Welcoming the Columbia Orthopedics Residency Class of 2026

We are proud to introduce the newest members of the Columbia Orthopedics and New York Orthopaedic Hospital family. Learn more about this exceptional group of future orthopedic surgeons.

Emma Berube, MD

Medical School: Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

Undergraduate: Columbia University

Emma grew up in Dover, MA and received earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, in Biochemistry from Columbia University. Before medical school, Emma was the Medical Education Chair, Medical Brigade President and the Executive President of Global Brigades at Columbia, planning and overseeing mission trips to Honduras and Panama. Throughout college she also taught weekly health classes to local underserved middle school students through Peer Health Exchange and served on its leadership council. Emma was a former professional ballet dancer and performed with the Columbia University Ballet Ensemble throughout college and continued to dance ballet through CUIMC Dance Haven and modern dance through the A. Tan Dance Company, performing on campus and throughout NYC. Emma was also a co-leader of the Orthopedic Surgery Interest Group and the VP&S chapter of the Association of Women Surgeons. She has a first author publication in press in Open Access Journal of Sports Medicine from her scholarly project in clinical research with Drs. Charles Popkin and David Trofa. Emma enjoys ballet, jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, backpacking, traveling, kayaking, skiing, watching the Patriots and the Red Sox play and spending time with family, friends, and pets.

William Crockatt, MD

Medical School: Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell

Undergraduate: Dartmouth College

Six Year Research Track

Hailing from Purdys, NY, Bill is the first in his family to enter the medical profession, having matriculated to Zucker SOM following his graduation from Dartmouth College.  He was heavily involved in his college’s EMS squad, devoting ~2,400 hours over his four undergraduate years, serving in a variety of clinical, administrative and teaching roles.  Under his leadership as Executive Director during his junior and senior years, the group achieved recognition as the 2015 New Hampshire EMS Squad of the year.  He has continued to build on his leadership skills throughout medical school, and served as the chair of multiple clubs and as a student representative to the school’s Professionalism Committee.  During the summer after his first year of medical school, Bill worked on three research projects in Orthopedic Surgery.  His project on opioid requirements following ambulatory arthroscopic repair has been presented both locally and nationally and won him first place in the student section of the Northwell Academic Day competition. As a result of his work, he has prepared several manuscripts for submission to leading Orthopedic Surgery journals.  He received the distinction and is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society and with his numerous research projects throughout medical school, he was nominated to receive Zucker SOM’s Distinction in Research Commendation at graduation.  Bill has demonstrated a commitment to teaching and envisions himself as an educator in his future practice.  He enjoys bowling, tennis, hiking, rock climbing, cooking/baking and he plays the accordion and tenor/baritone saxophone.

Michael Fields, MD

Medical School: Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

Undergraduate: Cornell University

Michael was raised in Marlboro, NJ. Interestingly, both of his parents are engineers and he thought he would follow in their footsteps until he participated in bone mechanics research as an undergraduate and became interested in the clinical application of his research.  He then decided he wanted to become a doctor. Michael completed his undergraduate in Biological Engineering at Cornell University. After graduating summa cum laude, he matriculated to Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. As a medical student, he is involved in many leadership and volunteer activities. He was the Co-President of the Orthopedic Surgery Interest Group and a mentor for NJMS Squared, an organization providing one-on-one tutoring for at risk students in Newark schools. Michael pursued a research fellowship in Pediatric Spine and Scoliosis Surgery here at Columbia University, where he spent a year investigating outcomes following operative and nonoperative interventions for pediatric patients with spinal deformity. This work was the basis of his thesis, "The Association between Axial Rotation and Curve Progression in Patients with Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Undergoing Bracing Intervention".  He successfully submitted ten manuscripts to high end journals, assisted in writing and obtaining two grants and submitted abstracts to several meetings. Michael enjoys DJing, barbering and traveling.

Anastasia Gazgalis, MD

Medical School: Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons

Undergraduate: Duke University

Anastasia hails from Brooklyn, New York.  She earned a Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude, in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Duke University. She conducted research analyzing volumetric changes in MRI with cocaine use in humans, was a peer mentor for freshmen in their first semester through the First Year Advisory Council Program and was a companion intern for the Helping Hand Program, where she provided weekly companionship for chronically ill patients. During medical school, Anastasia has been the Curriculum Representative for her class, co-leader of the Association of Women Surgeons and a senior clinician for Columbia Student Medical Outreach, the student run clinic for uninsured patients. Anastasia also completed a full-time research year with Dr. Jeffrey Geller, focusing on a retrospective analysis of imageless robotically-assisted total knee arthroplasty. Her research has led to a first author poster at the Orthopedic Research Society and she is second author of a book chapter. In addition to running, spinning and boxing, Anastasia enjoys yoga, needle point, traveling, and hiking.

Taylor Paskey, MD

Medical School: Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University

Undergraduate: University of Delaware

Taylor grew up on a farm in her hometown of Felton, Delaware, a thriving small town, reported to be one of the best places to live in Delaware. Her appreciation for manual labor and taking pride in a hands-on craft brought her to the field of Orthopedic Surgery. After 13 years of mostly classical ballet training, she also saw the impact Orthopedic surgeons had on fellow dancers who sustained career-defining injuries but swiftly returned to their peak performance. Taylor is a graduate of the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry, magna cum laude and she is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Medical Honor Society at Sidney Kimmel Medical College. She was also awarded the Paul Zimskind ’57 Scholarship for her academic merit. With a passion for quality improvement Taylor helped found MD Compass, a 4-year longitudinal career development program created in collaboration with the Deans in the Office of Student Affairs. She also expanded the No One Dies Alone program, to provide companionship to patients who would otherwise be alone during their final moments of life. Taylor has been involved in numerous research endeavors and has been first author on four manuscripts. She enjoys dancing and is trained in ballet as well as jazz, lyrical and tap. Not surprising, Taylor also enjoys raising farm animals, especially pygmy goats, donkeys, cows, chickens and ducks.

Mark Ren, MD

Medical School: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Undergraduate: Cornell University

Mark hails from Smithtown, NY and graduated with summa cum laude honors from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Science concentrating in Neurobiology and Behavior. He was drawn to Orthopedics through a research project investigating opioid use after spinal deformity surgery. He led that project from start to finish, publication and presenting at North American Spine Society (NASS). Mark has a passion for teaching and at Cornell, he assumed formal educational roles as a Teaching Assistant in both Biology and Physics. He also designed a course to teach computer science to students at a local middle school. In medical school Mark continued to indulge in his love of teaching and mentorship. He taught sex education in local middle schools lacking such a curriculum and developed activities to encourage careers in STEM for high school students from one of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods in the city. Mark further assisted the local community during the COVID epidemic in Baltimore by joining the Hopkins “Go Team” and assisted in providing logistics and onsite support in testing at local nursing homes and homeless shelters.  Mark received the Dean’s Award in Biological Sciences and the Ertel-Diamant Premedical Award at Cornell and was selected to the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Medical Honor Society as a senior in medical school. He enjoys running, serving as captain of his high school track team and president of his collegiate club. Mark particularly enjoys sprint workouts and road/trail runs. He also enjoys weightlifting, cooking, including food science techniques (emulsions and fermentation) and he is a connoisseur of brick over pizza.

Sohil Desai, MD

Medical School: University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine

Undergraduate: University of Miami

Six Year Research Track - Class of 2027

Sohil’s exposure to Orthopedics began when playing golf with an NFL team surgeon in his hometown of Saint Louis, MO, which led to shadowing him throughout high school and college.  Sohil obtained his Bachelor of Art from the University of Miami, majoring in Biology and Economics with minors in Chemistry and Psychology. He went on to the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine where he achieved a stellar academic record.  He was selected to the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Medical Honor Society as a junior and was selected as President of his AOA Chapter. He also serves as Executive Committee Chair of the University of Miami’s Student Government and Vice President of the Orthopedic Surgery Interest Group Executive Board. He helped create a webpage that allowed easier access to mentorship and advising opportunities, wrote an article about mentorship tips, and helped found the Resident-MS3 mentorship program. Sohil’s work has resulted in an impressive research portfolio and he has several publications to his credit as well as several studies either submitted or in progress. Sohil also volunteered for several COVID-19 related activities at Jackson Memorial Hospital. He participates in the DOCS student-run organization that provides medical care to under-served populations in South Florida and he has worked as a medical missionary in Managua, Nicaragua. Along with golf, Sohil also enjoys basketball, weightlifting and running and he’s also a bit of a foodie. His favorite teams across sports are the NFL Steelers, the MBL Cardinals and the NHL Blues. He also loves to read and practices meditation.