Ohio-based pediatric hand surgeon Julie B. Samora, MD, PhD, MPH, FAAOS, has been named chair of the AAOS Board of Specialty Societies (BoS). Dr. Samora brings nationally recognized expertise in pediatric upper extremity surgery, healthcare quality improvement, and organizational leadership to the role.

Dr. Samora has held numerous leadership roles within AAOS, including secretary and chair-elect of the BoS, chair of the AAOS Healthcare Safety and Patient Safety Committees, and member of the Committees on Evidence-Based Quality and Value, Communications, and BoS Nominating Committee. She has also served on the joint Board of Councilors/Board of Specialty Societies committees, including the Bylaws and Professionalism Committee. In her BoS leadership role, she also serves on the AAOS Board of Directors.

Dr. Samora is a founding member of Pride Ortho and has served as president of the Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society and member-at-large of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America. Her leadership includes committee service with the American Society for Surgery of the Hand, the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons, and the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, where she currently serves as an oral examiner.

An accomplished researcher and educator, Dr. Samora has authored more than 160 peer-reviewed manuscripts and co-edited the Springer textbook “Quality Improvement and Patient Safety in Orthopaedics.” Her scholarly work focuses on advancing evidence-based care, healthcare quality and safety, and equity and inclusion in orthopaedic surgery.

Dr. Samora earned her medical degree, a doctorate in cellular and integrative physiology, a master’s degree in public administration with a specialization in public health and a master’s degree in public health from West Virginia University School of Medicine.