About
Alongside clinical practice, I remain involved in research, education, and writing.
I’m Daniel R. Bowles, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in hand and upper-extremity surgery. My work is grounded in restoring function, understanding complex problems, and helping patients make clear decisions when the path forward is not always obvious.
Beyond clinical care, I’m interested in surgical education, research, technology, human performance, and the systems that shape professional judgment. This site is where those interests come together.
TRAINING & FORMATION
A path through economics, medicine, and surgery.
Before medicine, I studied economics at Vanderbilt University. I earned my medical degree from the University of Cincinnati, then spent a dedicated year conducting orthopaedic research at Rothman Orthopaedics in Philadelphia.
I completed five years of orthopaedic surgery residency at Northwell Health in New York, where I served as chief resident, followed by fellowship training in hand and upper-extremity surgery at the University of Michigan.
That training shaped how I approach difficult problems: understand the underlying anatomy and mechanics, separate what is essential from what is merely familiar, and build a plan that fits the person and circumstances in front of you.
RESEARCH, EDUCATION & GLOBAL SURGERY
Extending surgical knowledge beyond a single operating room.
My academic interests include wrist reconstruction, three-dimensional imaging and patient-specific surgical guides, osteoarthritis, and the musculoskeletal effects of systemic therapies. I have contributed to clinical research, scientific presentations, and operative education across orthopaedic and hand surgery.
Teaching residents and medical students has reinforced a simple principle: specialized knowledge becomes more useful when it can be explained clearly. Work in global surgery has sharpened that lesson further by showing how much sound care depends on adaptable principles—not only access to familiar tools.
WRITING
Writing is part of the work.
I write to make ideas clearer. Most pieces begin with something I have learned through surgery, research, teaching, or training and follow it outward into questions about expertise, risk, technology, performance, and building useful work.
Surgery remains the center of gravity. The broader aim is to create a public body of work that is clinically grounded, intellectually honest, and useful beyond medicine.