Back to Find a Doctor
Dr. Mara L. Schenker

Dr. Mara L. Schenker, MD

Medical Director, Grady Orthopedic Center

Dr. Mara L. Schenker, MD, FACS, FAOA, received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Pittsburgh in 2003. She then attended the University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine, where she spent a full year doing clinical research at the Steadman-Philippon Research Institute in Vail, CO. She then completed a 6-year research track residency at the University of Pennsylvania, and did another full year of research in a translational research laboratory under Dr. Robert Mauck.

Following residency, Dr. Schenker completed the prestigious orthopedic trauma fellowship at Harborview Medical Center at the University of Washington in Seattle. In 2015, Dr. Schenker joined the Emory at Grady faculty as an Assistant Professor in Orthopaedics and the Director of Orthopedic Trauma Research. In her time at Grady, she has increased the research footprint of the orthopedic trauma group, and she currently sits on several of the major national research committees for orthopedic trauma. She was promoted to Associate Professor of Orthopedics in 2020.

Several of her patients have been featured in Grady’s advertising campaign, and she was invited by one of her patients to throw out the first pitch at the Kansas City Royals baseball game in 2018. In 2021, Dr. Schenker was appointed the Chief of Orthopedics for Grady Memorial Hospital, the Director of Orthopedic Trauma for Emory University Department of Orthopedics, and the Medical Director of Surgical Informatics for Grady Memorial Hospital.

Specialties

  • Orthopaedic Surgery
  • Orthopaedics

Board Certifications

  • ABMS Orthopaedic Surgery

Fellowships

  • Harborview Medical Center

Affiliations

  • Emory

Education & Training

  • Medical School: University of Chicago
  • Residency: University of Pennsylvania

Honors & Awards

Pennsylvania State Champion, taekwondo forms, sparring, weapons, 2000-2006

U.S. National Champion, taekwondo weapons, 2001

World Champion, taekwondo sparring, 2001

Outstanding summer student research award, Musculoskeletal Research Center, Pittsburgh, PA, 2002

Magna Cum Laude, University of Pittsburgh, 2003

Resident/fellow clinical essay award co-author, Arthroscopy Association of North America, 2007

OREF Resident Clinician Scientist Training Grant (PI), 2010

AOSSM-sponsored participant for the AAOS/OREF/ORS Clinician Scientist Development Program, 2010

2nd Place Basic Science Award, ORS/OREF Resident Research Symposium, 2010

OREF Young Investigators Grant (PI), 2011

1st Place Poster Award, Imaging, Penn Center for Musculoskeletal Disorders Symposium, 2011

3rd Place Poster Award, Histology, Penn Center for Musculoskeletal Disorders Symposium, 2011

Arthroscopy Top Ten Most Cited Article for 2008-2011, 2012

AO Kathryn Cramer Memorial Award, 2012

Best of the AAOS Meeting Symposium, 2013

The Deforest Willard Award for outstanding performance by a senior orthopaedic resident, University of Pennsylvania, 2014

Alexandra Kirkley Travelling Fellowship, Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society, 2016

OTA Kathy Cramer Young Clinician Scholarship Awardee to the ORS/OREF/AAOS New Investigators Workshop, 2016

The George T. Wright Faculty of the Year Award (Graduating Chief Class Award for Teaching), Emory University, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, 2016

Emory University School of Medicine Mentoring Award Nominee, Emory University, 2017

Emory Professional Leadership Enrichment and Development Program (EM-ProLEAD) Cohort Member, 2018

Howard Rosen Table Instructor Award, AO Trauma of North America, AO Basic, Madison, WI, May 2018

Publications