University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC Sports Medicine Physicians
July 18, 2008 | General
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Dr. Tim Taft - ttaft@med.unc.edu Dr. Timothy Taft is the team's orthopaedic surgeon and the Director of Sports Medicine at the University of North Carolina. Taft, a native of St. Louis, Mo., received his B.A. degree from Princeton University in 1964 and his M.D. from the University of Missouri in 1969. He completed his residency in orthopaedic surgery at Carolina in 1974 and has been the orthopaedic surgeon for the Tar Heels since that time. Taft is the Max Novich Distinguished Professor of Sports Medicine at the UNC Medical School. He has held numerous national leadership positions in sports medicine including serving on the Board of Directors for the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine and being an examiner for the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. He is on the sports medicine advisory committee for the NC Medical Society, the NC High School Athletic Association and Special Olympics North Carolina. Taft was one of the team physicians for the 1979 U.S.A. Pan American Games Team, the 1980 U.S.A. Olympic Team and was head physician for the 1981 U.S.A. World University Games Team. He served as a staff physician for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and was the medical director for the Special Olympic World Games in 1999. He has been the team physician for numerous U.S.A. national teams including the U.S.A. basketball teams which won the 1986 Men's and the 1990 Women's World Championships. Taft and his wife, Judy, have two children, Todd and Becky. Becky is married to Aaron Fecher, and they have a son, Coby.
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Dr. Alexander Creighton - alex_creighton@med.unc.edu Dr. Creighton is the team's orthopaedic surgeon and is a faculty member of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at UNC-CH. Dr. Creighton, a native of Haddonfield, NJ, received his BS in biology from the College of William and Mary. He was a member of the Tribe baseball team and was an all-conference 3rd basemen his junior and senior seasons. He received his medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University and graduated a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Society. After finishing his surgical internship and residency in Orthopaedics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, he completed his fellowship in sports medicine/shoulder at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL. While at Rush, he helped take care of the Chicago White Sox baseball team, Chicago Rush arena football team, and the Chicago Steel hockey team.
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Dr. Mario Ciocca - ciocca@email.unc.edu Dr. Mario Ciocca has served as a team physician at the University of North Carolina since 1996. He is currently the head primary care physician for football, baseball, women's basketball and golf, and men's soccer and lacrosse teams. Dr. Ciocca earned a B.S. in biochemical engineering from Columbia University in 1989. He received his MD in 1993 at New Jersey Medical School and then completed at UNC his residency in internal medicine in 1996 and a sports medicine fellowship in 1998. Dr. Ciocca is board certified in internal medicine and has a certificate of added qualification in sports medicine. He is an active member of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine and the American College of Sports Medicine. Dr. Ciocca is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at UNC and is involved with the lecturing of students and residents at the undergraduate school as well as the medical and nursing school. He has authored journal articles and book chapters on subjects including cardiac conditions, creatine, medications and supplements, psoriatic arthritis, and pneumothorax. He is currently involved with a study on concussions. Dr. Ciocca and his wife Cindy have four children, Luke, Jack, Michael and Gabrielle. |
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Dr. Tom Brickner - tbrickne@email.unc.edu Dr. Tom Brickner has been a team physician for the University of North Carolina since 1996. rickner earned a B.S. degree in biochemistry through St. Joseph's College. He then attended medical school at the Medical College of Ohio and completed a residency in Family Practice at the Toledo Hospital in 1990. After completing his residency, Brickner served five years in the US Navy, including over two years as chief physician and medical department head for the United States Antarctic Program. Following the Navy, he completed a fellowship in primary care sports medicine at the Northwest Ohio Center for Sports Medicine. rickner is Board certified in Family Practice, with a Certificate of Added Qualification in Sports Medicine and has specialized training in cold weather and diving medicine. rickner is married to Beth Brickner and has a step-daughter Emily, a daughter Amanda and a son Benjamin. |
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Dr. Kelly Waicus - waicus@email.unc.edu Dr. Kelly Waicus has been a team physician at the University of North Carolina since 2005. Originally from Moorestown, NJ, she received her undergraduate degree from Duke University followed by her medical degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1995. After completing a residency in Pediatrics at Children's Hospital in Cincinnati, OH, she returned to Chapel Hill for her Sports Medicine fellowship which she completed in 2001. She is board certified in Pediatrics and has a certificate of added qualification in Sports Medicine. Dr. Waicus is the primary team physician for volleyball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's track and field, women's tennis, women's lacrosse, cheerleading, and JV basketball. She is married to Tom O'Connell and has two daughters, Kelsey and Caroline. |
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Dr. Bradley Hack- hack@smootpsych.com Dr. Hack is the Sport Psychologist for the Athletic Department and has been a member of the Sports Medicine Team since 2001. He is originally from Detroit and earned his B.A. in psychology and economics from the University of Michigan and his M.A. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Michigan State University. In addition to his work with student-athletes at Carolina, Dr. Hack has also counseled professional athletes from the NFL, NHL, WNBA, NASCAR, as well as members of the U.S. Olympic Team, in his private practice. He serves as a treating clinician for the NFL's substance abuse program. Dr. Hack has been an active leader in professional organizations throughout his career. He was appointed to the Executive Committee for the American Psychological Association's (APA) Division of Exercise and Sport Psychology (2002-2005) and also served as the Chair of the Education Committee for the Division. He was a primary author of the "Proficiency in Sport Psychology," which was adopted by APA in 2003 as the national standard for the education and training of sport psychologists. He was twice elected to the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Psychological Association (1998-2002), and received a presidential appointment as the Federal Advocacy Coordinator for NCPA (2004-2006). Dr. Hack also serves on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Clinical and Sport Psychology and was a contributing author for The Sport Psych Handbook (Murphy, 2005). He and his wife, Cassie, have two kids, Rider and Skylar.
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Dr. Jeff Spang Dr. Jeffrey Spang is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Orthopaedics at UNC School of Medicine. He received a BS in biology from Duke University and received his medical degree from Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He completed his surgical internship at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia and his residency in orthopaedics at the University of North Carolina. Dr. Spang completed a fellowship in sports medicine at the University of Connecticut and a research fellowship at the Technical University of Munich in Munich, Germany. Dr. Spang's practice is focused on sports medicine with an interest in soft tissue trauma of the shoulder and knee. He and his wife Ruth have 3 daughters, Emily, Julia and Annika |
