paths in equity and advocacy.

Gianakos discusses her unique path into equity and advocacy as it relates to her focus in orthopedics and rehabilitation.

"One thing I found during my training was that we needed more physician advocacy and advocacy for each other. Any field of medicine is a high stress environment, and you take a lot of that home with you, so wellbeing is really important so that we can provide our best patient care."

One thing Gianakos noticed while she was in training was that not all programs in training were created equal with regard to leadership and treatment of both residents and medical students.

"I've had some incredible mentors—both men and women—who have really supported and been my pillar, but then I also was exposed to what people don't like to talk about, which is the bullying [...] that sometimes is swept under the rug in the training situation and environment. I remember at that time how hard it was to stand up for myself, because there's this power dynamic between attending surgeons and junior people and then having to go to fellowship and get a job. It's a really scary place to be in, and I felt trapped and lost at times. I was lucky to have great family and great friends and great mentors—mentors who believed in me."

Gianakos also discussed the advances in orthobiologics regarding the new technique and technology of nanortheroscopy, as well as platelet-rich plasma.

"The athletic population in particular—these individuals need to return to sport fairly quickly. So anything that can help reduce the recovery time and enhance repair tissue is the goal for those cases," Gianakos said.