Natasha N. Desai, MD

Natasha Desai, MD, is a sports medicine physician specializing in the non-operative treatment of bone, joint, and muscular injuries and concussion management in pediatric and adult patients. She offers non-surgical treatment for a variety of orthopedic complaints, providing alternative options for patient that do not desire or are not candidates for surgical intervention. She specializes in ultrasound for diagnosis and treatment of a variety of problems. Dr. Desai is also an expert in the most up to date treatment in sports related concussion diagnosis and management. She serves as a team physician for Columbia Athletics and other local sports teams.
As former competitive gymnast, and member of the PAC-10 championship gymnastics team at UCLA, Dr. Desai specializes in treating athletes of all ages and caliber. Her focus is to keep her patients active even through injury. She is also is interested in the aging athlete who struggle with arthritis and other wear and tear injuries.
Born and raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles, California, she earned a bachelor of science in Neuroscience from UCLA and received her medical degree, with honors, from George Washington School of Medicine and was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. She completed her residency training in Emergency Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City where she successfully completed both the global health and sports medicine tracks, receiving the Humanitarian Award for her work on head injury in the Dominican Republic. Dr. Desai went on to complete a Pediatric and Adult Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Her experience includes work with NCAA Division I, Division III, and professional athletes. She has served as an Assistant Team Physician for the Philadelphia Eagles (NFL) and Philadelphia Flyers (NHL).
Dr. Desai is an active researcher in the area of concussion and has presented her research at numerous conferences. She is committed to building strong patient relationships based on good patient education, open lines of communication, and up to date treatments and management strategies.