Alda Burston joined the Vanderbilt sports medicine staff in 2013. In addition to providing sports medicine care for her teams, she is a clinical preceptor for athletic training students and interns and has helped develop medical management guidelines for mental health, relative energy deficiency in sports (RED-S) and vitamin D deficiency.

Prior to working at Vanderbilt, Burston was a member of UNC Charlotte’s sports medicine staff for five seasons. While at Charlotte, she was the athletic trainer for the university’s women’s basketball team, oversaw the medical care for all the Charlotte 49ers women’s sports teams, and served on a variety of athletic department committees. She has also worked with WNBA and NFL teams. In 2013, she did a brief stint with Team USA as a member of the United States Olympic Committee Sports Medicine Volunteer team at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center.

Alda received her bachelor’s degree from Florida State and a post-professional master’s degree in athletic training from the University of Virginia. Burston is a certified Graston Technique clinician and holds a Corrective Exercise Specialist certification through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). She is a firm believer in caring and focusing on the student-athlete as a person and not just focusing on those things that are sport-related; hence her passion for student-athlete development, well-being, and mentoring.

In her free time, the Florida native enjoys spending time with her husband, Darrell, and their daughter, Avery.