Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon and Team Doctor
Dr. Vonda Wright is a double-boarded, fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon and internationally recognized authority on active aging and mobility. Dr. Wright’s practice focuses on minimally invasive surgery for hip preservation, shoulder and knee reconstruction, cartilage restoration, orthobiologics, and the latest in injury prevention and performance optimization. An intra-preneur, Dr. Wright was the founding director of the Performance and Research Initiative for Masters Athletes (PRIMA) and her pioneering research in mobility and musculoskeletal aging is changing the way we view and treat the aging process. Dr. Wright cares for athletes and active people of all ages and skill levels from the Division I Georgia State Panthers, Pens Elite developmental hockey teams, University of Pittsburgh Division I athletes, World Rugby 7’s, Olympic track and field athletes, and the Atlanta Ballet. She is a pioneering physician and thought leader for the new legion of E-Sports athletes.
In addition to her surgical practice, Dr. Wright is an accomplished researcher and author who speaks worldwide and develops innovative programs for optimizing performance and minimizing injury from the ball field to the boardroom. Dr. Wright is a media content expert and regularly appears on national TV shows including “Dr. Oz” and “The Doctors.” She is frequently quoted in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today and U.S. News & World Report, as well as in magazines such as Maxim, Prevention, Fitness, MORE, Runner’s World, Best Life, Arthritis Today, and numerous online publications. She proudly serves on the Sharecare Medical Advisory Board. She has authored five books: “Fitness After 40: How to Stay Strong at Any Age;” “Guide to THRIVE: 4 steps to Body, Brains & Bliss;” “Younger in 8 Weeks;” “A Parent’s Playbook for Raising Healthy Athletes;” and “Masterful Care of the Aging Athlete.”
Dr. Wright is a sought-after keynote speaker and speaks worldwide to audiences from academic to expo from community to boardroom. Coupling her clinical and research pedigree with her well-honed performance skills, her keynote addresses educate, inspire and motivate.
Dr. Wright has authored four mainstream books, “Fitness After 40: How to Stay Strong at 40, 50, 60 and beyond,” “Guide to THRIVE: 4 steps to Body, Brains & Bliss”, “Younger in 8 weeks” and “Masterful Care of the Aging Athlete”. She parlayed her vision for taking control of our aging process, THRIVE-ing, Prevention and Vitality by spurring merchandising deals with Fortune 500 sporting goods giant Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Her current writing projects include "Playbook for Raising Healthy Athletes" in which she harnesses her years of experience as a team doc and mother to provide parents with expert advice to keep their kids on the playing field and out of the doctors office and a lifestyle book entitled LiveMORE.
A national authority on healthy aging and Sports Medicine, Dr. Wright has given more than 200 media interviews in the last several years and regularly appears on national TV shows including “Dr. Oz” and “The Doctors,” CBS Evening News, ABC Health News, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, CNN, Better TV, CBN, PBS and more than 50 local TV affiliate programs.
She is frequently quoted in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, USA Today and U.S. News & World Report, as well as in magazines such as Maxim, Prevention, Fitness, MORE, Runner’s World, Best Life, Arthritis Today, and numerous online publications.
Dr. Wright serves on the national medical advisory boards for Sharecare, Inc, the Dr. Oz Show, Arthritis Foundation, and Lake Nona.
In 2013, Dr. Wright ignited a national conversation on women’s health by launching the Women's Health Conversations(opens in a new tab) movement with the belief that today’s generation of women can transform our nation’s health for the betterment of all women and the world. In only 4 years this platform grew to include large live events, an online community generating more than 6 million digital exposures surrounding the events, a podcast series and a health innovation experience specifically targeting millennials, HOT for your Health(opens in a new tab).
Dr. Wright earned her first bachelors degree from Wheaton College and her second bachelors and master’s of science in Oncology nursing at Rush University. She earned her medical degree from the University of Chicago, completed her residency in orthopedic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh, under the leadership of Dr. Freddie H Fu, MD internationally recognized pioneer in sports medicine and research, and completed her fellowship in sports and shoulder surgery at the prestigious Hospital for Special Surgery in New York under the mentorship of Dr. Russell Warren, longtime leader in sports medicine and NY Giants team physician.
She holds board certification in orthopaedic surgery and sub-speciality certification in sports medicine.
Dr. Wright actively pursues research in the areas Hip Preservation and created a sports subspecialty in care of the masters athlete via PRIMA. From 2006-2010 she also co-directed the CTRL Laboratory (Clinical and Translational Research Laboratory) exploring musculoskeletal aging and stem cells.
Dr. Wright has published a series of original research studies evaluating the role of chronic exercise on athletic performance, bone density, lean muscle mass and the role of chronic exercise on brain preservation. This research has received grants from the AAOS, AOSSM, DOD, Pittsburgh Foundation, UPMC Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and private donors. She has studied more than 5000 masters athletes in the last 5 years.
Dr. Wright is an educator and each year provides direct formal hands-on teaching for Orthopaedic and Medicine residents, Orthopaedic Sports and Primary Care Fellows, as well as informal teaching for athletic trainers, PA students and medical students in her clinics and operating rooms.
An active contributor to the academic societies, Dr. Wright is a member of the AAOS, AOSSM, ISHA and serves of several standing committees within the societies. She was recently inducted into Orthopaedic surgery’s leadership honor society, the AOA, where she participates as member of the leadership and fellowship committee.
Dr. Vonda Wright actively and assertively pursues community outreach opportunities. She provides lectures and supports multiple outreach programs locally and nationally each year. She promotes the Pittsburgh marathon, serves on the Pittsburgh Ballet Capital Campaign committee and volunteers as a Board Member of the Atlanta Ballet and is President Elect of the Atlanta Chapter of the American Health Association.
Dr. Wright has served as the President of Hughston Orthopaedics Southeast and previously served as the founding Chief of Northside Hospital Orthopedic Institute Sports Medicine in Atlanta and the inaugural medical director of the University of Pittsburgh (UPMC) Lemieux Sports Center, home of the Pittsburgh Penguins Hockey organization. She earned her Masters of Science at Rush University, her medical degree from the University of Chicago, completed a residency in orthopedic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh, and her fellowship in sports and shoulder surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. She currently lives in Atlanta with her husband, 2x Stanley Cup champion Peter Taglianetti, and their blended family of 6 kids.
