Orthopaedic physicians who have a commitment to athletes bring advanced sports medicine training and skills to the MSM Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Fellowship. As a network of physicians who see patients at community- and University-based medical clinics in the metro area, the MSM Fellowship brings together the best in sports medicine to offer an unparalleled community-focused educational experience.

J. Patrick Smith, M.D. 
Fellowship Program Director
Minnesota Sports Medicine
Board-certified orthopedic surgeon, J. Patrick Smith, earned his medical degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School and completed his orthopaedic residency at the University of Minnesota. Since that time he has specialized in sports medicine and adult reconstructive surgery, particularly of the knee. He is an active member of the AAOSM, (American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine).

Dr. Smith sees patients at MSM in Minneapolis and Eden Prairie. He serves as orthopaedic team physician for the University of Minnesota Gopher Football and Wrestling programs and as team physician and Medical Director for Hamline University Department of Athletics. His wide-ranging community sports medicine experience includes providing physician coverage for such events as the NCAA-Final Four, NCAA Sub-Regional/Regionals, Team USA Canadian Cup and the Walker Cup.

He was named a Top Doc by Mpls/St. Paul magazine in 2007 and 2008. The annual survey randomly samples 2,500 licensed and practicing Minnesota physicians about who they consider to be the best in the industry.

MSM Fellowship Faculty

David Anderson, M.D.
Orthopedic surgeon, David Anderson, M.D., earned his medical degree at Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska, and completed his orthopedic surgery residency at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. His advanced training includes a sports medicine Fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He is board-certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery. His special medical interests include athletic injuries and arthroscopic surgery of the knee, shoulder and elbow, fracture management and joint replacement surgery.

He was named a Top Doc by Mpls/St. Paul magazine in 2008. The annual survey randomly samples 2,500 licensed and practicing Minnesota physicians about who they consider to be the best in the industry.

John Anderson, M.D.
Orthopedic suregon, John Anderson, M.D., earned his medical degree at the University of Minnesota Medical School and completed his orthopaedic residency at the same. Board-certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, his special medical interests include joint reconstruction and replacement of the hip and knee. His sports medicine interests include focus on upper extremity conditions of the shoulder, elbow and wrist.

Dr. Anderson was named outstanding orthopedist by the Mpls/St. Paul magazine in 1995 and 1996. He was also named by Mpls. St. Paul magazine  as a Top Doc in 2007 and 2008. He is widely published on the topic of shoulder injury.

J. Christiaan Coetzee, M.D.
Orthopedic surgeon, Christiaan Coetzee, M.D., earned his medical degree from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, in 1984, and completed his residency at the University of Stellenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa. His advanced medical training includes completion of two Fellowships: an AO Trauma Fellowship in Davos, Switzerland and a Foot and Ankle Fellowship at the University of Washington, in Seattle.

Dr. Coetzee sees patients at Minnesota Sports Medicine in Eden Prairie and Minneapolis, where he specializes in foot and ankle reconstruction. Additional responsibilities include appointments as associate editor of the Foot and Ankle International Journal and reviewer to the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.

He was named a Top Doc by Mpls/St. Paul magazine in 2007 and 2008. The annual survey randomly samples 2,500 licensed and practicing Minnesota physicians about who they consider to be the best in the industry.

Hollis Fritts, M.D.
Musculoskeletal radiologist Hollis Fritts graduated from the University of Texas in Austin and received his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. He completed a radiology residency and MRI fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. At the Center for Diagnostic Imaging, he has gained a national reputation as a specialist in musculoskeletal and sports medicine imaging. He is a member of the fellowship faculty.

Dr. Fritts has authored and co-authored many articles in professional journals that include Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, American Journal of Roentgenology, and Seminars in Ultrasound, CT and MRI. He recently authored a chapter entitled, “MRI and Shoulder Imaging” in Dr. Richard Hawkins’ book, Shoulder Injuries in the Athlete: Surgical Repair and Rehabilitation.

Dr. Fritts is a senior member of the Society of Skeletal Radiology and a member of the American College of Sports Medicine, American Roentgen Ray Society, International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, and Clinical Magnetic Resonance Society.

Cooper R. Gundry, M.D.
Cooper R. Gundry, M.D. is a musculoskeletal radiologist at Center for Diagnostic Imaging (CDI) and serves as faculty for the fellowship. He graduated from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon, and received his medical degree from Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland. Dr. Gundry performed his residency at the University of Vermont Medical Center Hospital. Dr. Gundry also completed a skeletal radiology fellowship at the University of California, San Diego, where he held the position of Clinical Instructor. Before joining CDI, he was chief of skeletal radiology at Medical Center Hospital of Vermont and assistant professor of radiology at the University of Vermont College of Medicine.

Dr. Gundry has published numerous articles in professional journals that include Radiology, American Journal of Roentgenology, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, and Spine. He also is the author of multiple text chapters pertaining to his subspecialty, skeletal and spine imaging. Dr. Gundry is currently a member of the Society of Skeletal Radiology, North American Spine Society, American Roentgen Ray Society, and Radiological Society of North America.

Christopher Larson, M.D.
Director of Education
Minnesota Sports Medicine
Board-certified orthopedic surgeon, Christopher Larson, M.D., earned his medical degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minn.  He completed his orthopaedic residency at the University of North Carolina and an orthopaedic sports medicine Fellowship at the Minneapolis Sports Medicine Center in Minneapolis, Minn. In those capacities, he provided medical coverage for the University of North Carolina Tarheels football and soccer programs and the Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Timberwolves, respectively. He was the orthopedist for the National U.S. versus Canada soccer game in Blaine, Minn., in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

Dr. Larson sees patients at Minnesota Sports Medicine in Minneapolis and Eden Prairie. He is co-director of orthopedics at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, in Minneapolis. He serves as Director of Education for Minnesota Sports Medicine and is co-director of the 2009 Minnesota Sports Medicine Spring Conference.  Dr. Larson is team physician for Augsburg College, a team physician for the Minnesota State High School League and numerous other schools that include Edina and Eastview high schools. He provides medical coverage for many community sports events, including the U.S.A. Cup Soccer tournaments.

His special orthopedic interests include knee conditions. He is a published author in numerous peer-reviewed journals on such topics as total joint arthroplasty, orthopaedic basic science and pediatric orthopaedics. Current research interests include knee surgery and agility, hip arthroscopy outcomes and efficacy of allografts.

Dr. Larson was named a Top Doc by Mpls/St. Paul magazine in 2008. The annual survey randomly samples 2,500 licensed and practicing Minnesota physicians about who they consider to be the best in the industry.

Greg Lervick, M.D.
Board-certified orthopedic surgeon, Greg Lervick, M.D., earned his medical degree at the University of Iowa, College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, in 1996, and completed an orthopaedic surgery residency at the same in 2001. His advanced training includes an orthopedic Fellowship in shoulder and elbow surgery at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in New York, New York, 2002.

Dr. Lervick is the team physician for Augsburg College and Lakeville South High School. He also provides coverage for Minnesota State High School League tournaments.

He provides non-surgical and surgical treatment for the full spectrum of orthopedic shoulder and elbow conditions, including shoulder arthroscopy, rotator cuff repair, shoulder instability repair, shoulder and elbow replacement, and repair of shoulder and elbow fractures. Dr. Lervick brings a strong commitment to research and education to Minnesota Sports Medicine (MSM). He serves as faculty for the MSM Orthopedic Sports Medicine Fellowship and frequently lectures locally, regionally and nationally on a variety of shoulder and elbow topics. His current research includes outcome studies of arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, traumatic shoulder instability, total shoulder replacement, reverse total shoulder replacement and elbow tendon disorders.

He is a member of the Minnesota Orthopaedic Society, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the Mid-America Orthopaedic Association, the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, and the Arthroscopy Association of North America.

Dr. Lervick sees patients at Orthopaedic Consultants in Edina and at Minnesota Sports Medicine in Eden Prairie and Minneapolis. He is on the medical staff of Fairview Southdale Hospital and the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview.

Dr. Lervick was named a Top Doc by Mpls/St. Paul magazine in 2007 and 2008. The annual survey randomly samples 2,500 licensed and practicing Minnesota physicians about who they consider to be the best in the industry.

Robert LaPrade, M.D.
Orthopedic surgeon, Robert LaPrade, M.D., earned his medical degree in 1987 from the University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois, completed a surgical residency at Michigan State University, Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies from 1987-1993, and a Sports Medicine Fellowship at Hughston Sports Medicine Clinic, Columbus, Georgia, in 1994. Dr. LaPrade earned a Ph.D. in 2003 from the University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway, his thesis entitled, "Biomechanics - Anatomy and Diagnosis of Posterolateral Knee Injuries".  Other research iinterests include the treatment of cartilage injuries and outcome studies.

Dr. LaPrade is currently a professor at the University of  Minnesota, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Services, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Director of the University of Minnesota Biomechanics Lab. He cares for patients at the University of Minnesota Medical Center and the Veterans Administration Medical Center, Minneapolis, Minn. 

Bradley Nelson, M.D.
Orthopedic surgeon, Bradley Nelson, M.D., earned his medical degree in 1991 from the University of Minnesota Medical School, MInneapolis, Minn. He completed a surgical internship the following year at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado, and an orthopaedic surgery  residency at the same. He completed a surgical residency at the University of Colorado Healh Sciences Center in Denver, Colorado. Dr. Nelson completed the John A. Feagin Sports Medicine Clinical Fellowship at the Keller Army Community Hospital, West Point, New York.

Certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, Dr. Nelson sees patients at the University of Minnesota where he is also Associate Professor, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Division, University of Minnesota, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Minneapolis, Minn.  He is Team Physician for the University of Minnesota, Men's Basketball and Women's Ice Hockey.

His clinial interests include sports medicine, ACL injuries and reconstructions, revision ACL reconstructions, articular cartilage injuries, meniscal injuries and transplants, shoulder instability and arthroscopic shoulder stabilization, rotator cuff tears and arthroscopic rotatorr cuff repairs.

Dr. Nelson was named a Top Doc by Mpls/St. Paul magazine in 2008. The annual survey randomly samples 2,500 licensed and practicing Minnesota physicians about who they consider to be the best in the industry.