Dr. Linda Russell was born in West Islip, NY, and raised on Long Island. She received her Bachelors of Science degree, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 1985, from Tufts University. She received her MD degree, graduating Alpha Omega Alpha in 1989, from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, MA. Her one-year internship and her two-year residency in internal medicine were both completed at New York Hospital (1989-92). She then went to Hospital for Special Surgery for her Fellowship in Rheumatology (1992-95). Following her fellowship she joined HSS as an attending physician, where she has continued to practice medicine. Dr. Russell has had a long-standing interest in metabolic bone disease and osteoporosis. She is the Director of the Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bone Health Center. In addition to the evaluation and care of patients with metabolic bone disease, she has focused her attention on perioperative bone health. In 2011, Dr. Russell was named the Director of Perioperative Medicine at HSS. Perioperative medicine is a field of medicine that focuses on optimizing the health of patients who plan to undergo surgery and on providing medical care for those patients following surgery. As the Director of Perioperative Medicine, Dr. Russell leads a team of seven full-time internists and nine hospitalists who deliver perioperative medical care to patients undergoing surgical procedures at HSS. She also coordinates with a group of seven rheumatologists who provide additional perioperative consultation. These perioperative physicians are well acquainted with their patients’ needs before, during and after surgery, thus providing the exceptional care that HSS is known for. Dr. Russell received “The Wholeness of Life Award” from the Healthcare Chaplaincy in 2005. She holds the Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Chair in Perioperative Medicine.