Mimi Cameo Covert Memorial Lectureship

Overview

Mimi Cameo Covert grew up in southern California, near Rancho Los Amigo Hospital. She received a degree in physical therapy in 1978 from the University of California – Santa Barbara. She continued her education with the two-year Masters in physical therapy program at USC. During this time, she did research in Dr. Jacqueline Perry’s gait lab at Rancho. In order to provide more comprehensive care for amputee patients, she then entered a two-year prosthetic training program at UCLA.

Following completion of this program in 1983, she came to SIU for an internship in Prosthetics. Mimi was the perfect person to develop our new gait lab – a registered physical therapist with a Master’s degree in Gait Analysis and a Certified Prosthetist. She developed the gait lab and was appointed to the faculty and became its Director.

Her easygoing style, enthusiasm, compassion for children and optimistic encouragement were valued by all until her death on January 16, 1985. Mimi stopped in a snowstorm to offer a ride to a stranded motorist. He turned out to be a fatal assailant. She was only with us for 18 months. Her spirit could never leave us and we celebrate her life every year in the Fall with this Mimi Cameo Covert Memorial Lectureship.

Mimi Cameo Covert Guest Lecturers 1986-Today

39th Annual Mimi Cameo Covert Memorial Lectureship hosts Nicholas Fletcher, MD - February 13, 2026, 7 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Nicholas Fletcher, MD, is a board-certified Pediatric Orthopedic Surgeon at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, where he serves as Medical Director of the Spine Program. He is also a Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Emory University School of Medicine.

Dr. Fletcher’s clinical expertise focuses on pediatric spine and hip conditions. He provides comprehensive care for children with spinal deformities such as scoliosis, kyphosis and spondylolisthesis. He offers both nonsurgical and surgical treatment options, including Mehta casting, bracing, posterior spinal fusion, as well as advanced growth-friendly techniques such as magnetic expandable growing rods (MAGEC) and vertebral body tethering (VBT). Dr. Fletcher is also among a select group of surgeons in the Southeast with expertise in the Ganz (periacetabular) osteotomy (PAO) for hip dysplasia.

As an active researcher, Dr. Fletcher has led the Emory University Orthopaedic Harrison Foundation Center for Pediatric Orthopaedic Research since 2011. His work centers on improving outcomes after pediatric spine surgery and advancing the understanding of spinal alignment in children. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, and his research has received numerous honors, including Best Paper Awards from the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA) and from the Safety in Spine Summit.