Thomas Riolo, DO

Dr. Thomas Riolo

Since joining the Department of Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia in June 2019, Dr. Thomas Riolo has already had the opportunity to collaborate with specialists in orthopedics, orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, and physical therapy. This is what drew Dr. Riolo to an academic medical center. “I wanted to be involved with the teaching aspect of our field and to be with a group of like-minded individuals who promote rehabilitation medicine while treating patients at the highest standard,” says Dr. Riolo.

Triple board-certified in pain medicine, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and osteopathic physical medicine and rehabilitation, Dr. Riolo has particular expertise in fluoroscopic-guided injections and radiofrequency ablation for the treatment of spinal disorders. He also performs ultrasound-guided joint injections for arthritis. His current research interests lie in the area of neuromodulation and spinal cord stimulation for the treatment of chronic pain.

“I didn’t realize that I wanted to become a doctor until late in my college years,” says Dr. Riolo, whose interest in medicine was sparked while working as a volunteer emergency medical technician. Dr. Riolo then obtained a position as a medical assistant in a physical medicine and rehabilitation office, where he experienced a variety of nonoperative treatment modalities. “That helped solidify my choice to go into physical medicine and rehabilitation during medical school and residency.”

Dr. Riolo obtained his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at NYU Langone Medical Center, where he served as Chief Resident at Bellevue Hospital and Manhattan Veterans Administration Medical Center. He then completed a fellowship in Interventional Spine and Sports Medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.

Dr. Riolo currently sees patients at NewYork-Presbyterian Och Spine Hospital, ColumbiaDoctors Midtown, and the Harkness Pavilion at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia.

Vandana Sood, MD

Dr. Vandana Sood

Dr. Vandana Sood’s path to medicine began as an undergraduate while studying biomedical engineering. “I found human motion analysis to be fascinating which led me to discover the field of physiatry. I knew I wanted to work with patients one-on-one, but also incorporate the concept of biomechanics,” says Dr. Sood, who joined the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell in November 2019. Dr. Sood is board certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation and fellowship trained in sports medicine. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and earned a medical degree from New York Medical College. She completed her residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and went on to complete fellowship training in Interventional Spine and Sports Medicine at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS).

Dr. Sood has been a team physician for high school, collegiate and professional sports teams. Her clinical practice focuses on providing conservative treatment for acute sports medicine and spine disorders. “I work with patients and take them through a comprehensive physical exam to better understand their potential pain generators,” says Dr. Sood. Skilled in fluoroscopy- guided spine injections and ultrasound-guided peripheral joint and soft tissue injections, she uses interventional procedures as needed to complement the treatment plan.

In collaboration with her fellowship mentors at HSS, Dr. Sood continues to be involved with ongoing research focusing on identifying protective factors in the prevention of diastasis recti in women after pregnancy and examining whether intra-articular injections affect disease progression and hasten the development of arthritis in patients with hip osteoarthritis.