Hunter J Underwood, MD, FACS

Dr. Underwood was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry at Purdue University prior to attending Indiana University School of Medicine where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society. As a senior medical student, he was the recipient of the Rosenbower Award in surgery, which is given to the top graduating student pursuing a career as a surgeon. He received his surgical training at NYU Langone Health/Bellevue Hospital in New York City.

During his residency, he completed a research fellowship in endocrine surgery where he investigated the effect of targeted therapies in poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma and participated in outcomes studies examining intraoperative parathyroid hormone kinetics in the treatment of hyperparathyroidism. As a chief resident, he received the Golden Apple Award for his dedication to teaching medical students. He completed the Norman W. Thompson clinical fellowship in endocrine surgery at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Prior to returning to the University of Michigan, he was in private practice as an endocrine surgeon in Raleigh, North Carolina.

His practice focuses on the treatment of both benign and malignant conditions of the thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal glands. Dr. Underwood is both fellowship-trained in endocrine surgery and board-certified in general surgery. He is a member of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons (AAES). Within the AAES, he has served on both the patient advocacy committee and the education committee.

The vast majority of endocrine (thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal) operations are performed by low-volume surgeons and are associated with worse outcomes than when surgery is performed by high-volume endocrine surgeons. My research interest lies in objectively improving endocrine surgical education at the resident/fellow level in order to improve the quality of care provided by non-specialists in resource-limited settings.