Dr. Vangsness was born of Scandinavian heritage in Minnesota. His educational background includes a Medical Doctorate from the University of Minnesota. He did graduate studies in public health. His orthopedic surgery training was at the prestigious Hospital for Joint Diseases NYU in New York City. He had a Bioengineering Fellowship and did a Sports Medicine Fellowship at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, California.

He is licensed in several states including California where he practices in an academic environment. He is board certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. He has lectured both nationally and internationally.

All this to say that Dr. Vangsness has an educational and medical training foundation that has resulted in becoming an internationally recognized expert in knee and shoulder surgery. He has won many University and National academic awards as a teacher and researcher.

Still his main focus is on patient care. He brings his Vangsness family values of personal integrity and kindness along with the highest technical level of care a university environment may foster. Dr. Vangsness continues to bring the best of science to the best of patient care.

His professional credits and credentials are listed below:

• Professor of Orthopaedics
  University of Southern California School of Medicine, 2002 - Present
  
  
• Associate Professor of Orthopaedics
  University of Southern California School of Medicine, 1995 - 2002
  
  
• Assistant Professor of Clinical Orthopedics
  University of Southern California School of Medicine, 1987
  
  
• Visiting Assistant Professor of Clinical Orthopaedics
  University of Southern California School of Medicine, 1987

• Resident Education in Sports Medicine
  Lecture; Surgery; Grand Rounds; Clinic
  LAC/USC Medical Center, 1987 - Present


• Resident Education in Sports Medicine
  Lecture; Surgery; Grand Rounds; Clinic
  Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center, 1987 - 1995


• Orthopaedic Trauma Service
  LAC/USC Medical Center, 1987 - 1991


• Orthopaedic Fracture Brace Clinic
  LAC/USC Medical Center, 1987 - 1989


• Director of Medical Students
  University of Southern California School of Medicine,
  Department of Orthopaedics, 1990 - Present


• Coordinator, Year II Musculoskeletal Lecture Series
  University of Southern California School of Medicine,
  Department of Orthopaedics, 1990 - Present

• Chief, Sports Medicine Service, LAC/USC Medical Center, 1987 - Present
• Chief, Sports Medicine Service, Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center, 1987 - 1995
• Member, Year II Curriculum Committee, 1990 - Present
• Member, Year II Performance Committee, 1991 – Present
• Vice Chair, University Hospital Department of Orthopaedics, 1992 - Present
• Co-Chair, USC Curriculum Revision Committee, 2000-present

• Private Practice, USC Orthopaedic Medical Group, 1987 – 1991
• Director/Founder, Inner City High School Team Physicians,
  USC School of Medicine, Department of Orthopaedics, 1987 – 1992
• Co-Director, Center for Athletic Medicine, 1997 – Present
• Student Health, University of Southern California, 1990 – 1992
• Treasurer, Orthopaedic Laser Society of North America, 1991
• President, Hospital for Joint Diseases Alumni Association, 1991
• Team Physician, USC Department of Athletics, 1991 – Present
• Private Practice, USC Orthopaedic Surgery Associates, 1991 – Present
• Secretary, Orthopaedic Laser Society of North America, 1991 – 1992
• Vice President, Orthopaedic Laser Society of North America, 1992 – 1993
• President, Orthopaedic Laser Society of North America, 1993 – 1994
• Editorial Board, Journal of Arthroscopy, 2001 – 2007
• Editorial Advisory Board, The Journal of Knee Surgery, 2003 – 2008

• University of Southern California Graduate Orthopaedic Society, 1987 – Present
• California Orthopaedic Association, 1991 – Present
• Western Orthopaedic Association, 1994 – Present

• Hospital for Joint Diseases Alumni Association, 1986 – Present
• American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 1991 – Present
• Orthopaedic Laser Society of North America, 1991 – Present (Founding Member)
• Arthroscopy Association of North America, 1992 – Present
• Orthopaedic Research Society, 1992 – Present
• Biomedical Optics Society, 1992 – 1995
• American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, 1993 – Present
• American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons, 1995 – Present
• The International Society of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology, 1990 – Present
• International Cartilage Repair Society, 2002 – Present
• Wilson-Bost Interurban Orthopaedic Club, 2003 – Present

• Meniscus Physiology
• Shoulder Biomechanics
• Ligament Biomechanics
• Allograft Transplantation
• Molecular Biology and Sports Medicine
• Radiofrequency Energy Effects on Articular Cartilage, Meniscal Cartilage and Ligaments

• The Effect of Low Level Laser Energy on Chondrocyte
  Transforming Growth 1998
  $15,000 FSMER
  
  
• Biomechanical Analysis of Rehabilitative Exercise
  Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Repair: Influence
  of Different Surgice Interventions
  Interdisciplinary Zumberge Research Grant 2004
  $44,785

• Click Here for Dr. Vangsness's Complete Bibliography