Newswise — LEAWOOD, Kan. – The American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) has selected Chad Asplund, MD and Irfan Asif, MD as the first two Junior Traveling Fellows for AMSSM’s new International Traveling Fellowship program tour to Australia. Drs. Asplund and Asif will join AMSSM Founder Jim Puffer, MD, who will serve as the first Senior Traveling Fellow for the July 9-23, 2014 tour.

The Traveling Fellowship program is an academic exchange and clinical immersion initiative for sports medicine physicians to teach and learn sports medicine on a global level. The purpose of the program is to encourage academic interchange, share research and explore common clinical interests amongst international sports medicine leaders.

“I am very much looking forward to the ability to represent AMSSM, the chance to meet and observe such great international colleagues, and the once and a lifetime opportunity to travel Down Under,” said Dr. Asplund, who serves as medical director of Student Health Services and associate professor at Georgia Regents. He is the team physician for Georgia Regents, Paine College and the Augusta Greenjackets baseball team. The Traveling Fellowship tour will include stops in Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney. "I am humbled and honored to receive this opportunity to be one of the first traveling fellows for AMSSM,” said Dr. Asif. “The collaborative relationships that we build from this fellowship will help to expand our organization's presence and I look forward to sharing my experiences with our membership in the near future." Dr. Asif serves as director of the Sports Medicine Fellowship Program and assistant professor at the University of Tennessee Department Of Family Medicine.

This program was made possible by the generous support the AMSSM Foundation received from DJO Global. AMSSM wishes to thank DJO Global for its educational support of this exchange of ideas and knowledge by world leaders in sports medicine.

About the AMSSM: AMSSM is a multi-disciplinary organization of 2,500 sports medicine physicians dedicated to education, research, advocacy and the care of athletes of all ages. The majority of AMSSM members are primary care physicians with fellowship training and added qualification in sports medicine who then combine their practice of sports medicine with their primary specialty. AMSSM includes members who specialize solely in non-surgical sports medicine and serve as team physicians at the youth level, NCAA, NFL, MLB, NBA, WNBA, MLS and NHL, as well as with Olympic teams. By nature of their training and experience, sports medicine physicians are ideally suited to provide comprehensive medical care for athletes, sports teams or active individuals who are simply looking to maintain a healthy lifestyle. www.amssm.org

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