Michelle M. Ramirez, PT, DPT, PhD, is a NIAMS T32 Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Thurston Arthritis Research Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a residency-trained physical therapist and Board Certified Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist with over twelve years of clinical experience and health system leadership. She earned her PhD in Population Health Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine in 2025. Her research applies epidemiologic and machine-learning methods in the study of hip and knee osteoarthritis progression and total joint arthroplasty, with the goal of advancing precision-based care, reducing disability, and improving patient outcomes.