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Elizabeth Gardner, M.D.

Dual-Board Certified Orthopaedic SurgeonSports Medicine Specialist

Dr. Gardner is a dual-Board Certified Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Yale University School of Medicine, specializing in the practice of arthroscopic and open sports medicine surgery the knee, shoulder and other joints.

Dr. Gardner graduated from Yale University in 2001 with a BA in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology.

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Who am I?

At my core, I still identify as an athlete. I have found that the field of surgery, from its extensive training to the rehearsed ritual of the operating room, is quite similar to sport. Also similar to athletics is the team approach to sports medicine – in addition to the surgeon and the patient, parents, coaches, physical therapists, athletics trainers, performance coaches and often others are all involved in successful management of any sports injury. Helping the athlete to navigate these difficult times is my greatest satisfaction.

My patients have often called me "an athlete's doctor" as I undertand their desire and need to be on field/court/pool amongst their teammates. As an undergraduate at Yale, I was a two-sport varsity athlete, playing both field hockey and lacrosse for the Bulldogs. During my career, I was recognized as an All-Ivy and Academic All-American player. In my senior year, I had the incredible honor to be named the sole captain of the Yale Women’s Lacrosse team.

It was through these athletic pursuits, and the effects on my body, that I quickly came to appreciate the practice of sports medicine. In fact, I first joined the Yale Orthopaedics family as a surgical patient! While in New Haven for pre-season training, I spent my undergraduate summers shadowing in the clinics and working in the orthopaedic research labs under the tutelage of Dr Peter Jokl, Professor Emeritus of Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Surgery at Yale, and former Head Team Physician for Yale University Athletics..

Following a two-year stint as a field hockey coach and teaching in England, I returned to the United States to attend Emory University School of Medicine, from which I graduated in 2007. I then came back to Yale School of Medicine to complete my orthopaedic surgery residency. Following my passion for collegiate athletic medicine, I was awarded a fellowship in Sports Medicine and Shoulder Surgery at the University of Michigan. There I had the opportunity to work with the student-athletes at the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University, including their football and lacrosse teams.

Upon completion of my training, in a literal dream come true, I have returned to New Haven to join the Yale School of Medicine faculty, as well as working as the Chief of Sports Medicine at the West Haven Veterans Administration Hospital and the Yale Health Center. I currently serve as the Head Team Physician/Orthopedic Surgeon for Yale University Athletics, including supporting the 2018 National Championship Men's Lacrosse team and the Yale Football and Basketball teams, among many others. Previously, I also served as a team physician for the WNBA's Connecticut Sun and former National Lacrosse League's New England Blackwolves and former Major League Lacrosse team CT Hammerheads.

In an attempt to repay my debt of massive gratitude to all of the athletic trainers who helped to keep me on the field during my career, I am also currently serving as the Medical Director for the Southern Connecticut State University Masters in Athletic Training Program.

Meet Orthopedic Surgeon Elizabeth Gardner, MD