Rick W. Wright, MD, FAOA is being recognized as an AOA Pillar of the Orthopaedic Profession for his leadership, mentoring, and lifelong contributions to orthopaedic surgery during his distinguished career. The champions for this effort on his behalf are Wayne J. Sebastianelli, MD, FAOA and Martin I. Boyer, MD MSc FRCSC, FAOA.
Bio
Dr. Wright currently serves as the Dan Spengler, M.D., Professor and Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery for the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Additionally, he is the Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President for Clinical Affairs at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Wright attended the University of Missouri-Columbia for his undergraduate studies and medical school. He continued his education at Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he completed his orthopaedic surgery residency and internship. Dr. Wright then pursued a sports medicine fellowship at the Minneapolis Sports Medicine Center. He subsequently began his practice in St. Louis and went on to become the Jerome J. Gilden Distinguished Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Executive Vice Chair for the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Washington University Medical School in St. Louis, Missouri.
Dr. Wright has played a significant role in numerous medical organizations, participating in various committees and boards associated with these groups. He held the position of President of the American Orthopaedic Association from 2018 to 2019 and served as a director of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery from 2013 to 2023, including a term as President from 2019 to 2020. He is currently in the presidential line for the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine. Dr. Wright has been an active researcher with over 300 publications. He is a founding member of the MOON (Multicenter Orthopaedic Outcome Network) Research Group and is the NIH-funded principal investigator for the MARS (Multicenter ACL Revision Study) Research Group. Dr. Wright has received numerous research awards and honors including the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine Cabaud Memorial Award and O’Donoghue Clinical Research Award, American Shoulder and Elbow Society Neer award, and the Orthopaedic Research Society Kappa Delta Ann Doner Vaughn Award. During his tenure in St. Louis, he was honored with the Washington University Department of Orthopaedic Surgery’s Palma Chironis Teaching Award and the Lee T. Ford, M.D. Award for Academic Achievement.
The AOA gratefully acknowledges Dr. Wright’s extensive and comprehensive impact on the orthopaedic community and recognizes him as an AOA Pillar of the Orthopaedic Profession.Â
Tribute
“Rick Wright is an exceptional leader and has created excellence in every area that he has had the opportunity to contribute to. Whether leading as a team physician, a service line director, or chairman of a department, Rick has always placed the patient’s health and wellbeing at the forefront of his mission. Rick is a world class researcher and has led organizations such as the AOA and ABOS at the presidential level with exceptional performance. Dr. Wright’s accomplishments have not only benefited his patients directly but also the thousands of patients who have been cared for by orthopedic surgeons who have learned from Rick’s contributions. Dr. Wright is an epitome of a pillar in the orthopedic profession.”
Wayne J. Sebastianelli, MD, FAOA
Dr. Wright’s Co-Champion
“Ever since I arrived in Saint Louis in the fall of 1997, Rick has been a friend, a mentor, a partner and an example of what an academic orthopedic surgeon should be. He has taught me about American history, whiskey, game meats, and country music, and he and Lana have opened their home to my family and me too many times to mention. Rick is the consummate planetary and satellite researcher, orthopedic surgeon, doctor, and partner. He believes in the education of residents, and in service to the house of orthopedic surgery: he is an energetic volunteer whose leadership of both the AOA and the ABOS has benefitted both organizations immeasurably: he is “all cash, no flash.” Like the St. Louis Blues (Stanley Cup Champions in 2019), Rick is a winner. We in Saint Louis are all better for having had him as our teammate.”
Martin I. Boyer, MD MSc FRCSC, FAOA
Dr. Wright’s Co-Champion