Dr. Pierce attended the University of Michigan and the University of Colorado and completed his Bachelor of Science degree at the University of the Virgin Islands. While pursuing his degree, he began volunteering on medical mission trips around the globe aimed at cleft lip and palate reconstruction and has continued to do so throughout his career. He attended medical school at the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, graduating at the top of his class. Dr. Pierce trained at some of the country’s premier medical institutions, including Johns Hopkins University, where he received a master’s degree in public health. While there, he researched healthcare quality and its impact on current trends in care delivery, as well as hospital benchmarking metrics. He then completed five years of general surgery training at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. There, he worked to establish a statewide trauma education program, teaching trauma-related educational classes throughout the state. Dr. Pierce completed three additional years of plastic surgery training at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, TN, where he researched outcomes related to breast reconstruction and contemporary treatments of craniofacial abnormalities. Dr. Pierce’s broad training provided the opportunity to care for not only adult patients but also children. Arkansas and Memphis's children's hospitals, as well as St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, provided a wide range of experience in pediatric care and the reconstruction of congenital anomalies.