Hunter named Chairman of MCG Department of Orthopaedic Surgery

Dr. D. Monte Hunter, Vice Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University, is the new Orthopaedic Department Chairman.

Hunter, a specialist in sports-related injuries and rehabilitation, has directed the GRHealth Sports Medicine Center for more than a dozen years and is Medical Director of GRHealth Tissue and Donor Services. He is a member of the Board of Trustees and Executive Committee of GR Medical Associates, the practice group for MCG physicians. Hunter has served as interim Department Chairman since March and Vice Chairman since 2007.

“Dr. Hunter is an excellent physician leader who quietly, through his dedicated work and appealing leadership style, builds teams in the operating room, the classroom, and the research lab and can provide great medical care to athletic teams to boot,” said Dr. Peter F. Buckley, MCG Dean. “His methodical approach will enable our Department of Orthopaedics, which is very competitive clinically and academically, to further excel in these areas as well as translational studies that will yield the next generation of therapies for active and aging populations.”

Hunter is team physician for the GRU Jaguars, the Augusta Green Jackets, and Paine College and a consultant for the Augusta Ballet. He has previously served as a team physician for the Wake Forest University Demon Deacons and the University of California, Los Angeles Bruins and continues to provide medical support to athletic events such as the Augusta Half Ironman and the Augusta Half Marathon. Hunter also directs the GRHealth Athletic Trainers Leading Academic Success, where athletic trainers teach a sports medicine curriculum to high school students and provide coverage of their sports events.

“Dr. Hunter is a wonderful ambassador for our institution and for the MCG Department of Orthopaedics,” Buckley said.

His research focus is prevention and treatment of athletic injuries and their consequences such as arthritis, as well as promotion of bone strength and health. His studies include using innovative approaches such as whole body vibration to prevent cartilage loss and accelerate healing of ligaments and muscles.

He is a member of the Medical Board of Directors and Nominating Committee of the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation. He recently served on the Enduring Education and Publications Committees of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine.

Hunter is a graduate of Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University. He completed an emergency medicine residency and primary care sports medicine fellowship at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. He also completed his orthopaedic surgery residency at the Winston-Salem, North Carolina., medical center, including a year as Chief Resident, followed by a sports medicine fellowship at UCLA. He was on the UCLA faculty for three years before coming to MCG.