Bert Mandelbaum, M.D., DHL (hon)

Dr. Bert Mandelbaum is an orthopedic surgeon, sports medicine specialist, a member of the Board of Directors and co-chair of medical affairs at the renowned Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles, as well as the published author of The Win Within: Capturing Your Victorious Spirit and motivational speaker.

Dr. Mandelbaum is a medical graduate of Washington University Medical School in St. Louis in 1980, and completed his residency in Orthopaedic Surgery at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and fellowship in Sports Medicine from UCLA. He served on the faculty at UCLA from 1986-89 and subsequently joined the Santa Monica Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Group where he currently serves as the Director of the Sports Medicine Fellowship Program and the Research and Education Foundation and Medical Director for the FIFA Medical Center of Excellence in Santa Monica.

Academically, he is a prolific researcher having published over 100 journal articles and five books. He has received five national awards for Excellence in Research in the Field of Sports Medicine. Since 1995, he has been on the editorial board of the American Journal of Sports Medicine and associate editor for Current Concept Reviews. He also served as executive board member for the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and is the former President of the International Cartilage Repair Society. Dr. Mandelbaum is an active member of multiple professional medical societies including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery, the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine. He was honored in a distinguished fashion in 2009 with an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters (DHL) from the State University of New York.

As a team physician, Dr. Mandelbaum has worked with UCLA Athletics, Pepperdine University, and the LA Galaxy and Chivas USA MLS teams. He was the Chief Medical Officer for Women’s World Cup Soccer 1999 and 2003, US Soccer Men’s National Teams Physician since 1991, and the assistant Medical Director for Major League Soccer since 1996. Dr. Mandelbaum served as USA Team Physician for Soccer World Cups in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010. He served as FIFA medical officer for the 2014 World Cup. In 2002, Dr. Mandelbaum was appointed to FIFA Medical Assessment and Research Committee (F-MARC). In 2007, he was appointed to FIFA’s Sports Medicine Committee where he served until 2017. Dr. Mandelbaum also served as Olympic Medical Officer for the Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012, and RIO 2016 games. Dr. Mandelbaum was named Chief Medical Officer for the 2015 World Special Olympic Games, the 2015 and 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup, and served as Chief Medical Director of the 2016 Copa América Centenario. He has also served as director of research for Major League Baseball.

In addition to authoring and co-authoring a bevy of clinical research on a variety of orthopaedic topics and having a significant presence on the sidelines of the world’s largest sporting event, Dr. Mandelbaum has received numerous public accolades including designation as a Super Doctor in Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Surgery for a consecutive 12-year period since 2007. Dr. Mandelbaum is a frequent medical expert contributor to mainstream media publications and websites including Medscape, Sports Illustrated, NBC Sports, MSN and Men’s Health, as well as local and television news outlets, including NBC, ABC and Fox television affiliates.