Vonda Wright

Dr. Vonda Wright is an academic orthopedic surgeon and internationally recognized authority on active aging and mobility. She specializes in sports medicine and is one of only a few female Orthopaedic surgeons in the United States. She was recently appointed as the inaugural Medical Director of the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex. Dr. Wright is the founding director of the Performance and Research Initiative for Masters Athletes (PRIMA) a first of its kind clinical and research program focused on maximizing performance and minimizing injury in mature athletes. Her pioneering research in mobility and musculoskeletal aging is changing the way we view and treat musculoskeletal aging and has been rewarded with multiple grants and presented internationally. Dr. Wright currently practices at the UPMC Center for Sports Medicine and Shadyside Hospitals where she performs more than 300 hip, shoulder and knee arthroscopies per year and serves as the team doc for 5 of the University of Pittsburgh Olympic Sports Teams, the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and multiple Pittsburgh area high schools. Dr. Wright has worked extensively developing cross training programs for the Pittsburgh Marathon and runners nationally. In addition to her surgical practice, Dr. Wright 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, in magazines such as Maxim, Prevention, Fitness, MORE, Runner’s World, Best Life and Arthritis Today, and in numerous online publications. Dr. Wright speaks worldwide and has authored two mainstream books, “Fitness After 40: How to Stay Strong at Any Age” and “Guide to THRIVE: 4 steps to Body, Brains & Bliss.” In 2013 Dr Wright ignited a national conversation on Women’s Health with her inaugural “Women’s Health Conversations” conference where she brings together top medical authorities to educate and empower women to make the 80% of health decisions they make for themselves and everyone they touch. Dr. Wright earned her first Bachelors degree in Biology 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 orthopaedic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh and completed her fellowship in sports and shoulder surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. Dr. Wright lives with her husband 2x Stanley Cup Champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Peter Taglianetti and their blended family of 6 children in Pittsburgh.