Laurel Claire Blakemore, MD

Laurel Blakemore, MD, has joined Pediatric Specialists of Virginia as chief executive officer, and is charged with continuing the successful growth and development of this exciting collaboration between Children’s National Hospital and Inova. This unique collaboration leverages the resources, talent and expertise of these two great institutions, bringing together the area’s premier pediatric specialists to provide the best care possible for the children of Northern Virginia.

Dr. Blakemore earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, and graduated from medical school at the University of Alabama She returned to the University of Michigan to complete her residency in orthopedic surgery followed by a fellowship in Pediatric Orthopedics at Case Western Reserve University. In 2003, she was selected as an American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons Leadership Fellow, a highly competitive program for developing orthopedic leaders.

In 2004, she was recruited from the faculty at the University of Michigan to serve as chief of Orthopedic Surgery at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. During this time there from 2004-2013 she greatly expanded the size and scope of the orthopedic program at Children’s National Hospital. She then established a pediatric orthopedic program at the University of Florida, where she was named the inaugural Shriners Endowed Professor of Pediatric Orthopedics and established a model pediatric orthopedic program supported by the Shriners Hospital system. She returned to Pediatric Specialists of Virginia at the close of 2020.

As a surgeon Dr. Blakemore is recognized internationally as a leader in the care of complex spine deformities in children. She has published multiple peer-reviewed manuscripts and book chapters. She serves as an associate editor for Spine Deformity and reviewer for other peer-reviewed journals, and has served as a visiting professor national and internationally on multiple occasions. She has served on the board of directors for the Pediatric Orthopedic Society of North America and the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS). She is currently the Secretary and Governance Council Chair for the SRS, the first female elected officer for that society.

Her clinical practice is based in Northern Virginia and at Children’s National, caring for children with spinal conditions as well as general pediatric orthopedic conditions. She participates in international study groups focusing on pediatric spinal deformity and continues to contribute to areas of research to improve the orthopedic care of children.

• Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine
• Spine Program