Dr. Ark graduated with honors from Duke University with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and Biomedical and Electrical Engineering. He subsequently went to medical school at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson, where he received his medical degree. He served his surgical internship and orthopaedic training at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. Upon completion of his orthopaedic residency, he served as a Harvard/Mass General Hospital Hand Fellow. He then served as a volunteer for Orthopaedics Overseas, assisting in China for 2 months. Dr. Ark then entered a private practice in Raleigh, North Carolina for 2 years. During that time, he also served as an instructor in orthopaedic surgery for the University on North Carolina at Chapel Hill Medical School.