10 Spine Surgeon Leaders at Academic Medical Centers

Todd J. Albert, MD: Dr. Albert is the chairman of the orthopedics department and Richard H. Rothman Professor at the Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia. He is also president of Philadelphia's Rothman Institute. Dr. Albert's clinical interest is in reconstructive spinal surgery, and he is the co-director of the reconstructive spine Surgery and spine fellowship program and TJH. In addition to his clinical work at TJH, he serves on the board there. He is also the American Orthopedic Association's Chair of the Development Committee.  

 

Vincent M. Artlet, MD: Dr. Artlet is is a professor of orthopedic surgery and chief of orthopedic spine surgery at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia. He has a professional interest in pediatric and adult spinal deformity. He developed a software database for logging cases of scoliosis called Scolisoft, so scoliosis specialists may compare surgical outcomes among patients for educational, informative, and publication-based purposes.  

 

Evalina Burger, MD: Dr. Burger is vice-chair and an associate professor of the department of orthopedic surgery at The University of Colorado Hospital, Boulder. She practices at the Spine Center at University of Colorado School of Medicine. She focuses on treating neck and lower back pain. Her research interests include metal properties as they relate to disc pathology and implants. 

 

Thomas J. Errico, MD: Dr. Errico is chief of the spine service and chief of the division of spine surgery at NYU Hospital for Joint diseases in New York. He is also a professor of both orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery at the NYU School of Medicine. He focuses on spinal deformity surgery and has served as president of the North American Spine Society. He holds upwards of 100 spine device patents. 

 

Ziya Levent Gokaslan, MD: Dr. Gokaslan is the vice-chairman of neurosurgery and director of the Neurosurgical Spine Center at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He is also a professor of neurological surgery and a professor of orthopedic surgery at Johns Hopkins Medical School. His clinical interests include spinal reconstruction as well as removal of tumors of the spinal cord.

 

Serena Hu, MD: Dr. Hu is the vice chair of the department of orthopedic surgery at the University of San Francisco. She is also the David S. Bradford Endowed Professor. Her clinical interests include complication prevention and treatment of adult scoliosis. Her research interests concern the prediction and prevention of spinal fractures that have the potential to cause paralysis as well as prevention or reversal of disc degeneration.  

 

Harvey E. Smith, MD: Dr. Smith is an assistant professor of Orthopedics at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia. In addition to being a practicing spine surgery clinician, Dr. Smith is interested in degenerative disc disease and surgical image-guidance systems. He is a reviewer on the editorial boards of seven orthopedic surgery journals and has served as editor of the Jefferson Orthopedic Journal.  

 

Jeffrey Wang, MD: Dr. Wang is a professor of orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery at Ronald Regan UCLA Medical Center and UCLA Medical Center Santa Monica in Santa Monica, Calif. He is vice chairman of the department of orthopedic surgery at UCLA Medical Center and co-director of the UCLA Spine Center  Dr. Wang's research interests include gene therapy for spinal disorders as well as the use of biologics in non-invasive spine surgery.  

 

Kirkham B. Wood, MD: Dr. Wood is chief of the orthopedic spine service at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He is also program director of the spinal surgery fellowship program and an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Harvard Medical School in Boston. He specializes in scoliosis, trauma and spinal degenerative disorders.  

 

Michael J. Yaszemski, MD, PhD: Dr. Yaszemski is a professor of biomedical engineering and orthopedics. He practices at the Minnesota branch of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. His clinical interests include adult scoliosis and general spine surgery. His research interests include the bone tissue engineering-polymer synthesis. He has served as chair of the American Orthopedic Association and is currently chair of the Scoliosis Research Society.