Michele LaBotz, M.D., CAQSM, FAAP, FACSM
Contact
Michele LaBotz, MD is a sports medicine physician serving as the Medical Director for the Athletic Training Program at the Â鶹´«Ã½ and an Associate Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine. Dr. LaBotz graduated from Dartmouth Medical School and was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. She completed her pediatric internship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, her pediatric residency at Maine Medical Center, and her fellowship in Primary Care Sports Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After fellowship and before returning to Maine, she served as team physician and associate director of the sports medicine fellowship at the University of Hawai’i.
Dr. LaBotz is currently on the Board of Directors for the Maine Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and represents the American Board of Pediatrics on the sports medicine exam writing committee. She chairs the Health and Safety Advisory Council for the National Council of Youth Sports and is on the Board of Directors for the Taylor Hooton Foundation. She is a TrueSport Expert through the United States Anti-Doping Agency and works to promote outdoor recreational programming in Maine through her board position with Brunswick-based Teens to Trails.
Dr. LaBotz is a recreational runner and paddler and enjoys the trails and waterways of Southern Maine. She is married to a retired golf professional.
Credentials
Awards and Accolades
- 2025 Thomas E. Shaffer Sports Medicine Award, American Academy of Pediatrics
- 2023 Fellow, American College of Sports Medicine, Indianapolis, IN
- 2020 American Academy of Pediatrics Special Achievement Award, District 1.
- 2020-present Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital Scholarship Academy, Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME
Expertise
- Athletic injury
- Injury prevention
- Performance enhancement
- Sports medicine
Clinical Affiliations
Board Certifications and Licenses
Board Certifications through the American Board of Pediatrics: Sports Medicine and General Pediatrics
Post-Doctoral Training
Pediatric Residency (PGY-1): University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Pediatric Residency (PGY2-3): Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME
Sports Medicine Fellowship: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
Research
Selected publications
Campbell NS, LaBotz M, Visich PS. The Physiological and Subjective Effects of Exercising with a Face Mask at Different Intensities. Transl J Am Coll Sports Med. 2023 Summer; 8(3). doi: 10.1249/TJX.0000000000000233
LaBotz M, Stroshine K, Dekker E, Visich P. Physiological effects of single and double face mask use with moderate and vigorous exercise. Transl J Am Coll Sports Med. 2022 Summer; 7(3). doi: 10.1249/TJX.0000000000000204
Bhasin S, Hatfield DL, Hoffman JR, Kraemer WJ, LaBotz M, Phillips SM, Ratamess NA. Anabolic-androgenic steroid use in sports, health, and society. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2021 Aug 1;53(8):1778-1794. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000002670. PMID: 34261998
Miller KC, Casa DJ, Adams WM, Hosokawa Y, Cates J, Emrich C, Fitzpatrick T, Hopper M, Jardine JF, LaBotz M, Lopez RM, O'Connor F, Smith MS. Roundtable on preseason heat safety in secondary school athletics: prehospital care of patients with exertional heat stroke. J Athl Train. 2021 Apr 21;56(4):372-382. doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-0173.20. PMID: 33290540; PMCID: PMC8063668.
Koontz JS, Mountjoy M, Abbott KE, Aron CM, Basile KC, Carlson CT, Chang CJ, Diamond AB, Dugan SA, Hainline B, Herring SA, Hopkins BE, Joy EA, Judge JP, LaBotz M, Matuszak J, McDavis CJ, Myers RA, Nattiv A, Tanji JL, Wagner J, Roberts WO. Sexual violence in sport: American Medical Society for Sports Medicine position statement. Br J Sports Med. 2021 Feb;55(3):132-134. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2020-102226. Epub 2020 Jun 18. PMID: 32554408.
Parker LT, LaBotz M. Sport specialization in young athletes. JAAPA. 2020: 33(1): 47-50. doi: 10.1097/01.JAA.0000615504.85054.fd.
Brenner JS, LaBotz M, Sugimoto D, Stracciolini A. The psychosocial implications of sport specialization in pediatric athletes. J Athl Train. 2019 Oct;54(10):1021-1029.
Lamb M, Kuhn AW, LaBotz M, Diamond AB. Safeguarding the child and adolescent athlete. Curr Sports Med Rep.2018;17(12):419-24. doi: 10.1249/JSR.0000000000000538.
Other scholarly activity
Scholarship Areas of Interest: Physical literacy and physical activity in children and adolescents, athletic performance and injury prevention, mental health in young athletes, use of appearance and performance-enhancing substances
Funded grants
2025-present Principal investigator. Addressing Barriers to Physical Activity and Sport Participation in Female Students in Androscoggin County, Maine. Supported by the Pilot Projects Program of the Northern New England Clinical and Translational Research (NNE-CTR) Network, funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (U54GM115516).
2025-present Principal investigator. Physical Activity and Sport in Young New Mainers. Supported by Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital Scholarship Academy.
Invited plenary presentation
Selected presentations:
2026 Growing pains: addressing sleep and nutrition challenges in young athletes. American Medical Society for Sports Medicine Annual Meeting, Seattle WA
2025 Female students’ physical activity and sport by race and ethnicity: Maine perspectives. North American Society for Sociology and Sport Annual Meeting. Vancouver, B.C.
2025 What’s hot in youth sports specialization: experts weigh in on research and recommendations. National Athletic Trainers’ Association.
2024 The year in youth sport specialization. Emerging trends and recap in research: a total body health approach. National Athletic Trainers’ Association.
2024 Evidence-based injury prevention in young athletes. American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting. Boston, MA