May 5, 2025
By Zahara Chowdhury
Editor-in-Chief
From his podiatry practice in Lyndhurst to work with LHS athletics, Class of 2007 graduate Dr. Efe Ozturk has dedicated his life to service. Now, almost two decades after graduating, LHS will welcome him into the Academic Hall of Fame at the Academic Awards Dinner this evening. The event, which will be attended by the top 10% of LHS students and their families, will take place at The Fiesta in Wood-Ridge.
Ozturk received his bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in neuroscience and molecular biology from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He went on to earn his doctorate of podiatric medicine from Barry University in Miami. He then did his three-year residency at Morristown Medical Center. Afterward, Ozturk worked as a foot and ankle surgeon at CORE Medical and Wellness in Lyndhurst.
Ozturk, a first-generation Turkish immigrant, said he credits his sister, Dr. Imren Ozturk, who is six years his senior and practices family medicine, for inspiring him to pursue a career in the medical field.
“She told me about medicine and her experiences with it and… how it’s a stable, safe career,” Ozturk said.
He is now a double board-certified foot and ankle surgeon and the owner of Ozturk Foot & Ankle, a podiatry center on 623 Ridge Road that he opened in March 2023. Ozturk also volunteers as a sports medical physician for LHS athletics and participates in the high school’s annual Health and Wellness Fair.
Ozturk said he was nervous about opening his office but is happy he decided to do so.
“You don’t know how much things are going to cost. You don’t know if you’re going to succeed,” Ozturk said. “[Opening my practice] was my biggest success, as of late, just getting it up and running and then obviously keeping it running.”
Ozturk said he is delighted to be inducted into the Academic Hall of Fame.
“I’m in a group of peers… who have all done phenomenal things, not just in their career but for their community, so to be inducted into a hall of fame like that [is] amazing,” Ozturk said.
Ozturk, who attended the Academic Awards for all four years of high school, was a member of the National Honor Society and World Language Honor Society. He earned first-place awards at the New Jersey Future Business Leaders of America Leadership Conference in 2006 and 2007, and his team won the Bergen County Consumer Bowl in 2007. Ozturk was also a four-year varsity soccer player and served as a captain during his senior year.
Ozturk said he gravitated towards STEM classes and especially appreciated the mentorship of science teacher Dr. Dunn.
“He was probably one of my favorite [teachers] and probably shaped, in some aspect, my entrance into the medical field,” Ozturk said.
Dunn, who was Ozturk’s ninth-grade biology honors teacher, described him as a dedicated student.
“He excelled in the sciences, and it wasn’t that it was easy for him. He had to work it out, but he had something that makes people successful, and that word is grit.”
“One of the things that stands out about someone like him is that they’re interested. They actually have the enthusiasm to want to learn. That’s a rare trait,” Dunn said.
He said Ozturk was a driven student, even when the coursework was rigorous.
“He excelled in the sciences, and it wasn’t that it was easy for him. He had to work it out, but he had something that makes people successful, and that word is grit,” Dunn said. “He [doesn’t] fall on his morals and say, ‘I’m already here, I’m done.’ He keeps trying to do more. To me, that’s the sign of higher thinking.”
Freshman Joelle Habeishi, who was referred to Ozturk by LHS’ athletic trainer, Tom Thomas, said she appreciated the medical care Ozturk provided after she sprained a ligament during the outdoor track and field season in March.
“He explained to me what the injury was and everything instead of just telling me what I had, and he helped me and my mother understand better on how to prevent it in the future,” Habeishi said. “He also told me about the different parts of my leg and what could hurt too and different things I could do to ease the pain.”
Habeishi said Ozturk deserves to be part of LHS’ Academic Hall of Fame.
“He has close ties to coaches, staff and Trainer Tom,” Habeishi said. “He [is] very, very helpful to the community.”
