Former Student Spotlight: Dr. Peter Mittwede

I was born in South Carolina but spent much of my childhood up until college in Ankara, Turkey, where my parents lived and worked. I returned to the States to attend Belhaven University in Jackson, MS. Though it was sports (and my older brother) that drew me to Belhaven, several faculty members there (including Dr. Don Berryhill, Dr. Al Chestnut, and Dr. Rob Waltzer) were instrumental in encouraging me to pursue a career in medicine and research. Through my basic science research exposure at Belhaven I was able to learn about the M.D./Ph.D. program at UMMC, and was fortunate enough to be accepted into this program.

In the Summer of 2009, I spent time rotating in a number of laboratories in the Department of Physiology before settling on the lab of Dr. Robert Hester. He had previously mentored a dual-degree student (Dr. Ben Hodnett), and was kind enough to take me on. My time at UMMC from 2009-2016 was an amazing time of personal and professional growth. My graduate school projects were focused on the impact of obesity on post-traumatic lung and kidney dysfunction, and our research collaborations with clinicians in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery led me to pursue a research-track residency in orthopaedics at the University of Pittsburgh.

While in Pittsburgh and then subsequently in Baltimore for a fellowship in orthopaedic trauma, I had kept up with friends and mentors (Drs. Granger, Hester, Russell, Graves, Bergin) in both the Departments of Physiology and Orthopaedic Surgery, and I was fortunate that there was a need for an additional orthopaedic trauma surgeon at exactly the time I was looking for a job.

I have now been back at UMMC since the Fall of 2023, and am currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery in the division of orthopaedic trauma. My clinical duties involve taking care of patients with fractures, fracture-related infections, or deformities or unhealed bones related to past fractures. I am also working to help expand the research endeavors within the department, with generous support from the Mississippi Center for Clinical and Translational Research (MCCTR). My research is focused on various facets of orthopaedic trauma, and specifically how obesity affects outcomes following injury.

Outside of work I enjoy time with my wife, Kimie, and our three children, Isaac (9), Noah (6), and Mary Evelyn (Evie – 3), and many different forms of exercise.