Our Practitioners & Staff
Grant Wood, CPO
Creator of the WCR Brace and our scoliosis specialist
Grant Wood Is the co-founder of Align Clinic in San Mateo, California and has over 30 years of experience in the areas of prosthetic and orthotic patient care, management, product development, and scientific research. He is an active presenter, researcher, and winner of awards in prosthetics and orthotics. Grant Wood is also a specialist in scoliosis bracing with the Cheneau brace and the Rigo-Cheneau braces.
Grant Wood’s professional career as an orthotist and prosthetist spans work in the USA, England and Spain, where he worked for eight years at Group IDEO in Sevilla and Malaga. Grant Wood holds Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the University of Salford, School of Prosthetics and Orthotics in England. His post-graduate thesis was on idiopathic scoliosis treatment using the Cheneau brace at the Research Institute for Health, University of Salford. As well as being British certified in prosthetics and orthotics, he completed his American Board Certification in Orthotics, to become an ABC Certified Orthotist (CO) and US Board Certified in Prosthetics.
Steve Baum, CO
Our pediatric specialist
Steve Baum has over 30 years of experience in orthotic patient care and specializes in pediatric orthotics and is a co-founder of Align Clinic. He has been practicing in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1984. Steve Baum graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1981, earning a Cum Laude Honors Bachelor’s Degree while putting himself through school.
Steve Baum graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1981, earning a Cum Laude Honors Bachelor’s Degree while putting himself through school. He then earned the Long Term Certificate in Orthotics, maintaining a 4.0 grade point average, at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital, California State University at Dominguez Hills, and the Long Term Certificate of Prosthetic Education at University of California at Los Angeles in 1988. Steve Baum is ABC certified in all areas of orthotic care. He authored a paper which was published in the Journal of the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association, titled “Initial Standing of the Osteogenesis Imperfecta Patient” (1990, Vol 2, number 2).
Miguel Bustamante, CPO
Advanced WCR Certified Practitioner
Miguel Bustamante has been promoted to Director of Clinical Care of Align Clinic San Mateo (AC SM), he has over 17 years of experience in the orthotics and prosthetics field. Before joining Align Clinic, Miguel served as Clinic Manager with his previous employer at their Mountain View, CA location and at an additional satellite clinic in Redwood City, CA. He has practiced in the San Francisco Bay Area for his entire career.
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Davis in 2001, where he first discovered the O&P field, he went on to earn a post-baccalaureate certificate in Orthotics in 2002 from Northwestern University. In 2004, he returned to Northwestern University to earn the certificate in Prosthetics. Miguel is an ABC Certified Prosthetist/Orthotist who has extensive experience in pediatric orthotics, including Cranial Remolding Orthoses (helmets). His interest in pediatrics began early in his career during his Orthotics residency working under Align Clinic’s very own Steve Baum, who served as his Residency Director.
Miguel has vast experience working with adults as well, like those with neurological conditions including stroke, muscular dystrophies, Multiple Sclerosis, and Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. He is listed on the CMTA website as a CMT clinician. Miguel has specialized in advanced technologies for orthotic management of the lower extremities, like the Walk Aide System for foot drop and Stance Control orthoses including the microprocessor-controlled Otto Bock C-brace. He was one of the first clinicians in the state of California to fit a C-brace.
As a Certified Prosthetist, Miguel has fit various levels of lower limb amputations, from partial foot amputations to hip disarticulations. He has provided lower limb microprocessor-controlled prostheses and elevated-vacuum prosthetic sockets from various manufacturers.
Miguel brings his passion for helping others, his experience, and his determination for successful outcomes to Align Clinic.
Hosana Sharafi, MSPO, CPO
WCR Candidate
Hosna Sharafi is an ABC Certified Prosthetist/Orthotist and has specialized in pediatric orthotics. She officially joined the Align Clinic San Mateo team in 2022 after working for her previous employer for 10 years. Hosna first became interested in the field of Prosthetics and Orthotics during her undergraduate research pursuing a biomedical engineering degree at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA. She then received her M.S. in Prosthetics and Orthotics at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She completed her orthotic residency at the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford, CT, and her prosthetic residency at the Hanger Clinic in San Francisco, CA.
Early on in her career, Hosna was drawn to the field of pediatrics and has dedicated her clinical practice to this population. As a pediatric clinician, she sees a high volume of patients with a wide variety of diagnoses including deformational plagiocephaly, pectus carinatum, cerebral palsy, and scoliosis. Hosna has a particular interest in working with pediatric scoliosis patients and appreciates the complexity involved in the successful orthotic treatment of idiopathic and neuromuscular scoliosis.
She strongly believes in teamwork and collaboration in order to provide high-quality patient care. She enjoys cultivating close relationships with her patients, their parents, and the referring physicians. Hosna is passionate about her career and takes great pride in improving her patients’ quality of life.
Hosna lives in San Mateo and has called the Bay Area home for many years now. Outside of work, she enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, and traveling.
Megan D’Apice, CPO
WCR Candidate
Megan (Meg) D’Apice received her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Maryland, College Park (2019) before going on to receive her Master of Health Science in Prosthetics & Orthotics from California State University, Dominguez Hills (2021). She is a Certified Orthotist and Board-Eligible Prosthetist after completing both residencies in Orthotics (2022) and Prosthetics (2023) at the University of California, San Francisco. During her residency, Meg participated in two research studies to develop a multidisciplinary tool to improve functional status of lower limb prosthetic users and establish treatment parameters for orthotic intervention of Pectus Carinatum.
As a former gymnastics coach, swimming coach, and nanny, Meg has always enjoyed working with children. Her professional interests include pediatrics, interdisciplinary healthcare, and biomechanics of gait.
Outside of work, Meg enjoys spending time outdoors running, climbing, camping and travelling.
Robert Bargainer, CO
WCR Candidate
Robert Bargainer is an ABC Certified Orthotist who joined Align Clinic in 2022. Entering the field of Orthotics and Prosthetics in 2000, Robert became an ABC Certified Orthotist in 2009.
He attended California State University Dominguez Hills and obtained his Bachelor of Science, Health Science/Orthotic and Prosthetic option, 2003. After graduation, Robert worked with Inhous Orthopedics in Westminster, CA. There, he received extensive training with orthotic fabrication techniques and treating pediatric patients. He completed his orthotic residency with Inhous Orthopedics in 2005.
Being a Bay Area native, Robert enjoys helping patients in his local community with their orthotic needs. He has provided orthotic care in the Bay Area since 2006, specializing in lower extremity orthotics, spinal, and scoliosis bracing. He has also spent the last decade being a cranial remolding specialist treating patients with deformational plagiocephaly.
When not providing patient care, you may find Robert spending time with his family, playing golf and enjoying local sports.
Please call to schedule your appointment.
To make an appointment, please call 650-375-2231
Location:
700 South Claremont St. Suite 105
Align Clinic, LLC
San Mateo, CA 94402