Throughout his impressive 26-year career, Dr. Luga Podesta has been dedicated to restoring his patient’s quality of life. He takes great pride in his ability to quickly and safely return patients to the life they want to live; whether that is playing a sport, working, or enjoying recreational activities. His typical patient is anything but typical and includes all who seek his expertise, including professional athletes, musicians, performing artists, as well as weekend warriors, high school, college, recreational and youth athletes.

Dr. Podesta is a nationally recognized sports medicine physician specializing in the non-surgical treatment of orthopedic, musculoskeletal and sports-related injuries to the shoulder, elbow, knee, and spine, and brings with him a wealth of experience on and off the field. He is considered a pioneer in the new field of Regenerative Medicine, an area of medicine with the potential to fully heal damaged tissues, offering hope for individuals who are unable to or do not choose to undergo surgery.

Dr. Podesta serves as a consultant to the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament, Major League Baseball Umpires and World Baseball Classic and as a sports performance consultant to Cirque Du Soleil-Iris. He is the head team physician for Suffolk College athletics and team physician and consultant to a number of Suffolk County, New York, high school athletic programs and elite sport clubs.

Dr. Podesta served as the medical director and head team physician for the Los Angeles Kiss (Arena Football League) from 2014-2015, as team physician for the Los Angeles Angels Baseball team (2010-2013) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (1990-2006). He also served as head team physician for the World Champion LA Xtreme (XFL) (2001), the Los Angeles Avengers, Arena Football League (2002-2008), the Los Angeles Riptide Major League Lacrosse (2006-2008,), Oxnard College, and as team physician for Loyola Marymount University. Past consultant roles have include the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and as a training camp consultant to the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints.

Dr. Podesta received his Bachelor of Science degree from Wagner College and earned his Medical Degree from Autonomous University of Guadalajara and New York Medical College. He completed his residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) at St. Vincent’s Medical Center of NYC and post doctorate Sports Medicine fellowships at the Staten Island Orthopedic Sports Medicine Fellowship, Staten Island, NY, and at the world renowned Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Los Angeles, California. He is board certified in both Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine.

Dr. Podesta is a dedicated educator, clinician and researcher. He is an Assistant Clinical Professor of PM&R and Sports Medicine at Western University of Health Sciences. He is also a respected member of numerous medical societies including the American Orthopedic Society of Sports Medicine, American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Arena Football Physician and Trainers Society and Major League Baseball Physicians Association.

Academically, Dr. Podesta remains active, lecturing nationally and internationally on topics specific to the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of injuries in the throwing athlete; on-field management of sports related spine injuries, biologic cell based therapies and regenerative medicine. He has authored textbook chapters, research journal articles and instructional videos. Dr. Podesta is a contributing writer to DRUM! Magazine, covering health-related topics specific to drummers, percussionists and performing artists and US News and World Report.

Ph.D. degree in physical culture sciences, physiotherapist, basketball and wellness coach, and instructor in many sports.
He uses his several years of professional experience in many scientific articles published in national and international journals. Scientific articles are in the fields of health issues, sport, sports medicine, nutrition, and rehabilitation. A particular research interest is the functioning of skeletal muscles. He has practical experience in various diagnostic techniques for skeletal muscles, particularly using surface electromyography (sEMG) and tensiomyography (TMG).
Participating and organising scientific training courses, workshops, and national conferences. Awarded for oral presentations at national and international conferences. Member of scientific international organisations, editorial committees.

Dr. Jin Cheng received her Ph.D. from Peking University Health Science Center, and spent two years on joint training program at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. She finished her postdoctoral research in Institute of Sports Medicine of Peking University, and worked there ever since. Now her research interest mainly focuses on elucidating the molecular mechanism of the pathogenesis of degenerative diseases including osteoarthritis and tendinopathy, as well as sports injury repair and regeneration, thereby providing theoretical basis for developing novel treatment strategies. Dr. Jin Cheng has accumulated extensive research experience in molecular mechanism, biotherapeutic strategies, biomechanics and material science, and achieved a series of innovative results. 

Gonçalo Dias, PhD : Professor at the Faculty of Sport Sciences and Physical Education of University of Coimbra (Master's degrees and PhD programs in Youth Sports Training, among others); Professor at the Coimbra Education School of Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra (Master's degrees). Over the past 15 years, I have been conducting scientific research on several areas associated to Motor Control, Sports Sciences, Sports Medicine, Performance Analysis in Sport, Motor Behavior, Biomedical Research, among others. This resulted in more than 100 scientific articles in international journals; 13 books and 45 book chapters . I am currently a reviewer of several relevant journals. I have been invited for lecturing, tutoring and organization of events (e.g., Master's degrees, PhD programs, professional courses, national and international conferences, among others). I am the coordinator of the County Sports Office from Arganil, Portugal, and responsible for the Physical activity to older adults programme.