He is a native of Los Angeles California, graduating with honors in Biochemistry at Occidental College in Los Angeles before studying exercise physiology at Hahnemann University in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. He received his Doctorate degree in Medicine at Tulane University in New Orleans Louisiana in 1986 and then attended residency in Orthopedic Surgery at Tulane, becoming Chief Orthopedic/Trauma Surgeon at the famous Charity Hospital. As part of the Tulane orthopedic program, he mentored under the tutelage of Dr. Jack Hughston, the founder of sports medicine and the definitive expert on knee injures.