Cara Thorne, MD

About Cara Thorne, MD

Dr. Thorne was born and raised in Toronto, Canada where she spent summers on Lake Ontario, playing baseball and rooting for her hometown Blue Jays as an avid baseball fan, as well as running track and cross-country.  Her passion for running took her to the University of Mississippi where she was a member of the Ole Miss track and cross-country teams until a leg injury forced her out of competition. She graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and minor in Mathematics. During her undergraduate studies, she performed research in computational chemistry, modeling structures to gain insight into important chemical problems such as drug-DNA interactions. She was fortunate to also study at the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College at the University of Mississippi through which she participated in multiple community service projects. She was granted the Barksdale Award with which she interned at the Chinese Community Partnership for Health operating out of New York – Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital to investigate strategies for enhancing cultural competence in health care settings. She still cheers for Ole Miss football every Saturday.

Dr. Thorne obtained her medical degree at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. As a medical student, she co-created a course in conjunction with the Department of Orthopaedics introducing first and second year medical students to orthopaedic traumatology. Dr. Thorne completed her orthopaedic surgery residency at the University of Virginia where she worked with and learned from pioneers and leaders in orthopaedic surgery and hand surgery. She was fortunate to care for a diverse group of patients through regular clinical activities, as a co-lead coordinating orthopaedic care at the Charlottesville Free Clinic, and as a team physician for both the Albemarle Patriots football team and University of Virginia Cavaliers baseball team. While in residency, she published on vascular conditions afflicting upper extremity athletes.  Her dedication to the education and mentorship of medical students, and exemplary care of patients in the emergency department, was recognized with the Mulholland Society Teaching Award and the Consultant of the Year Award. She completed an additional year of subspecialty training in hand and upper extremity surgery at the University of Colorado. While there, she continued to engage in research with projects dedicated to improving the effectiveness of implants commonly used in orthopaedic surgery.

Dr. Thorne loves spending time in the outdoors. She enjoys running, kayaking, camping, mountain biking, road cycling, hiking, and backpacking with her friends and partner, Sean. She endeavors to cook a dish from every country to fuel these active pastimes. She is passionate about treating patients of all ages with conditions that affect the arm, elbow, wrist, hand, and fingers to enable return to work, sports, and recreational activities, as she has seen both personally and professionally how disruptive any injury can be to enjoying life. She is looking forward to serving her community through the Fort Collins, Loveland, and Greeley clinical sites.