American Medical Society for Sports Medicine
For Immediate Release Oct 02, 2018

AMSSM Announces the 2019 Junior Traveling Fellows to Japan

The American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) has selected three Junior Traveling Fellows for the Sept. 17-Oct. 2, 2019 trip to Japan with Senior Fellow Brian Halpern, MD, a Founder and Past President of AMSSM.

Aaron Gray, MD; Kentaro Onishi, MD; and Kyle Smoot, MD will join Dr. Halpern on the two-week trip that will include stops and presentations throughout Japan - potentially in Tokyo, Kobe/Osaka, Kanazawa and Akita.

This is the first time that three Junior Traveling Fellows have been selected. The AMSSM Board approved a change to its policy that gives the Board discretion to name a 3rd Junior Fellow in years when it deems appropriate.

Dr. Gray is an Associate Professor in the Department of Orthopaedics and Department of Family Medicine at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He has traveled internationally with U.S. Soccer Youth National Teams as a team physician, and he previously was a team physician for Mizzou Baseball and Women's Volleyball.

"I am honored to represent AMSSM as a Junior Traveling Fellow, and I am excited to develop research collaborations and make new friends with our Japanese sports medicine colleagues," Dr. Gray said.

Dr. Onishi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of PM&R and Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. He volunteered as a physician during the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea, and will serve on the IOC medical team during the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.

"I was just a high school student when I left Japan to pursue a career in sports medicine in America," Dr. Onishi said. "Now with my experience, I am excited for the opportunity to visit my homeland, the site of 2020 Summer Olympic Games, with a perspective as a young sports physician, as bridging American and Japanese sports medicine together has been a dream of mine." 

Dr. Smoot is an Associate Professor and the Associate Program Director of Sports Medicine Fellowship at the University of Kentucky. He has been an Associate Head Team Physician for the Wildcats since 2015 and has traveled internationally as a team physician with the US Figure Skating Team.

"I am excited to represent the AMSSM in 2019 as a traveling fellow to Japan," Dr. Smoot said. "The opportunity to learn of international models of sports medicine care and possible clinical and academic collaboration with our colleagues from Japan is truly an honor. I thank the AMSSM Foundation and DJO Global for supporting this activity."

As previously announced, AMSSM's primary host for the visit will be 2019 AMSSM International Visiting Fellow Yuka Kodama Tsukahara, MD, who works at Keio University, the top school of medicine in Japan and is the team physician for youth women's soccer for Japan. Dr. Tsukahara will be speaking at the 2019 AMSSM Annual Meeting and visiting several sports medicine centers while in the U.S.

The purpose of the AMSSM Traveling Fellowship program is to encourage academic interchange, share research and explore common clinical interests among sports medicine leaders. The experience will include the opportunity to view live patient encounters, tour sports medicine facilities, share cases and spend time with regional experts in sports medicine.

The Traveling Fellowship Program is funded from an educational grant provided to the AMSSM Foundation from DJO Global.