Asheville Sports Medicine Fellowship

I grew up in Erie, PA in a tight knit family. I started my training as an undergrad at Penn State Behrend where I was inducted into the college’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014 for my achievements as a long-distance runner that included being named Female Athlete of the Year twice among other awards. Then continued to stay in my home town and went to Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine for her medical training. While in medical school, I served as head coach for high school and middle school cross country and track teams. Then I decide it was time to get out of the snow belt and trained in Wilmington, NC for family medicine and then completed a sports medicine fellowship at the University of Connecticut. After my fellowship, I worked as core faculty at Tufts Family Medicine Residency and spent several years teaching the physical exam courses at Tufts School of Medicine and Harvard School of Medicine. We decided to move out of the city in 2018 to be closer to friends and family, leave the snow, and enjoy the mountains! Since moving we have had our daughter Jane whose pics grace my presentations.

MAHEC has been a great organization to move to. We have made friends within the department and community. Teaching learners is absolutely my favorite part of my job and energizes me. I appreciate how willing MAHEC has been to embrace change culture.

I am very interested in research and over the past few years earned the Young investigator’s Research Grant Award and Humanitarian Award from the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine. I serve as the national subcommittee chair for Faculty Development American Society of Sports Medicine and completed the North American Primary Care Research Group Research Fellowship. My work focuses on female athletes and disordered eating, body image issues, the female athlete triad (energy deficiency, menstrual disturbances, and bone loss), the benefits of sports participation for young girls, group visits to encourage pediatric patients to get moving, health equity, and managing change.

Dr. Brian Atkinson was born and raised in the small beach town of Melbourne Beach, FL. He was a competitive runner throughout high school, earning both track and cross country individual state championships, along with a team cross country state championship while at Melbourne High School. He then attended college at Duke University, where he earned a B.S. in Biology, competed on the Duke University Track and Cross Country teams, and, most importantly, met his wife Kayla. While at Duke, he earned All ACC honors in both Track & Field and Cross Country, and also earned All-America honors in the 10,000m. After completing his undergraduate training, he earned his MD at University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa, FL. He also continued running competitively, and qualified for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. After completing medical school, he returned to the great state of North Carolina for his Family Medicine Residency at MAHEC in Asheville, NC, where he earned the UNC School of Medicine Resident Teacher of the Year award. He subsequently attained his Sports Medicine fellowship at Cone Health Sports Medicine in Greensboro NC.

Brian is passionate about Exercise as Medicine, running medicine, diagnostic ultrasound, and helping his patients to continue to do the exercise they enjoy. He loves teaching medical trainees at all levels. In his free time, Brian enjoys running (especially in trails), hiking, camping, and spending time with his 2-year-old daughter, Andie and his wife, Kayla.

Dr. Robert Boykin is a sports medicine and shoulder surgeon with EmergeOrtho, Blue Ridge Region in Asheville, NC. Originally from South Carolina, Dr. Boykin graduated as a Morehead Scholar with highest distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He then received his medical degree from Vanderbilt University, where he was elected President of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society and Vice-President of his medical school class. Dr. Boykin completed his internship and residency training in the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Program in Boston, Massachusetts. He served as Administrative Chief Resident for the Massachusetts General Hospital while also working at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Children’s Hospital Boston. During his time in residency Dr. Boykin assisted with care of the New England Patriots, Boston Red Sox, and Boston Bruins.

Dr. Boykin then received subspecialty training in sports medicine and arthroscopic surgery at The Steadman Clinic and Steadman Philippon Research Institute in Vail, Colorado. During his time in Vail he traveled with the U.S. Ski Team and worked with numerous professional athletes. After fellowship he traveled to Annecy, France where he completed additional subspecialty training in advanced shoulder surgery at the Alps Surgery Institute.

Dr. Boykin is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor for UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine and is president elect of the North Carolina Orthopedic Association. He is a member of the prestigious American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Society and currently serves as associate editor for the Jounral of Shoulder and Elbow Arthroplasty. He has published articles in peer reviewed journals, authored book chapters, and presented sports medicine research at national and international meetings. He also has served as a team physician for the U.S. men’s and women’s alpine ski team, a consultant to the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation for hip research in tennis players, and is currently a team physician for Asheville High School, North Buncombe High School, Montreat College, and Warren Wilson College.

Dr. Aimee Riley completed her undergraduate studies at Liberty University where she graduated summa cum laude. She completed her medical training at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, earning the Distinguished Scholar Award in General Surgery, the Student of the Year award and the TOUCH (Translating Osteopathic Understanding into Community Health) Pin Award.

She completed her orthopedic surgery internship and residency at Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Doctors Hospital followed by a fellowship in hand and upper extremity surgery at Virginia Commonwealth University.

She’s a member of several professional organizations, including the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, the American Association for Hand Surgery, American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics, the American Osteopathic Association, and the American Society for Surgery of the Hand.

Dr. Riley specializes in the latest surgical and nonsurgical hand and upper extremity treatments, including trauma surgery and advanced microsurgical techniques, to restore her patients’ function.

When she is not seeing patients, Dr. Riley spends time with her family enjoying the outdoor activities such as running, cycling, hiking, and camping.

Dr. Shea earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame, in Notre Dame, IN, where he graduated cum laude. In 1999, he received his medical degree from Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago, IL. He completed both his internship and family medicine residency in Greensboro with the Moses Cone Family Medicine Residency Program at Moses Cone Health System, where he also conducted his fellowship in primary care sports medicine.

Dr. Shea treats sports medicine and non-surgical orthopedic conditions with a focus on overuse injuries in runners and cyclists. He founded the orthopedic urgent care in 2009 and cares for patients in the Asheville and Arden offices. He is trained in ultrasound guided injections.

He provides sports medicine coverage for several local high schools and colleges including UNC Asheville and Erwin High School. In his spare time, he enjoys gravel cycling and hiking with his wife and kids.

I am originally from New York City. I have lived in New York, New Jersey, Washington, Maryland and North Carolina. I received my Bachelor Degree in Biological Sciences from Binghamton University. My first career was in secondary education. I spent 10 years as a high school science teacher in NYC during which time I earned my Master’s Degree in Education from Queens College. I also had a brief career in the photography industry during a hiatus from teaching.

I moved to Asheville with my wife and two daughters in 2004. In 2007, I returned to school to study Nutrition and Dietetics. I earned my credentials as a Registered Dietitian and Licensed Nutritionist in 2010. Since then, I have worked to create Nutrition Care programs in primary care practices throughout the area. In 2007, I came to MAHEC to develop Nutrition Care and with the support of so many wonderful colleagues, we have built a robust program that offers Medical Nutrition Therapy to all MAHEC patients as well as patients from other practices in the community. I also serve as the clinical nutrition and dietetics educator providing didactic and participatory learning opportunities for all MAHEC learners from all disciplines. Working with patients, providers and learners at MAHEC has been the most rewarding professional experience of my career. I am always grateful for the opportunity to participate in the interdisciplinary care we provide, cooperate with so many special people, help our community improve their health, and provide our next generation of health care providers with knowledge and resources to integrate nutrition into patient care.

As my colleagues at Family Medicine will attest, I am passionate about incorporating healthful eating patterns and lifestyle practices into disease prevention and management. I believe that my role as an advocate for lifestyle intervention is as important as my role as a counselor in this treatment. It is always exciting for me to meet and work with residents and other learners who share this passion and show interest in collaborating with me in this advocacy.

Now that my daughters are grown and on their own, I have plenty of time for my other passion of exploring the forests by bike and foot. I have been an avid cyclist for over 20 years. I spend the majority of my free time mountain biking, running, hiking and enjoying our empty nest with Karen, my wife of 30 years.

Originally hailing from the Boston area, Allison attended the University of South Carolina (USC) where she studied exercise science and psychology. A passionate advocate for community health, she began her professional career at the South Carolina Department of Public Health, during which time she also earned a master’s degree in health service policy and management. Working through a broad policy lens, Allison soon came to understand the need for primary care physicians, particularly in underserved areas, and realized her dedication to community health would be best served by directly interfacing with patients.

Allison went on to attend Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, where she worked with underserved populations in South Carolina, as well as in El Salvador and the Dominican Republic. Additionally, she became active in health care advocacy as a student physician by serving as the South Carolina Osteopathic Medical Society’s Executive Board Student Representative, the South Carolina Medical Association’s Medical Student Section Executive Board Member and the South Carolina Medical Political Action Committee’s Student Representative. In 2023, Allison completed her residency at Sutter Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, California.

A lifelong athlete, Allison is dedicated to physical fitness and passionate about helping people and communities stay healthy and injury-free. Allison is a former Team USA synchronized skater, marathon runner and personal trainer. She loves all things outdoors, including camping, hiking, running, climbing and especially skiing. She joins the Asheville community alongside her partner John and their rescue pup, Leo.

I grew up in New Jersey and participated in multiple sports before discovering my love for running. I was fortunate to be a part of a very successful high school team, winning multiple state championships and earning All-American honors. I then attended Duke University and was a member of the women's cross country and track teams. After graduating from Duke, I worked as a research assistant in cardio-oncology at Duke for my gap year. I then attended medical school at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Following in the footsteps of my family practice physician mother and grandfather, I too felt called to family medicine. After finishing medical school, I deferred residency to pursue competing in triathlons at the professional level. After three seasons of racing I returned to medicine and moved to Greenville, SC for my family medicine residency at Prisma Health Upstate. I loved my time in the clinic and while I had always thought I would go into sports medicine, I decided to join an outpatient family practice closer to family following residency. During this time I enjoyed building therapeutic relationships with my patients and their families, but the feeling that something was missing led me back to sports medicine.

As a longtime runner and endurance athlete, I am excited to be able to meld my passions of medicine and sports and care for active people and young athletes, and am thrilled to be joining the MAHEC sports medicine fellowship. I am particularly interested in caring for endurance athletes, female athletes, and the integration of lifestyle and sports medicine.

My husband and I are excited to move back down south. We love spending time in the mountains hiking and running and cannot wait to show our son our favorite places in Asheville.