Meet the Fellowship Faculty

Michael R. Baumgaertner, M.D., is fracture surgeon who is Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery & Rehabilitation. He serves as Chief of the Orthopaedic Trauma Service at Yale-New Haven Hospital, where he has practiced for more than 25 years, treating patients with severe fractures, fracture complications, and worn out joints.Following a childhood in Minnesota, Dr. Baumgaertner graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Art History. He attended the University of California (San Diego) Medical School as a Regent’s Scholar where he earned his M.D. He then did his orthopaedic surgery residency at the University of California (San Francisco), following that he completed a one-year fellowship in plastic and reconstructive surgery at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. He joined the Faculty of the Yale School of Medicine in 1988.Dr. Baumgaertner’s landmark 1995 publication on hip fracture fixation performed at Yale initiated his international recognition. The measurement he described at that time has been validated repeatedly and remains the universal standard. He has authored numerous original articles and chapters in orthopaedic textbooks. He has lectured and taught residents in training and practicing surgeons on five continents optimal surgical fracture care.He has served as Chairperson of Education for both the Orthopaedic Trauma Association and AO North America, was elected President of AONA, and served as the Chairperson of the Board of Directors. of AO North America, a non-profit organization of more than 1000 surgeons that is dedicated to the optimal care of patients with fractures and/or deformity. He is a Trustee of the AO Foundation, an international group of more than 15000 surgeons, and is currently serving as Chair of the AO Trauma International Board.His academic career notwithstanding, Dr. Baumgaertner is a surgeon dedicated to the recovery of his injured patients: Providing technically expert surgical repair, as well as the education and counseling necessary to heal not only the patient’s fracture, but also the lifestyle.

Dr. Fram is an orthopedic surgeon specializing in orthopedic trauma. A native of southern New Jersey, she attended the University of Pennsylvania for her undergraduate studies prior to completing medical school at Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine. That was where she first discovered her passion for orthopedics, loving the variety of the field and the technical, problem-focused mindset. She completed orthopedic residency at Thomas Jefferson University with the renowned Rothman Orthopaedic Institute, followed by an orthopedic trauma fellowship at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, NC. She joined Yale's Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation as an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery in 2022. She spends her time treating patients, teaching, and performing research.

Dr. Leslie received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biology from The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA in 1993. Subsequently Dr. Leslie undertook research in molecular biology and biochemistry at the Hospital for Joint Diseases/New York University School of Medicine where he studied extracellular matrix components and their interactions in cartilage. In 2004, Dr. Leslie received a degree in Osteopathic Medicine at the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine in Old Westbury, NY and he went on to complete his Residency in Orthopaedic Surgery in the Peninsula Hospital Consortium of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System in 2009. Dr. Leslie completed subspecialty training in Orthopaedic Traumatology at the University of California at Davis in Sacramento, CA in 2010. Dr. Leslie joined the full-time faculty of the Yale University School of Medicine in 2010 and specializes in the care and surgical treatment of multiply injured patients in conjunction with the multidisciplinary Trauma Team at Yale New Haven Hospital. In 2019, Dr. Leslie was appointed as the Chief of Orthopaedic Trauma for the Yale School of Medicine and Yale New Haven Hospital.  He also serves as the Vice Chair of Quality and Safety for the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation.Dr. Leslie's clinical specialties include polytraumatized patients, pelvic and acetabular fracture repair and reconstruction, intraarticular fractures, malunions, nonunions, joint reconstruction and fracture problems. His research interests include the understanding and optimal treatment for unstable pelvic ring injuries and osteoinductive agents.

Dr. Matthew D. Riedel joined Yale Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation as an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery. Riedel, an Orthopaedic Trauma Surgeon and graduate of Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University, says his passion for trying to unravel mechanical problems started at his father’s tool and die shop. He appreciated the puzzles his father faced in making the proper tools for the job, and the problem-solving associated with it. He wasn’t inherently focused on medicine from a young age, but was attracted to the field that allowed him to take an engineer’s approach to making patients whole. Orthopaedic traumatologists are required to be jacks-of-all-trades, Riedel says. “Everything that goes on here at Yale is centered around improving care and life for the patients. You have every different subspecialty available where physicians are able to work together as a team to solve complex problems using the latest research and technologies. That’s very appealing to me,” Riedel says.   Riedel joins the department after completing a post-doctoral fellowship in orthopaedic traumatology at the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. He completed his residency in orthopaedic surgery at Harvard Medical School’s Combined Orthopaedic Residency Program in June 2018, and was previously a Doris Duke Pre-Doctoral Clinical Research Fellow at Columbia University Medical Center. “I love that my week is a mix of different things. I’m operating or in clinic most days each week. I’m doing research. I’m teaching. I’m doing all of these different things so that every day is different than the last, but it also allows me to keep things fresh,” Riedel says. “Every day I have an opportunity to help people, whether that’s by teaching, surgery, or improving people’s lives.” He takes his approach to the laboratory too, where his research has been published in Injury and The Journal of American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Riedel says that working at Yale allows him to not only continue performing surgeries, but also to be at the forefront of the latest research. “I’ve always enjoyed putting things together and the challenge of facing complex problems,” Riedel says. “Every case is different as a trauma surgeon. Everything you do, you think about in different ways. It challenges you every day because you don’t know what the next day may bring. I think that’s really fun and interesting to me.”

Motasem Salameh, MD is an Orthopedic trauma and foot and ankle surgeon with special interest in complex lower extremity trauma and post traumatic complications. Dr. Salameh earned his MD from The University of Jordan and completed a comprehensive ACGME-I accredited Orthopedic residency at Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar. Following his residency, Dr. Salameh pursued specialized fellowships in orthopedic trauma and foot and ankle surgery. He completed an Orthopedic Trauma Fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine in 2023 and an Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Fellowship at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University in 2022. Additionally, he participated in an AO Trauma Fellowship at Denver Health Medical Center in 2019. Before joining Yale Dr Salameh was and integral part of establishing the first Orthopedic surgery department in the Military Medical Services in Qatar. His previous roles include providing medical care in conflict zones with Médecins Sans Frontières and Medicine Du Monde. Dr. Salameh has made significant contributions to orthopedic research, with numerous publications and awards. He also serves as Deputy Editor for the European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology.

Brad Yoo, MD is a board-certified orthopaedic trauma surgeon and Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation. He specializes in treating severe fractures, post-fracture complications, as well as deformities and arthritis of the lower extremity. Born and raised in Connecticut, Dr. Yoo graduated cum laude from Cornell University. He obtained his medical degree from New York Medical College where he first found his passion for orthopaedics. Next came a residency in Baltimore, MD at the University of Maryland Medical Center, the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, and the Johns Hopkins Hospital. He then spent a fellowship year specializing in orthopaedic trauma at the University of Washington Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Dr. Yoo has more than 20 years of experience treating patients and educating residents at tertiary level one trauma centers. Prior to joining Yale in 2018, Dr. Yoo spent almost a decade at the University of California, Davis Medical Center and was Chief of Orthopaedic Trauma at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, OR. He is an active member of multiple orthopaedic societies including AO North America, AO Trauma, the American Orthopaedic Association, and the American College of Surgeons. Dr. Yoo practices the Golden Rule. He appreciates that injury can be an anxiety provoking, disruptive event to both patients and their families. Through patient education, he hopes to make patients feel more comfortable with their conditions. With precise surgical intervention, he works to get patients back to their original functional status.