Alex Robertson grew up in West Hartford, Connecticut. His father was an ear, nose, and throat surgeon. Alex studied at Dartmouth College, where he played varsity lacrosse and squash, and went to medical school at the University of Virginia.
He did his residency and a trauma fellowship at Brown, then a fellowship in spine surgery at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. He returned to Rhode Island afterward.
Twenty years at University Orthopedics
Alex joined University Orthopedics in 2004 as a specialist in orthopedic spine surgery. For the next two decades he operated, treated patients, and taught residents. He taught at Brown's Warren Alpert Medical School, whose Department of Orthopedics gave him its Excellence in Teaching Award twice, in 2015 and 2022. Colleagues who nominated him for the award pointed to his temperament more than his technique.
"He always had a smile on his face and a listening ear — for his patients and his colleagues alike." Remembered by his colleagues
How colleagues remember him
The word colleagues and patients return to is kind. Patients describe appointments that weren't rushed. Residents describe questions he stopped to answer.
Alex lived in Barrington with his wife, Michelle, and their three daughters — Anna, Hope, and Katherine. He died on May 24, 2023, with his family, after a battle with glioblastoma.