341 spine surgeons to know — 2017

Here are 341 spine surgeons to know.

If you have questions or would like to recommend additional spine surgeons for the list, please contact Anuja Vaidya at avaidya@beckershealthcare.com or Eric Oliver at eoliver@beckershealthcare.com.

 

MIS spine surgeons:

 

Mohamed Abdulhamid, MD, is a minimally invasive and complex spine surgeon at Phoenix-based Arizona Brain & Spine Center. He won the 2007 Arnold P. Gold Foundation award for Humanism and Excellence in Teaching and the New York State Neurosurgical Society Annual Meeting Award for the best Basic Science Research in 2009.  

 

Juan Alzate, MD, is a minimally invasive spine surgeon at The American Center for Spine & Neurosurgery in Libertyville, Ill. He also specializes in complex minimally invasive endoscopic cranial-based surgery and chiari malformations. Board certified in neurosurgery, Dr. Alzate has presented at many conferences in the United States and Colombia.

 

Ali A. Baaj, MD, is an assistant professor of neurological surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College as well as an assistant attending neurological surgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, both in New York City. Specializing in minimally invasive spine surgery and open complex spine surgery, Dr. Baaj has published more than 100 abstracts, manuscripts and chapters, with a focus on MIS spine and spinal anatomy. He is on the editorial boards of Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery and the Journal of Spinal Disorders and Techniques.

 

Neil Badlani, MD, MBA, practices at Houston-based Orthopedic Sports Clinic. Dr. Badlani is a reviewer for The Spine Journal and The International Journal of Spine Surgery.

 

Bradley Bagan, MD, of Libertyville, Ill.-based The American Center for Spine & Neurosurgery, specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery, 3-D neuronavigation technologies, cervical and lumbar fusions and brain and spinal tumors.

 

Adam Bruggeman, MD, treats patients at Texas Spine Care Center in San Antonio and specializes in spine osteoarthritis, lumbosacral region, cervical and thoracic vertebrae, spinal fusion and minimally invasive surgery. Dr. Bruggeman is a member of American Orthopaedic Association's Emerging Leaders.

 

Norman Chutkan, MD, FACS, practices at Novi, Mich.-based The CORE Institute and has more than 15 years' experience in orthopedic spine surgery. He was a professor and chairman of the orthopedic surgery department at Augusta-based Georgia Regents University prior to joining The CORE Institute.

 

Gurvinder S. Deol, MD, treats patients at Wake Orthopaedics in Raleigh, N.C. He has developed new minimally invasive spinal technology that minimizes postoperative pain. He teaches MIS techniques to neurosurgeons and spinal surgeons around the globe. Dr. Deol spoke in Amsterdam and the United Kingdom on the new MIS technique he helped create.

 

Gary A. Dix, MD, MBA, is a neurosurgeon at Parole-based Maryland Brain, Spine and Pai. Dr. Dix specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery, the iFuse implant system and stereotactic brain and spine surgery. Dr. Dix is a co-patent holder on a MI screw placement system.

 

Eldan B. Eichbaum, MD, treats patients at Washington Township Medical Foundation's Bell Neuroscience Institute of Silicon Valley in Fremont, Calif. He is trained in complex and reconstructive spine surgery, with a specialization in minimally invasive spine surgery.

 

Robert Erickson, MD, treats patients at The American Center for Spine & Neurosurgery in Libertyville, Ill. He specializes in complex and minimally invasive spine surgery, cerebral aneurysms, brain and spine tumors, chiari malformations, trigeminal neuralgia and hydrocephalus. Dr. Erickson has authored several journal articles as well as book chapters.

 

Mark Freeborn, MD, of Kirkland Wash.-based EvergreenHealth Spine & Neurosurgical Care, focuses on minimally invasive spine surgery, complex and revision spine surgery as well as spinal trauma and deformities. He completed his fellowship at University of Washington in Seattle. 

 

Mark Gardon, MD, has practiced with Wisconsin-based BayCare Clinic, a large physician-owned specialty care clinic in Wisconsin and Michigan, since its inception nearly 20 years ago. He is board certified in neurosurgery and serves as a consultant to the NFL. He has a clinical interest in minimally invasive surgery, spinal reconstruction and fusion procedures.

 

Oren N. Gottfried, MD, is an associate professor of neurosurgery at Durham, N.C.-based Duke University School of Medicine. Publications such as Spine, Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine and The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery have published his research, which centers on preventing spinal deformity, infections, complications and recurrent spinal disease. He also has expertise treating complex cervical, thoracic, lumbar or sacral spinal diseases through minimally invasive techniques.

 

Mark Hartman, MD, is a founding physician of Charleston, S.C.-based Novant Health Total Spine Specialists. Dr. Hartman has training in minimally invasive techniques, including micro endoscopic disc surgery.

 

Colin M. Haines, MD, practices at Reston-based Virginia Spine Institute. He uses minimally invasive and motion-preserving surgical techniques in his practice. He serves as a reviewer for BioMed Research International.

 

Zeshan Hyder, MD, is a spine surgeon specializing in mininally invaisve surgery. Dr. Hyder practices out of Merrillville, Ind.-based Bone & Joint Specialists. He was among the first surgeons in Indiana to perform minimally invasive surgery in an outpatient setting.    

 

Jocelyn Idema, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon specializing in cervical, thoracic and lumbar conditions with emphasis on degenerative disease. Dr. Idema specializes in MIS and motion preservation techniques. She is adjunct faculty to the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine and holds memberships with NASS, AOAO, SMISS among other professional societies.

 

Plas T. James, MD, practices at Atlanta Spine Institute, where he treats spinal conditions like herniated discs, spinal stenosis and degenerative disc disease. He is an orthopedic spine consultant for the Atlanta Falcons.

 

Michael E. Janssen, DO, is the founder of Center for Spine and Orthopedics in Thornton, Colo., and has practiced in Denver for more than 25 years. He was performed more than 1,000 complex total disc replacements since 2006 and participated in initial clinical studies on TDR. Dr Janssen holds six world titles in offshore powerboat racing.

 

Paul Jeffords, MD, practices at Atlanta-based Resurgens Orthopaedics and is the former co-medical director of Resurgens Spine Center. He is the department of orthopedic surgery's section chief at Saint Joseph's Hospital of Atlanta.

 

Hae-Dong Jho, MD, is a professor and chairman of neuroendoscopy and the director of the Jho Institute for Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. He has developed several MIS endoscopic techniques, including MI disc-preserving anterior cervical foraminotomy for cervical disk herniation; MI spinal cord decompression via anterior foraminotomy for cervical stenosis; MI endoscopic thoracic discectomy; MI endoscopic lumbar discectomy; and MI endoscopic decompression for lumbar stenosis.

 

Dean Karahalios, MD, has been with Advocate Medical Group in Downers Grove, Ill., since 2014. He specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery, complex spine surgery, image-guided surgery, spinal fusion techniques and artificial disc replacement. Board certified in neurosurgery, Dr. Karahalios also participates in spinal technology development.

 

Nitin Khanna, MD, performs minimally invasive spine surgery using the operating microscope at Spine Care Specialists in Munster, Ind. He has helped design numerous MIS techniques, such as NuVasive's Maximum Access Surgery Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion. Spine, Journal of Spine, Journal of American College of Surgeons, Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma and American Journal of Orthopaedics have published his work.

 

Richard Kim, MD, of Newport Beach, Calif.-based DISC Sports and Spine Center, pioneered a minimally invasive endoscopic technique to resect of pituitary tumors. He serves as program director of Hoag Epilepsy Center in Newport Beach and has published several articles and chapters on neurosurgery. An American Epilepsy Society committee member, Dr. Kim also serves on committees for the Epilepsy Foundation of America and American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

 

Youjeong Kim, MD, of San Francisco-based Sutter Health-California Pacific Medical Center, specializes in minimally invasive surgery, motion preservation surgery and complex cervical spine surgery. Dr. Kim was Atlanta-based Emory Spine Center's first female spine surgery fellow.

 

Andrew Kokkino, MD, treats patients at Oregon Neurosurgery Specialists in Springfield. Specializing in treating brain and spinal tumors, Dr. Kokkino develops minimally invasive spine surgery techniques.

 

Todd Lansford, MD, of Charleston-based South Carolina Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center., is actively involved in developing new minimally invasive surgery approaches and technology. He has contributed research to various publications, including a study on a MIS technique for treating adult scoliosis.

 

Scott Leary, MD, treats patients at Senta Clinic in San Diego. He is a central figure in the advancement of minimally invasive spine surgery, developing new techniques to enhance outcomes and reduce recovery times. Dr. Leary performs video-assisted thoracic spine MIS.

 

Adam Lipson, MD, of Union, N.J.-based IGEA Brain & Spine, specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery, brain tumors and pituitary tumors. He has written more than 20 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and traveled to Vietnam to perform pediatric scoliosis surgeries in 2011.

 

Morgan Lorio, MD, treats patients at Neuro-Spine Solutions in Bristol, Tenn., and specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery and peripheral nerve surgery. He collaborates with medical device companies to develop less invasive approaches and products. Dr. Lorio was among the early adopters of microendoscopic discectomy surgery.

 

Bryan J. Massoud, MD, founded Fair Lawn, N.J.-based Spine Centers of America. Specializing in minimally invasive endoscopic spine surgery, Dr. Massoud works with surgeons around the world to enhance his surgery techniques.

 

Rojeh Melikian, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon at DISC Sports & Spine Center in Newport Beach, Calif. Dr. Melikian specializes in minimally invasive, microscopic decompression for cervical and lumbar stenosis; microscopic discectomy for disc herniations, anterior cervical fusion and disc replacement, lateral-access and anterior surgery, spine trauma and spinal tumors. He earned the Harvard Orthopaedic Surgery Thesis Day Award for best clinical presentation on spinal infection research.

 

William Mitchell, MD, treats patients at Mt. Laurel, N.J.-based Coastal Spine. Board certified in neurosurgery, Dr. Mitchell specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery and participates in ongoing research in this area. Dr. Mitchell served as program chair for a North American Spine Society annual meeting.

 

Michael R. Murray, MD, of Newark, Del.-based Christiana Spine Center, specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery. He has written several research papers and book chapters. While practicing at Baltimore-based Union Memorial Hospital, he earned the Golden Apple Award for excellence in teaching.

 

Seth Neubardt, MD, of Seth Neubardt, M.D. & Jack Stern, M.D., Ph.D. in White Plains, N.Y., holds several medical patents. He is an active participant in developing minimally invasive spine surgery technology. Dr. Neubardt is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

 

Michael G. Neuwirth, MD, serves as an orthopedics professor New York City-based Mount Sinai Hospital. He performs minimally invasive spine and revision surgery, with specializations in scoliosis, kyphosis, spinal deformity and degenerative conditions. Dr. Neuwirth wrote The Scoliosis Handbook and has trained more than 30 spine surgery fellows. He formerly served on the Scoliosis Research Society board.

 

John Peloza, MD, of Dallas-based Center for Spine Care, has been at the forefront of minimally invasive spine surgery throughout his career. He helped devolved various MIS spine technologies, including the Serengeti Minimally Invasive Retractor System and the RAVINE Lateral Access System. He has also helped launch MIS treatments, such as SEXTANT, MET-Rx and the MAVERICK total disc replacement. Additionally, Dr. Peloza is an investigator on several spine clinical research trials.

 

Mick Perez-Cruet, MD, serves as chief of minimally invasive spine surgery at Beaumont Hospital in Southfield, Mich. He also is the vice chairman, director and professor of the Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery and Spine Program at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine in Rochester, Mich. He is the Minimally Invasive Neurosurgical Society president. Dr. Perez-Cruet authored the textbook, "Minimally Invasive Spine Fusion: Techniques and Operative Nuances."

 

Frank Phillips, MD, serves as the director and professor of the minimally invasive spine surgery section at Chicago-based Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush, as well as the director of the spine surgery division at Rush University Medical Center. Dr. Phillips was one of the first in the city to perform MIS procedures in the 1990s. He is a founder, board member and past president of the Society of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, and has been involved in developing various MIS spine techniques.

 

Steven C. Poletti, MD, has been president of the South Carolina Spine Society and the South Carolina Orthopedic Association, is a member of several professional societies including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Medical Association. He performed the first micro-endoscopic discectomy and the first artificial disc replacement in South Carolina. Dr. Poletti currently practices at Mount Pleasant, S.C.-based Southeastern Spine Institute and Ambulatory Surgery Center.  

 

Alexander Powers, MD, treats patients MedStar Health in Winston-Salem, N.C. He serves as a neurosurgery professor at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. Performing minimally invasive spine surgery for more than 15 years, Dr. Powers has participated in the research and development of spinal instrumentation. He is a fellow of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

 

George Rappard, MD, founded and serves as director of the Los Angeles Minimally Invasive Institute. In 2010, Dr. Rappard performs MIS surgery to treat spinal stenosis. In 2013, he performed the state's first MI endoscopic spinal fusion.

 

John J. Regan, MD, treats patients at Spine Group Beverly Hills (Calif.). He performs minimally invasive spine surgery and has developed several new approaches. Dr. Regan wrote "The Atlas of Endoscopic Spinal Surgery" and "The Atlas of Minimally Access Spine Surgery," books that detail MIS spine techniques. He previously served as director of the Cedars Sinai Institute for Spinal Disorders in Los Angeles.

 

Michael Rimlawi, DO, founded and serves as director of the Minimally Invasive Spine Institute in Dallas. A pioneer in MIS spine techniques, Dr. Rimlawi was the first surgeon in the nation to perform the Globus Medical Minimally Invasive XLIF procedure as well as the first to perform a minimally invasive lumbar fusion with the STORKS endoscopic camera system. He serves as scientific advisor to several spine technology companies.

 

Paul Schwaegler, MD, treats patients at Seattle Spine Institute. Dr. Schwaegler specializes in minimally invasive surgery, which he teaches to spine surgeons around the nation. A member of the North American Spine Society, Dr. Schwaegler is also affiliated with Spinal Arthroplasty Society, Society for Lateral Access Surgery and Puget Sound Spine Interest Group.

 

James Schwender, MD, treats patients at Minneapolis-based Twin Cities Spine Center. He is a fellow of the Scoliosis Research Society. Dr. Schwender specializes in minimally invasive techniques, and treats scoliosis, degenerative spine, trauma and tumors.

 

Navinder Sethi, MD, of Olney, Md.-based Potomac Valley Orthopedic Associates, specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery and cervical spine surgery. He won the AOA Research Award and Arthritis Foundation Award, and speaks nationally and internationally about spinal topics.

 

Kern Singh, MD, serves as co-director of Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush's Minimally Invasive Spine Institute in Chicago. In February 2017, he founded the Minimally Invasive Study Group to promote MIS spine research and advancement.. Dr. Singh trains surgeons around the world in MIS techniques and helps design new MIS devices.

 

Vladimir A. Sinkov, MD, of New Hampshire Orthopaedic Center, Manchester, is a trained ProDisc total disc replacement surgeon as well as a NuVasive extreme lateral interbody fusion surgeon. He serves on the board of editors for the JBJS Journal of Orthopaedics for Physician Assistants.  

 

Laura Snyder, MD, treats patients at Phoenix-based Barrow Brain and Spine. She completed two fellowships in minimally invasive spine surgery and complex spine surgery. Some of her career accomplishments include serving as an American Association of Neurological Surgeons committee member and an AANS/CNS Women in Neurosurgery executive committee member.

 

Mark J. Spoonamore, MD, serves as an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at Los Angeles-based Keck School of Medicine of USC. He specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery and complex revision spine surgery. Dr. Spoonamore's research has focused on scoliosis, spinal cord injuries and bone biology. He serves as a Spine reviewer.

 

David Strothman, MD, treats patients at Summit Orthopedics in Plymouth, Minn. He specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery, adult scoliosis as well as cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine disorders. Dr. Strothman's research focuses on minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion, minimally invasive lumbar decompression, degenerative spondylolisthesis, adjacent segment degeneration and intra-operative 3-D imaging.

 

Brian J. Sullivan, MD, MBA, of Annapolis-based Maryland Brain, Spine and Pain, specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery as well as cervical disc replacement. He also serves as an adjunct faculty member in the neurological surgery department of George Washington School of Medicine & Health Sciences in Washington, D.C.

 

Robert L. Tatsumi, MD, treats patients at Oregon Spine Care in Tualatin. He specializes in minimally invasive surgery and artificial disc replacement. He also instructs on proper use of disc replacement and MIS technologies, such as NuVasive's eXtreme Lateral Interbody Fusion procedure. Dr. Tatsumi serves as faculty member of the Society of Lateral Access Surgery.

 

William Taylor, MD, serves as a clinical professor of surgery at UC San Diego Health System and chair of the neurosurgery department's diversity committee. He specializes in endoscopic surgery for disc disease and minimally invasive spine surgery. Dr. Taylor has presented at various meetings where he has also served as a panelist.

 

Dwight Tyndall, MD, specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery at Spine Care Specialists in Munster, Ind. Clinical Orthopedics and Journal of Orthopaedic Research have published his work.

 

Mark C. Valente, DO, founded and serves as the medical director of DISC Spine Institute in Plano, Texas. He has specialized training in minimally invasive spine surgery techniques, and received first place for Best Resident Paper and Presentation on Open vs. MIS TLIF at Michigan State University.

 

Paul Vessa, MD, practices at Bridgewater, N.J.-based Somerset Orthopedic Associates and various journals including Spine have published his work. When he was an orthopedic resident, Dr. Vessa assisted James Dwyer, MD, in performing the first artificial disc replacement at the L4-L5 level in New Jersey.

 

Amir A. Vokshoor, MD, of DISC Sports and Spine Center in Newport Beach, Calif., specializes in minimally invasive adult cranial and spinal surgery. Dr. Vokshoor serves as a diplomate of the American Board of Neurological Surgery. He founded the Institute of Neuro Innovation, which strives to enhance the lives of those with brain or neurological conditions.

 

Douglas Won, MD, founded and serves as director of Lumin SpineCARE in Fort Worth, Texas. The first Texas surgeon to perform endoscopic laser spine surgery with a 3 mm incision, Dr. Won has extensive experience in minimally invasive and endoscopic spine surgery. He is a member of Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, and has created new MIS techniques and devices.

 

Ken Yonemura, MD, of Park City, Utah-based MountainStar Lakeview Hospital, develops minimally invasive techniques for treating cervical and lumbar disc disease. Dr. Yonemura, a neurosurgeon, designed one of the first-generation percutaneous pedicle screw systems.  

 

Jim Youssef, MD, co-founded Durango-based Spine Colorado, where he specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery, fracture care, complex spinal disorders and alternatives to bony fusions. In addition to participating in FDA and investigational device exemption clinical trials, Dr. Youssef co-founded the Evidence & Technology Spine Summit.

 

Elizabeth Yu, MD, serves as director of the orthopedic minimally invasive spine surgery service in the orthopedics department at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, where she is also an assistant professor of orthopedics in the spine division. Dr. Yu is a reviewer for Spine, The Spine Journal, CORR and Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.

 

Joseph M. Zavatsky, MD, practices at Tampa, Fla.-based Spine & Scoliosis Specialists, where he specializes in minimally invasive surgical techniques to correct spinal deformity. Spine and European Spine Journal have published his work. He is affiliated with the Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery and International Spine Study Group.

 

Pediatric spine surgeons:

 

Paul Baek, MD, performs pediatric neurosurgery at Green Bay, Wis.-based Aurora BayCare Clinic and has practiced there since the practice's inception. He began his practice in 1998, after serving in the U.S. Navy and earning the rank of Lt. Commander.

 

Laurel Blakemore, MD, is the pediatric division chief at Gainesville-based University of Florida Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Institute. She has published eight book chapters and more than 24 peer-reviewed papers throughout her career. She is the editorial reviewer for Spine Deformity.

 

Kim Hammerberg, MD, is the chief of spine surgery at Shriners Hospital for Children in Chicago. Dr. Hammerberg specialities include pediatric spinal deformities, infantile scoliosis, serial Mehta-Cortel casting and several others. He also serves as a Rush University Medical College associate professor. 

 

Sanjay K. Khurana, MD, is an adult and pediatric spine care specialist at Marina del Ray, Calif.-based DISC Sports & Spine Center. His specialties include spinal reconstruction, cervical spine surgery, minimally invasive microsurgery and adult and pediatric scoliosis.

 

James T. Lehner, MD, a pediatric orthopedics physician at Dayton (Ohio) Children's, specializes in spine reconstruction and deformities. He chose to go into pediatric medicine after fracturing his femur when he was 7 years old.

 

James F. Mooney, III, MD, serves as the chief of staff for Springfield, Mass.-based Shriners Hospitals for Children. He specializes in pediatric spinal deformities, pediatric trauma and sequelae and orthopedic aspects of cerebral palsy.

 

Daniel Mulconrey, MD, performs pediatric spine surgery at Peoria, Ill.-based Midwest Orthopaedic Center. He specializes in both surgical and non-surgical options.

 

Purnendu Gupta, MD, a pediatric spine surgeon, is chief of staff at Shriners Hospitals for Children-Chicago. He has won numerous awards over the course of his career, including the Spine Volvo Award in biomechanics from the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine. He has also volunteered with The Foundation of Orthopedics and Complex Spine in Ghana.

 

Anthony Rinella, MD, specializes in complex adult and pediatric spinal procedures. He practices out of Homer Glen-based Illinois Spine & Scoliosis Center. As the co-founder of with Global Spine Outreach, he leads several mission trips to Cali, Columbia each year. The Scoliosis Research Society is awarding Dr. Rinella the Walter P. Blount Humanitarian Award for his mission work, the society's highest honor.

 

Amer Samdani, MD, is the chief of surgery for Philadelphia-based Shriners Hospital for Children. He specializes in fusionless approaches to scoliosis and complex spinal deformities. He has published more than 150 papers related to the deformities.  

 

Private practice physicians

 

David J. Abraham, MD, is board certified in orthopedic surgery and practices at The Reading Neck & Spine Center in Wyomissing, Pa. Dr. Abraham is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, North American Spine Society and Pennsylvania Orthopaedic Society.

 

D. Greg Anderson, MD, is a spine surgeon with Philadelphia-based Rothman Institute and the international chairman and president of the Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery. He is also active in the Cervical Spine Research Society, Scoliosis Research Society and North American Spine Society.

 

Carmina F. Angeles, MD, PhD, is a neurosurgeon practicing at Eugene, Ore.-based NeuroSpine Institute. Specializing in disc herniation, lumbar stenosis and degenerative spinal conditions, Dr. Angeles has worked on FDA-approved clinical trials with Dublin, Ireland-based Medtronic devices.

 

Ali Araghi, DO, is a spine surgeon with Phoenix-based The CORE Institute and has been president of the American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics Spine Section, is the deputy editor of the International Journal of Spine Surgery He also serves on The Spine Journal's associate editorial board and is on the American Board of Spine Surgery's board of directors.  

 

Henry Aryan, MD, is a founding member of the Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery and the International Neurosurgery Children's Association. He served as the past chief-of-staff at Fresno (Calif.) Surgical Hospital and is a physician with Sierra Pacific Orthopedics in Fresno, Calif.

 

Robert J. Banco, MD, was the president and senior partner at the Boston Spine Group for 15 years before he started the Boston Spine Care Group practice in2015. He is an assistant clinical professor in the orthopedic surgery department at Boston-based Tufts University School of Medicine.

 

Bryan Barnes, MD, is a board-certified neurosurgeon who is a partner at Athens-based Georgia Neurological Surgery. He is a clinical assistant professor at the Georgia Regents University-University of Georgia Medical Partnership in Athens.

 

Scott Blumenthal, MD, practices at Plano-based Texas Back Institute where he specializes in spine surgery and artificial disc replacement. He was the first surgeon in the United States to perform a lumbar disc replacement.

 

Scott Boyd, MD, is a neurosurgeon practicing at West Columbia, S.C.-based Lexington Brain and Spine Institute. A fellow of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Dr. Boyd is also a member of the South Carolina Association of Neurological Surgeons, Lexington Medical Society and Columbia Medical Society.

 

Robert Bray Jr., MD, is the CEO and founding director of Marina Del Ray, Calif.-based DISC Sports & Spine Center, which he founded in 2006. Prior to establishing DISC, Dr. Bray launched Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Institute for Spinal Disorders. In 2009, he discovered thoracic epidural arteriovenous malformation disease.

 

Harlan Bruner, MD, sees patients at Athens-based Georgia Neurological Surgery. Dr. Bruner contributed to developing New York City-based Mount Sinai Hospital's outcomes database for neurosurgical patients.

 

Timothy G. Burke, MD, practices at Annapolis-based Maryland Brain, Spine and Pain where he specializes in spinal injuries, brain tumors and neurosurgical disorders. Dr. Burke performs minimally invasive surgery and completed his fellowship at George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

 

Mark Burnett, MD, is a surgeon at NeuroTexas Brain & Spinal Surgery in Austin. He completed his spine surgery fellowship at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix and received two research grants from the National Institutes of Health for work in neurophysiology and developing non-invasive blood flow monitors to treat brain and spine injury patients.

 

J. Abbott Byrd III, MD, practices at Virginia Beach, Va.-based Atlantic Orthopaedic Specialists and has more than 30 years of experience treating spinal deformities. Dr. Byrd specializes in treating patients with sagittal plane deformity. He developed Synergy Spinal Systems, a device aimed at helping patients with spinal problems.

 

John Caruso, MD, sees patients at Hagerstown, Md.-based Parkway Neuroscience and Spine Institute, where he specializes in treating complex, traumatic, degenerative and oncological spinal conditions. Board certified in neurosurgery, Dr. Caruso is a member of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

 

James Lloyd Chappuis, MD, founded SpineCenterAtlanta, where he continues to serve as the CEO and senior orthopedic spine surgeon. In October 2014, he co-authored a book intended to help patients alleviate their fears about undergoing spine surgery.

 

Jonathan Citow, MD, is a neurosurgeon at Libertyville, Ill.-based American Center for Spine & Neurosurgery, where he specializes in complex spinal disorders, fusions, minimally invasive spinal surgery, hydrocephalus, trigeminal neuralgia and chiari malformations. He has helped develop medical devices and has published numerous papers in peer-reviewed journals.

 

Kingsley R. Chin, MD, is the founder and CEO of Florida-based LESS Institute, a portfolio company. Dr. Chin's philanthropic society, LESSociety, has trained more than 200 surgeons spanning the globe in Dr. Chin's practice of less exposure surgery techniques and outpatient surgery.

 

Richard V. Chua, MD, is a neurosurgeon at Tucson, Ariz.-based Northwest NeuroSpecialists and a founding member of the Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery. Dr. Chua specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery, degenerative spine disease, motion preservation techniques, brain tumor surgery, aneurysm surgery and pituitary tumor surgery.

 

Ying Chen, DO, is surgeon at OrthoNeuro in Columbus, Ohio and holds privileges at several area hospitals. He has a special interest in minimally invasive and endoscopic spine surgery and he completed a spine surgery fellowship at Cleveland Clinic.

 

Jay Chun, MD, PhD, is a board-certified neurosurgeon and fellowship-trained spine surgeon practicing at Atlantic NeuroSurgical Specialists, Morristown, N.J. Dr. Chun specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery, artificial discs, brain tumors and skull base surgery. He was awarded a medical research fellowship from the National Institutes of Health.

 

Stephen Cook, MD, provides care at Somerset, N.J.-based University Orthopaedic Associates and is a clinical associate professor of orthopedic surgery at New Brunswick, N.J.-based Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery and Spine are among the peer-reviewed journals that have published his work.

 

Andrew M. Cordover, MD, of Birmingham, Ala.-based Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Institute, focuses on sports-related spine injuries, complex spine pathologies, tumors, trauma, failed spine surgeries and revision surgeries. He is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and North American Spine Society. He has created several spinal implans, and has served on advisory committees for device companies. He has lectured on the treatment of sports-related spine injuries at various venues. 

 

Donald S. Corenman, MD, practices at The Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colo., and is a clinical assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at Denver-based University of Colorado. He previously served as head of the spine trauma unit at Denver General Hospital, now know as Denver Health Medical Center.

 

Gregory Corradino, MD, practices at Kingsport-based East Tennessee Brain & Spine. He focuses 80 percent of his practice on spine surgery, 10 percent on brain surgery and 10 percent on nerve conditions.

 

Dennis Crandall, MD, the co-chair of the Scoliosis Research Society's public relations committee and a member of SRS's awards-scholarship committee, is the medical director of Gilbert, Ariz.-based Sonoran Spine, where he currently practices. He is a team surgeon for the Phoenix Suns and the Arizona Cardinals.

 

Terrence T. Crowder, MD, provides care at Gilbert, Ariz.-based Sonoran Spine and has expertise in motion-preserving technologies, such as cervical disc replacement. He is a member of the North American Spine Society, Arizona Orthopaedic Society and American Medical Association.

 

Steven J. Cyr, MD, is the founder, president and CMO of San Antonio-based Orthopaedic & Spine Institute. He has previously served as the U.S. Air Force's chief of spine surgery and spine surgery consultant to the surgeon general of the Air Force. He focuses on complicated spine issues, traumatic injuries, failed outcomes from previous surgeries as well as rare spinal and upper extremity disorders. 

 

Alan Dacre, MD, of Billings-based Ortho Montana, focuses on adult and pediatric spine surgery. He previously served on the board of directors for the Montana Orthopedic Society.

 

Bruce Darden, II, MD, practices at OrthoCarolina in Charlotte, N.C. He served as president of the Cervical Spine Research Society in 2014. Dr. Darden has received numerous honors over the course of his career, including the International Spine Arthroplasty Society's Best Clinical Paper Award.

 

Jason Datta, MD, of Gilbert, Ariz.-based Sonoran Spine, is a member of the North American Spine Society, AO International and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. His affiliations include Arizona Orthopedic Surgical Hospital in Chandler and The Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Center of Paradise Valley in Phoenix.

 

Devin K. Datta, MD, who provides care at The B.A.C.K. Center in Melbourne, Fla., is past president of the Brevard County Medical Society. He serves as a consultant to Dublin, Ireland-based Medtronic and his research has been published in a number of journals, including Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma.

 

Ara Deukmedjian, MD, is the medical director and CEO of Melbourne, Fla.-based Deuk Spine Institute. He is a fellow of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and a member of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

 

John Dietz, MD, a former Army orthopedic surgeon, practices at Indianapolis-based OrthoIndy. He serves on OrthoIndy's board of directors and a member of the Physician Hospitals of America.

 

Edward J. Dohring, MD, is founder and medical director of Scottsdale-based Spine Institute of Arizona, where he also serves as co-director of the spine fellowship. His recent research focused on alternatives to fusion as well as minimally invasive fusion and decompression surgery.

 

Andrew Dossett, MD, provides care for the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine at The Carrell Clinic in Dallas. He is a part of the National Football League Team Physicians, Major League Baseball Team Physicians and is currently a spine consultant for the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers.  

 

Randall Dryer, MD, practices at Austin, Texas-based Central Spine Institute and is a past president of the Texas Spine Society. He previously served in the United States Air Force, ending his tenure as orthopedic surgery chief at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.

 

E. Hunter Dyer, MD, is the president of Carolina Neurosurgery & Spine Associates in Charlotte, N.C. His clinical interests include skull base surgery, transsphenoidal surgery and endoscopic spine surgery.

 

Clara Raquel Epstein, MD, The American Academy of Neurological and Orthopaedic Surgeons awarded Dr. Epstein the Lifetime Achievement Award in Neurosurgery in 2013. She previously served as president of the Boulder County Medical Society, is a member of the Council of Ethics and Judicial Affairs and Council on Legislation of the Colorado Medical Society and is the vice president and chair of neurosurgery of the International College of Surgeons US Section (2008 to present).

 

David Fardon, MD, provides care at Chicago-based Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush and is a past president of the North American Spine Society. He has authored numerous articles, textbook chapters and books, including co-editing "Orthopaedic Knowledge Update for Spine II."

 

John Finkenberg, MD, has worked in private practice with San Diego-based Alvarado Orthopedic Medical Group since 1992 and is acting director of the Alvarado Spine Center. He is an associate editor of The Spine Journal as well as a section editor for SpineLine.

 

Douglas J. Fox, MD, is a neurological surgeon at NeuroTexas Brain & Spinal Surgery in Austin, Texas. He has a special interest in complex spinal disorders and he studied with Volker K. Sonntag, MD, at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix.

 

Bruce M. Frankel, MD, is a professor and spine surgeon at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. He completed his fellowship at State University of New York Upstate Medical University in Syracuse. Dr. Frankel specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery, brain and spine neuro-oncology as well as treats brain and pituitary tumors.

 

Daveed D. Frazier, MD, is a spine surgeon at NYC & NJ Practices of New York City Spine Surgery, PLLC. He has a special interest in spinal deformities. He is a member of the Society of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery and North American Spine Society. He completed a fellowship in orthopedic surgery in Switzerland.

 

George A. Frey, MD, is the founder of the Colorado Comprehensive Spine Institute in Englewood, Colo. He has served as an assistant clinical professor at Denver-based University of Colorado, Health Sciences for over a decade, where he also served as chief of spinal surgery in 2005.

 

Brian Gantwerker, MD, the founder of the Craniospinal Center of Los Angeles, is proficient in Gamma Knife radiosurgery as well as minimally invasive techniques. He is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

 

Roland Garcia Jr., MD, is a spine surgeon in Miami and practices with the Orthopedic Care Center. He previously served as the chief of orthopedics for Aventura (Fla.) Hospital and Medical Center, and sat on the board of trustees. He has also been the director of scoliosis screening of Dade County and received Easter Seals of Miami's Volunteer of the Year award.

 

J. Brian Gill, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon at Omaha-based Nebraska Spine Hospital. He has professional interests in minimally invasive cervical and lumbar spine surgeries, deformity and degenerative conditions, worker's compensation injuries, disc herniation and spinal tumors.

 

Wesley E. Griffitt, MD, is a board certified neurosurgeon practicing at BayCare Clinic in Green Bay, Wis., and has a special interest in minimally invasive spine surgery and clinical research. He is a member of the North American Spine Society, American Association of Neurological Surgeons and Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

 

Michael A. Gleiber, MD, is the founder of Michael A. Gleiber, MD, PA, a private, concierge-style practice with locations in Jupiter and Boca Raton, Fla. He has a special interest in developing and designing spinal surgical implants and instruments.

 

Christopher Good, MD, is director of research as well as of scoliosis and spinal deformity at Reston-based Virginia Spine Institute. He performed the first robot-guided sacroiliac fusion surgery in North America and the first robotic-guided surgery in the mid-Atlantic region.

 

Richard Guyer, MD, is the co-founder of Plano-based Texas Back Institute and director of its spine fellowship program. He is a past president North American Spine Society and editorial board member for Spine and The Spine Journal.

 

Colin Haines, MD, of Reston-based Virginia Spine Institute, specializes in the management of degenerative cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine conditions. He was awarded first place in a research compeition by the American College of Spine Surgeons. 

 

Richard Harrison, MD, of BayCare Clinic in Green Bay, Wis., previously served in the U.S. Army Reserves-Medical Corp. He has a special interest in disc replacement surgery and is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

 

Michael Hasz, MD, is a spine surgeon at Virginia Spine Institute in Reston and an assistant professor at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences Medical School in Bethesda, Md. He previously served as chairman of the department of orthopedic surgery and director of spine surgery at Andrews Air Force Base/Malcolm Grow Medical Center in Maryland. Dr. Hasz has a special interest in minimally invasive spine surgery and robotic-guidance spine surgery.

 

Robert F. Heary, MD, is a past chairman of the Scientific Program Committee and the Education Committee for the AANS/CNS Joint Section on Disorders of the Spine & Peripheral Nerves. He is a past vice-chairman of the AANS public relations and scientific program committees. He practices and directs Newark-based Spine Center of New Jersey.

 

 Alan S. Hilibrand, MD, a past president of the Cervical Spine Research Society, previously sat on the board of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the North American Spine Society. He is a co-director of the spine surgery fellowship at Philadelphia-based Rothman Institute and currently practices there, as well.

 

Michael Hisey, MD, provides care at Plano-based Texas Back Institute, where he served as president from 2010 to 2013. He has served as the principal investigator in numerous clinical trials, including the Flexicore Lumbar Artificial Disc IDE Trial.

 

Stephen Hochschuler, MD, served as president of the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery from 2006 to 2007, and is a founding board member of the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery. He is a past chairman and serves on the board of directors at SpineMark. He practices at Plano-based Texas Back Institute, a practice which he co-founded and remains chairman of the board.

 

Ken Y. Hsu, MD, is a spine surgeon in San Francisco and president of the San Francisco Orthopaedic Surgeons Medical Group as well as the director of spine services at St. Mary's Spine Center in San Francisco. He co-invented the X-STOP minimally invasive spine surgery device, and has participated in the Flexicore and Prodisc lumbar disc replacement and Cervicore cervical total disc replacement clinical trials.

 

Richard A. Hynes, MD, is president of The B.A.C.K. Center in Melbourne, Fla. He is a founding member of Melbourne-based Holmes Regional Medical Center's orthopedic surgery department.

 

Christopher Kauffman, MD, practices with Hughston Clinic Orthopaedics in Nashville and has served on the board of directors of the North American Spine Society. He also serves on committees for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and NASS.

 

Larry Khoo, MD, is a spine surgeon with The Spine Clinic of Los Angeles. He has served on the organizational and executive committees of numerous societies, including the American Academy of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons and AANS/CNS Joint Section on Spine & Peripheral Nerve Surgery. The Congress of Neurological Surgery awarded him the Ralph Cloward Medtronic Fellowship Award.

 

Choll Kim, MD, is a spine surgeon with the Spine Institute of San Diego, founder and past president of the Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery and founder of Minimally Invasive Spine Centers of Excellence. He chairs the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery's minimally invasive spine surgery committee and directs Palm Beach, Fla.-based Advanced Spine and Joint Institute.

 

John Knightly, MD, of Atlantic NeuroSurgical Specialists, Morristown, N.J., is a complex spinal surgeon specializing in complex spine surgery, minimally invasive spine surgery and stereotactic Cyber knife radio-surgery, among others. Dr. Knightly serves on the American Association of Neurological Surgeons' Spine Executive Committee.

 

Richard Kube, MD, treasurer for the American Board of Spine Surgery, is the founder and owner of Prairie Spine & Pain Institute in Peoria, Ill. He also founded and owns Peoria-based Prairie Surgicare. Dr. Kube currently practices at Prairie Spine and Pain Institute.

 

Todd Lanman, MD, is the founder of Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Lanman Spinal Neurosurgery. He has published more than 10 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on neurological surgery and has served as principal investigator on several clinical trials.

 

Carl Lauryssen, MD, practices at Austin-based NeuroTexas and previously was the co-director of spine research and development at Olympia Medical Center in Los Angeles. The American Association of Neurological Surgeons awarded him the "Young Investigator Award" for his research on cervical disorders and stem cells. Dr. Lauryssen was the first neurosurgeon to inject stem cells into a human spinal cord, as part of an FDA trial.

 

Casey K. Lee, MD, is a past president of the North American Spine Society and the New Jersey Orthopedic Society. He has published more than 250 papers and textbooks as well as has presented research both nationally and internationally. He practices at Livingston, N.J.-based Spine Care & Rehabilitation.

 

Isador Lieberman, MD, MBA, serves as the director of the scoliosis and spine tumor center at Plano-based Texas Back Institute. Dr. Lieberman established the Uganda Charitable Spine Surgery Mission, which provides spine care to Ugandan patients with infectious, degenerative, traumatic and congenital spinal ailments.

 

Jae Lim, MD, is the past president of the Korean American Spine Society. He also serves on the North American Spine Society practice management committee. He is the only member of the Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery in Northern Virginia. He is currently a principal surgeon at Fairfax, Va.-based Atlantic Brain and Spine.

 

Baron S. Lonner, MD, is the director of New York City-based Scoliosis Spine Associates, which treats patients suffering from scoliosis and other spinal deformities. He is an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at New York City-based NYU Medical School and spends one month each year providing charitable medical care to patients with spinal deformities in developing countries.

 

James Lynch, MD, is the founder of Reno-based Spine Nevada and was the first neurosurgeon in Reno to perform cervical and lumbar artificial disc replacements as well as the MIS TLIF and Maximum Access Surgery PLIF procedures. Each year, Dr. Lynch performs more than 500 spine surgeries in the outpatient and hospital setting.

 

Gene M. Massey, MD, practices at Myrtle Beach, S.C.-based Strand Orthopaedics, where he specializes in spinal and orthopedic surgery. He has a special interest in cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine conditions as well as minimally invasive spine surgery.

 

Robert Masson, MD, is the founder of Orlando, Fla.-based NeuroSpine Institute and has performed more than 11,000 microsurgical spine procedures and more than 4,000 minimally invasive lumbar spinal reconstructions and revisions. Dr. Masson developed the iMAS technique for lumbosacral spinal reconstruction.

 

Robert F. McLain, MD, practices out of Cleveland-based St. Vincent Charity Medical Center. Dr. McLain has 28 years experience and specializes in all forms of spine surgery. 

 

Geoffrey M. McCullen, MD, sees patients at Lincoln (Neb.) Orthopaedic Center and has authored nine chapters in spine surgery textbooks and several articles in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. McCullen served on The Spine Journal's editorial board.  

 

Hooman M. Melamed, MD, is the director of scoliosis at Marina Del Rey (Calif.) Hospital.  He has numerous clinical interest including spinal pediatric and adult deformities. Dr. Melamed is the co-director of the spinal surgery program at DISC Sports & Spine Center in Marina Del Ray.

 

Amir A. Mehbod, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon at Minneapolis-based Twin Cities Spine Center, where he specializes in treating cervical, thoracic and lumbar injuries, scoliosis, deformities, degenerative spine conditions, disc replacement, trauma, tumors and infections. Dr. Mehbod is a certified with the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons and Minnesota State Board of Medical Examiners.

 

Scott Meyer, MD, is a neurosurgeon specializing in complex and minimally invasive spinal surgery providing care at Atlantic NeuroSurgical Specialists, Morristown, N.J. Dr. Meyer is an American Association of Neurological Surgeons' member. He has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals.

 

Charles Mick, MD, is a past president of the North American Spine Society. He practices out of Northampton, Mass.-based Pioneer Spine & Sports Physicians.

 

Alan Moelleken, MD, chairman of the Tri-County Spine Conference, is a member of the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the North American Spine Society and the American Medical Association. He practices at the Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Spine & Ortho Center.

 

Vivek Mohan, MD, is a surgeon with DuPage Medical Group in Downers Grove, Ill. He has a special interest in pediatric and adult spinal deformities and conditions and is a member of the North American Spine Society and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

 

Steven R. Nichols, MD, treats patients at Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center in Birmingham, Ala. Dr. Nichols was a founding partner of Andrew Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center. He is an American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons fellow and is affiliated with the Clinical Orthopaedic Society and North American Spine Society. Dr. Nichols completed his residency at Charlotte (N.C.) Hospital and Medical Center. 

 

Pierce Nunley, MD, serves on the research fund management committee of the North American Spine Society. He is the membership chair on the American College of Spine Surgery's board of directors, and a member of the Southern Orthopaedic Association and the Louisiana State Medical Society. He currently directs and practices at Shreveport Spine Institute of Louisiana.  

 

Burak Ozgur, MD, is a neurosurgeon at Newport Beach, Calif.-based Brain & Spine Center, where he specializes in minimally invasive spinal surgery, pediatric neurosurgery, neurosurgical oncology, peripheral nerve surgery and critical care neurosurgery. Many of Dr. Ozgur’s articles have been published in peer-reviewed journals, textbooks and book chapters, and he has delivered over 100 presentations.

 

Brian Perri, DO, a spine surgeon at Beverly Hills (Calif.) Spine Surgery, is an artificial disc replacement surgery expert and has developed a classification system for surgical reconstruction of cervical kyphotic deformities. He has presented his research at several professional meetings, including the Cervical Spine Research Society and North American Spine Society annual meetings.

 

Randall W. Porter, MD, is a neurosurgeon at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix with a special interest in complex spine surgery and skull base neurosurgery. He is a member of the North American Spine Society and Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

 

Chad J. Prusmack, MD, provides care at Lone Tree, Colo.-based Rocky Mountain Spine Clinic. His clinical interests include minimally invasive spine surgery, complex cervical/lumbar spine surgery and spine/brain-related sports injuries. He is a neurosurgical consultant to the Denver Broncos. 

 

Richard S. Rabinowitz, MD, provides back, neck and spine care at Barrington Orthopedic Specialists in Schaumburg, Ill. He is a member of the North American Spine Society, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and Illinois State Medical Society.

 

Michael Roh, MD, a cabinet member and a committee co-chair of the Scoliosis Research Society, is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the North American Spine Surgery. He is the co-founder of the Rockford (Ill.) Spine Center and remains in practice there.

 

Thomas F. Roush, MD, of Roush Spine, Lake Worth, Fla., co-authored the books "The Lumbar Intervertebral Disc" and "Motion Preservation Surgery of the Spine." He has served as a visiting professor at Kocaeli University Hospital as well Ankaka University Hospital, both located in Turkey.   

 

Kurt Von Rueden, MD, founded Texas Scoliosis and Spine, which merged into Austin (Texas) Spine, where he now provides care. He was one of the original members of the Spine Trauma Study Group, an international group focused on research and treatment.

 

Michael Russell, II, MD, provides care at Azalea Orthopedics in Tyler, Texas. He is a past president of Physician Hospitals of America, a national trade organization, as well as founded and served as past board chairman of Texas Spine & Joint Hospital in Tyler.

 

Thomas Schuler, MD, FACS, is the founder and CEO of Reston-based Virginia Spine Institute. He is president of the Spinal Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization.  

 

David G. Schwartz, MD, of Indianapolis-based OrthoIndy, is the director of the practice's spine fellowship. In 1994, he won the North America Spine Society's award for outstanding research.

 

J. Rafe Sales, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon at Portland-based Summit Spine, a practice which he founded in 2007. Dr. Sales is a member of the American Medical Association, Oregon Medical Association, Oregon Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Spinal Injury Association and North American Spine Society.

 

Gaetano Scuderi, MD, is a spine surgeon at Palm Beach Sports Injury Institute in Jupiter, Fla. He also founded and is chairman and CMO of Jupiter-based Cytonics Corp., a company that focuses on developing products for treating osteoarthritis. Previously, he was a clinical professor at Stanford (Calif.) University.

 

Thomas B. Scully, MD, has served on the board American Association of Neurological Surgeons. He is a member of the American Medical Association and the Pima County Medical Society. He currently practices at Tuscon, Ariz.-based Northwest Specialists.

 

Khawar Siddique, MD, is a spine surgeon at Beverly Hills (Calif.) Spine Surgery, focusing on spinal tumors, cervical spine deformity and lumbar deformity. Neurosurgical Focus and Journal of Neurosurgery have published his work.

 

Hal Silcox, III, MD, is the president of Atlanta-based Peachtree Orthopedics, before which he practiced at Emory Orthopaedics & Spine Center, also in Atlanta. He is a past president of the Georgia Orthopaedic Society and has served as principal investigator in Georgia for two FDA investigational device exemption studies.

 

Christopher Sliva, MD, is one of the partners of Rockford (Ill.) SpineCenter. He serves as a clinical assistant professor at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Rockford (Ill.) Dr. Sliva completed a fellowship at Royal Oak, Mich.-based William Beaumont Hospital. 

 

Paul Slosar, MD, serves as president of SpineCare Medical Group in San Francisco as well as assistant director of surgical research at The San Francisco Spine Institute, a nonprofit research institution affiliated with SpineCare Medical Group. He has won numerous awards over the course of his career, including the The Spinal Arthroplasty Society's Outstanding Poster Award in 2008.

 

Richard Spiro, MD, provides care at Pennsylvania Brain and Spine Institute in Pittsburgh. Previously, he spent 14 years at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where he was director and chief of neurological spine surgery.

 

William Stevens, MD, a spine surgeon at Phoenix-based The Orthopedic Clinic Association, is an active member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, North American Spine Society and Scoliosis Research Society. He has frequently traveled to the Bahamas for surgical missions.

 

Brian Subach, MD, is on the Spinal Research Foundation board of directors, serving as the chief scientific officer. He has served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Spinal Research Foundation. He currently practices and serves as president of Virginia Spine Institute in Reston, Va.

 

Chris Summa, MD, founded The Spine Clinic of Monterey Bay, a private medical practice, in 2000, and is affiliated with Sutter Health's Palo Alto Medical Foundation, based in Mountain View, Calif. He is a member of the North American Spine Society, AO Spine and Society of Lateral Access Surgery.

 

Fred Sweet, MD, is a co-founder of the Rockford (Ill.) Spine Center and a clinical assistant professor of surgery at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford. He completed a tour of duty as a medical officer with the U.S. Navy during the First Gulf War.

 

Daryl R. Sybert, DO, of Columbus, Ohio-based OrthoNeuro, is acting chairman of The Orthopedic Foundation, which performs ongoing clinical research trials on spinal disorders. He serves on the editorial board of The Spine Journal and is a clinical assistant professor of orthopedics at The Ohio State University in Columbus.  

 

Daniel Tomes, MD, specializes in treating conditions of the spine, brain and peripheral nerves at The Nebraska Neurosurgery Group, based in Lincoln. He is medical director of the Nebraska Sports Concussion Network and board president of Southwest Lincoln (Neb.) Surgery Center. 

 

Eeric Truumees, MD, practices at Austin, Texas-based Seton Spine & Scoliosis Center, a part of Seton Brain & Spine Institute. He has served as a site principal investigator for various clinical studies, including a study on spinal fusion for degenerative spondylolisthesis.

 

James S. Waldron, MD, is a private practice surgeon at NeuroTexas Brain & Spinal Surgery in Austin. He is active in the NeuroTexas Research Foundation and previously pursued National Institutes of Health-funded research on brain tumors. 

 

William Watters, III, MD, has chaired both the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery and the North American Spine Society. He has served on the board of directors for NASS and the American Board of Spine Surgery. He is the past president of NASS' research council and is currently practicing at the Bone and Joint Clinic of Houston. 

 

K. Michael Webb, MD, is a spine surgeon at NeuroTexas Brain & Spinal Surgery in Austin and has a special interest in adult spinal deformity correction. He completed fellowship training in complex spine surgery at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix.

 

P. Merrill White, III, MD, is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons' Board of Councilors. He is also affiliated with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the North American Spine Society, the Knoxville Orthopedic Society and the Tennessee Orthopaedic Society. Dr. White practices at Knoxville-based Tennessee Orthopaedic Clinics.

 

Richard Wohns, MD, JD, MBA, is founder and president of Puyallup, Wash.-based NeoSpine and was one of the first neurosurgeons qualified to perform the XLIF technique for minimally invasive lumbar fusions in the United States. Dr. Wohns is a co-founder of U.S. Radiosurgery, which developed and managed Gamma Knife and Cyberknife Radiosurgery centers. 

 

Cathleen S. Van Buskirk, MD, practices at Boulder, Colo.-based Alpine Spine Center. Specializing in scoliosis reconstructive surgery, she completed her pediatric orthopedic spine surgery fellowship at St. Vincent De Paul Hospital in Paris, France.

 

Anthony Yeung, MD, is the current executive director of the International Intradiscal and Transforaminal Therapy Society. He is also a past president of the President of the Maricopa County Medical Society, The Arizona Orthopedic Society, The Western Orthopedic Society-AZ Chapter, the Board of the Arizona Medical Association and the World Congress of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgeons. He currently practices at Phoenix-based Desert Institute for Spine Care. 

 

Christopher Yeung, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon practicing with Phoenix-based Desert Institute for Spine Care. He has been the principal investigator for various FDA studies, including for Flexicore lumbar artificial disc replacement and DASCOR total nucleus replacement

 

Lucia Zamarano, MD, practices at the Michigan Brain & Spine Center in Detroit. She has been part of a team that developed computer image guidance techniques for neurological surgery. She established her private practice in 2005 to provide quality care as well as teaching excellence.

 

William R. Zerick, MD, practices at Westerville-based Central Ohio Neurological Surgeons, where he specializes in neurosurgery. He is a member of various prestigious organizations including the North American Spine Society, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, American Association of Neurological Surgeons and American Medical Association.

 

Hospital-based spine surgeons

 

Paul Anderson, MD, is a faculty member of Madison-based University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Dr. Anderson specializes in treating spinal trauma and complex cervical spine disorders.

 

Carlos Bagley, MD, is associate professor of neurological surgery, orthopedic surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. He is the director of UT Southwestern multidisciplinary spine center and focuses on minimally invasive spine surgery. 

 

Gordon Bell, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, where he has served as head of the section of spinal surgery for over 20 years. Dr. Bell specializes in degenerative conditions of the cervical and lumbar spine, athletic spinal injuries and spinal tumors. 

 

John Bendo, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon at New York City-based NYU Medical Center and clinical professor of orthopedic surgery at NYUHJD. Dr. Bendo’s clinical research focuses on treatment outcomes for adults suffering from degenerative conditions of the spine and conditions that cause life-altering deformities, and he presents much of his findings and publications at national and international conferences.  

 

Edward Benzel, MD, is a neurosurgeon at the Cleveland Clinic who focuses on cervical spondylosis, syringomyelia, complex spine instrumentation and spine tumors and participates in many medical advancement initiatives. Dr. Benzel's extensive research on hydrocephalus, neonatal hemorrhage, cerebrovascular disorders, cranial trauma, critical care, brain death, microelectromechanical systems and spinal disorders has been featured in various texts, chapters and textbooks.   

 

Erica F. Bisson, MD, is a neurosurgeon at Salt Lake City-based University of Utah Health Care, where she specializes in treating cervical diseases, spinal cord injuries, spine traumas and degenerative conditions of the neck and back. Dr. Bisson utilizes novel artificial disc and fusion technology and is interested in occipitocervical disease, cervical degenerative disorders, advanced spinal fusion techniques and image-guided surgery.  

 

Charles L. Branch, MD, is a neurosurgeon at Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Wake Forest Baptist Health, where he specializes in spinal disorders, stenosis, spondylolisthesis, spine fractures and stereotactic procedures. Dr. Branch’s research interests include spinal diseases, facial pain, lumbar vertebrae, radiosurgery and cobalt radioisotopes. 

 

Evangelina Burger, MD, is vice chair of the University of Colorado Spine Center in Aurora. She is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery and president of SICOT North America.

 

Frank Cammisa, MD, is the chief emeritus of the spine service at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. He has published more than 130 research articles and was a lead investigator in a seven-year, multi-center national study that received a $21 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. He founded the National Spinal Research Foundation and is affiliated with the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.

 

Andrew Cappuccino, MD, is a spine surgeon with the American Institute of Minimally Invasive Surgery in Lockport, N.Y. He performs artificial disc replacement and served on the Buffalo Bills medical staff team for many years.

 

Eugene Carragee, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon at Redwood City, Calif.-based Stanford Health, where he specializes in adult reconstructive spine surgery, disc surgery, cervical lumbar fusion, spinal tumor and infections and spinal deformities. Dr. Carragee is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, North American Spine Society and International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine. 

 

Jens R. Chapman, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon at Seattle-based Swedish Brain & Spine Specialists. He is a member of the American Orthopaedic Association, Cervical Spine Research Society, North American Spine Society, Puget Sound Spine Interest Group, Texas Medical Association and Washington State Medical Association.  

 

Dean Chou, MD, is a professor of neurological surgery at the University of California San Francisco and assistant director of the UCSF Spine Center. Dr. Chou is on the Spine journal's editorial board he served on the scientific program committee for the AANS/CNS Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves.

 

Bradford Currier, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He is a founding member of the Councils for Value in Spine Care and has served as president of the Lumbar Spine Research Society. He is also a member of the value committee of the North American Spine Society and on the archives committee of the Cervical Spine Research Society.

 

Christopher DeWald, MD, is assistant professor and director of the section of spinal deformity at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. He underwent fellowship training in Germany, France, England and Japan, and he created several videos on adult and pediatric scoliosis topics.

 

Vedat Deviren, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon at UCSF Spine Center and has a special interest in spinal disorder correction. He underwent a clinical and research fellowship at UCSF after training in orthopedics and traumatology in Turkey. 

 

Egon Doppenberg, MD, is a surgeon in the division of neurological surgery at Advocate Medical Group in Downers Grove, Ill. He has a special interest in artificial disc replacement, minimally invasive spine surgery and spinal fusion. His research has been published in the Journal of Neurosurgery. 

 

Robert K. Eastlack, MD, is a founding member of the Society for Minimally Invasive Surgery. His clinical studies focus on spinal deformity surgery, minimally invasive spine surgery techniques and biologic fusion materials. He currently practices at La Jolla, Calif.-based Scripps Clinic, part of Scripps Health. 

 

Eric H. Elowitz, MD, is a surgeon in the department of neurological surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College and NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City. He has a special interest in minimally invasive spine surgery and spinal tumors, and he earned the Young Investigator Award from the AANS/CNS Joint Section on Tumors.

 

Kai-Ming Fu, MD, is a surgeon at Weill Cornell Brain and Spine Center in New York City with a special interest in spinal deformity. He has research published in the Journal of Neurosurgery and received awards from professional societies such as the Scoliosis Research Society and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. 

 

Federico P. Girardi, MD, is a spine surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City with a special interest in minimally invasive procedures and degenerative spinal disorders. He is a member of the North American Spine Society, Scoliosis Research Society and the Society for Lateral Access Surgery. 

 

Steven Glassman, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon at Norton Healthcare in Louisville, Ky. He completed the Leatherman Spine Fellowship and his residency at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx, N.Y. He served as education council chair for the Scoliosis Research Society and the 2009 program chair for the North American Spine Society.

 

Edward J. Goldberg, MD, is an assistant professor at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. He completed fellowships in lumbar spine surgery at Rush and cervical spine surgery at the University of Miami and University of Marseilles in France. He is a member of the North American Spine Society and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

 

Purnendu Gupta, MD, is the chief of staff and a pediatric spine surgeon at Shriners Hospital for Children—Chicago and a surgeon at NorthShore University Health System in Evanston, Ill. He completed a complex spine surgery fellowship at the Washington University Medical School, Barnes Jewish Hospital, St. Louis Children's Hospital and Shriner's Hospital for Children—St. Louis. He previously served as director of the spine center at Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

 

Raqeeb Haque, MD, is a spine surgeon at Regional West in Scottsbluff, Neb. He completed medical school at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore and a fellowship in spine surgery at Northwestern University Medical Center in Chicago. He received a National Institutes of Health grant for his clinical research.

 

John G. Heller, MD, is a spine surgeon at Emory Healthcare's Emory Clinic in Atlanta. He trained under Henry Bohlman, MD, and Steven Garfin, MD, and has a special interest in cervical disc replacement and laminoplasty. His research earned recognition from the Cervical Spine Research Society.

 

Patrick W. Hitchon, MD, is a professor of neurosurgery and bioengineering at the University of Iowa's Carver College of Medicine in Iowa City. Dr. Hitchon's research focuses on spinal cord physiology and spinal biomechanics as well as movement disorders. He serves on the editorial board of Spine and is an associate editor for Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery.

 

Daniel Ivankovich, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon and the medical director of OnePatient-Global Health Initiative. He has been recognized by several organizations including CNN for his charitable efforts. Outside of his practice, Dr. Ivankovich is an accomplished blues musician, and holds a spot in the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame. 

 

Arthur Jenkins, MD, is an associate professor of neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. He has a special interest in minimally invasive spine surgery and he earned the Standing Tall Award from the Alan T Brown Foundation for his clinical research into minimally invasive spine surgery and improving the quality of life for people with spinal cord injury and paralysis.

 

Joseph C. Maroon, MD, past president of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, has authored six books, 40 book chapters and 270 scientific presidents. He is an associate editor-in-chief of Surgical Neurology International and an editorial board member of Neurological Research and The Physician and Sports Medicine. He currently practices at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Oakland. 

 

Srdjan Mirkovic, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon at NorthShore University Health System's Northshore Orthopaedics in Chicago. He has a special interest in minimally invasive spine surgery and serves as a spine consultant to the Chicago Bears and Chicago Fire. 

 

Ehud Mendel, MD, is a neurosurgeon, professor of neurosurgery, oncology, orthopedics and integrated engineering and clinical director of Columbus-based Ohio State’s Spinal Biodynamics and Ergonomics Laboratory. Dr. Mendel helped develop guidelines for the management of spine tumors as a member of the Spine Oncology Study Group and has published over 20 book chapters and 100 journal articles throughout his career.

 

Paul C. McCormick, MD, is a neurosurgeon and professor of neurological surgery at New York City-based Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he specializes in spinal cord tumors, vascular malformations, herniated cervical and lumbar discs, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, microsurgery, arthroplasty and spinal stabilization and fusion for traumatic and degenerative spinal instability and deformity. Dr. McCormick also serves as director of The Spine Hospital at The Neurological Institute of New York and as attending physician at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center. 

 

Howard Morgan, MD, is a neurosurgeon and professor of neurological surgery at Dallas-based UT Southwestern Medical Center, where he specializes in intramedullary tumors, intradural extramedullary tumors, microsurgery, blast injuries, brain trauma, cranial trauma, spinal trauma and spinal cord trauma. Dr. Morgan has authored many journal articles and book chapters about neurosurgery and is interested in medical ethics and disaster management.  

 

William Neway III, DO, is an orthopedic surgeon at Columbus, Ga.-based Hughston Clinic, where he specializes in treating complex spinal problems with minimally invasive techniques. Dr. Neway's other areas of interest include degenerative spine disease, spinal tumors, deformity correction and discogenic pain. 

 

Patrick F. O'Leary, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon and associate professor of orthopedic surgery at New York City-based Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. O'Leary conducts revision surgery on cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine conditions and established the biomechanics fellowship at New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery in 1991. 

 

Srinivas Prasad, MD, is a neurosurgeon at Jefferson Health in Philadelphia with a special interest in adult reconstructive spine surgery. He completed a fellowship at Cleveland Clinic after finishing his residency at Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital, both in St. Louis.

 

Gregory Przybylski, MD, served as a North American Spine Society past president. He served on George W. Bush's Medical Liability Forum in 2003 and the Kellogg Physician Management Development Program in 2001. He currently practices at JFK Medical Center in Edison, N.J.

 

John Ratliff, MD, previously served on the executive committees of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and the Joint Section of Disorders of Spine and Peripheral Nerves. He was a corresponding secretary for the Council of State Neurosurgical Societies and on the board of directors of the Neuropoint Alliance. He is also an ex-officio member of the AANS/CNS Joint Section on Spine & Peripheral Nerves. Dr. Ratliff currently practices at Palo Alto, Calif.-based Stanford University Medical Center. 

 

Bernard Rawlins, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. He is a spine consultant for the New York Knicks and New York Mets professional sports teams, and he regularly donates his time to teaching and educating spine surgeons in West Africa.

 

Daniel Resnick, MD, is professor of neurological surgery at Madison-based University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, where he specializes in disorders of the spine, minimally incisional surgery, spinal tumors and degenerative disorders of the spine. Dr. Resnick is also a past president of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, and a member of the NFL's head and spinal cord injury committee. 

 

K. Daniel Riew, MD, is a past president of the Cervical Spine Research Society. He also serves as chairperson of the AO Spine International Board. He has been a visiting professor more than 110 times in 20 countries. He has published more than 230 reviewed papers and over 70 chapters and manuscripts. Dr. Riew currently practices at New York City-based Columbia University Medical Center. 

 

Charles Rosen, MD, co-founded and is the president of the Association for Medical Ethics. He is a member of the North American Spine Society and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He currently practices at UC Irvine Health's department of orthopedic surgery. 

 

Harvinder S. Sandhu, MD, is a spine surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City with a special interest in minimally invasive, endoscopic and computer-assisted spine surgery. He spent time as chief of spine surgery at UCLA and his research has earned recognition from the North American Spine Society, Orthopaedic Research Society and International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine.

 

Joseph Schwab, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon and assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at Boston-based Harvard Medical School, where he researches tumors and degenerative conditions of the spine. Dr. Schwab's interest in cervical spinal stenosis, cervical myelopathy, lumbar stenosis, lumbar spondylolisthesis, herniated discs and adult scoliosis is reflected in his widely published research. 

 

Christopher I. Shaffrey, MD, chaired the NREF Advisory Board within the ANS/CNS Joint Section on Spine & Peripheral Nerve Surgery from 2015 to 2016. He is the chair of the American Board of Neurological Surgery and the treasurer for the Cervical Spine Research Society. He currently practices and is professor of general neurological surgery at Charlottesville-based University of Virginia Health System. 

 

John Shim, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon at Tampa, Fla.-based Shim Spine, where he specializes minimally invasive spine surgery, spine surgery second opinion consultation and outpatient orthopedics. Dr. Shim is a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American College of Surgeons and the North American Spine Society. 

 

Allen Kent Sills Jr., MD, is a surgeon at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., and previously spent four years as chief of the division of neurosurgery at Veterans Administration Medical Center in Memphis, Tenn. He is a consulting team neurosurgeon for the Nashville Predators and Vanderbilt University.

 

Samuel E. Smith, MD, is a spine surgeon with Denver Health. He was the treasurer and president of the Colorado Orthopaedic Society.

 

William Tobler, MD, is a neurosurgeon at and serves on the board of directors of Cincinnati-based Mayfield Brain & Spine. He is also the Mayfield Education & Research Foundation's chairman of the board.

 

Mark Weidenbaum, MD, is a professor of orthopedic surgery at Columbia University Medical Center and attending physician at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, both in New York City. Dr. Weidenbaum has been chairman of the adult deformity committee of the Scoliosis Research Society and sat on the society's board of directors.

 

Stuart L. Weinstein, MD, is a past president of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, the American Orthopedic Association, the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery and the Pediatric Orthopedic Society of North America. He has published more than 220 papers in peer-reviewed journals and currently practices at Iowa City-based University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. 

 

F. Todd Wetzel, MD, the president of the North American Spine Society, is a professor of orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery at Philadelphia-based Temple University. Dr. Wetzel has been a member of NASS for 28 years and currently practices at Temple Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine. 

 

Peter G. Whang, MD, serves on several committees for the National Association of Spine Surgeons. He is also on the editorial staff of several publications. Dr. Whang serves an associate professor of orthopedics at New Haven, Conn.-based Yale University and practices at Yale New Haven Health.  

 

Christopher E. Wolfla, MD, has served on the executive committees of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons/Congress of Neurological Surgeons Joint Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves. He is a professor of neurosurgery at Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and practices there, as well. 

 

Tim S. Yoon, MD, is a spine surgeon at Emory Clinic, part of Emory Healthcare Network Physicians in Atlanta. He received a Cervical Spine Research Society Award in 2010 and served as the deputy editor of The Spine Journal.

 

Fangyi Zhang, MD, is a surgeon at UW Medicine in Seattle. He joined the faculty in 2009 after training as a neurosurgeon in Beijing-based Tiantan Hospital and completing a spine and neurosurgery fellowship at UW. 

 

Jack Zigler, MD, previously served on the Cervical Spine Research Society's board of directors. He is a past president of the American Spinal Injury Association, and serves on the Scientific Program Committee for the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery. He currently practices at Texas Health Spine & Orthopedic Center in Plano. 

 

Christian G. Zimmerman, MD, is a neurological surgeon at Saint Alphonsus in Boise, Idaho. He is the Saint Alphonsus Spine Medicine Institute medical director and serves as executive director of research for Saint Alphonsus Health System.

 

Department leaders:

 

William Abdu, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon who currently serves as medical director of the Spine Center at Lebanon, N.H.-based Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. He is an associate professor or orthopedics at The Dartmouth Institute and he specializes in treating disorders such as disc herniation, spinal stenosis and spondylolisthesis. 

 

Todd Albert, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon and current surgeon-in-chief and medical director at New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery, where he also serves as a professor of orthopedic surgery. Dr. Albert is chairman of the department of orthopedic surgery and serves on the boards of several scholarly journals. 

 

Christopher P. Ames, MD, is a board-certified neurosurgeon and current professor of clinical neurological surgery and orthopedic surgery at the University of California San Francisco, where he also co-directs the spine center. He specializes in treating spine tumor, deformity, scoliosis and cervical kyphosis. 

 

Beejal Amin, MD, is director of the Spine Institute at Joliet, Ill.-based Presence St. Joseph Medical Center, where he specializes in minimally invasive treatment of degenerative diseases of the neck and low back, spinal deformity surgery and spinal tumors. Dr. Amin's work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and he is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, AANS/CNS Joint Section of Spine and Peripheral Nerve Disorders and the North American Spine Society. 

 

Neel Anand, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon who serves as clinical professor of surgery and director of spine trauma at Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai. His written work is widely-published in peer-reviewed journals such as Spine, Journal of Spinal Disorders, Journal of Orthopedic Trauma and the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. 

 

Howard An, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon at Chicago-based Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush, where he currently serves as Morton International Endowed Chair professor of orthopedic surgery and director of the spine fellowship program. Dr. An has published over 280 peer-reviewed original articles, 110 chapters and 20 books on spinal surgery and instrumentation and constantly conducts research in the fields of spinal biomechanics and tissue engineering. 

 

Vincent Arlet, MD, is chief of orthopedic spine surgery at Philadelphia-based Penn Medicine, where he also serves as professor of orthopedic surgery at the Pennsylvania Hospital and as a professor of neurosurgery. Dr. Arlet is a member of the American Medical Association, AO North American Spine, North American Spine Society and Scoliosis Research Society. 

 

Hyun Bae, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon at the Los Angeles-based Spine Institute Center for Spinal Restoration and a professor of surgery at Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He treats cervical and lumbar spine diseases and specializes in minimally invasive microsurgery. 

 

Richard Balderston, MD, is chief of spine surgery at Philadelphia-based Pennsylvania Hospital, where he specializes in disc replacement surgery and treating degenerative disc disease. Dr. Balderston is a member of the North American Spine Society, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, International Society for Study of the Lumbar Spine and Pennsylvania Orthopaedic Society. 

 

James Bennett, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon, clinical professor of pediatrics and chief of the section of pediatric orthopedics at New Orleans-based Tulane University. Dr. Bennett specializes in treating scoliosis and spine deformity and was the first Louisiana-based physician to treat scoliosis with minimally invasive thoracoscopic surgery. 

 

Scott Boden, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon, professor of orthopedic surgery, and director of Atlanta-based Emory University Orthopedics & Spine Hospital. Dr. Boden has investigated cell/molecular biology of osteoblast differentiation, animal models of spine fusion and clinical outcomes research relating to spinal disorders, diagnostic imaging and utilization of healthcare resources. 

 

Christopher Bono, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon and chief of spine service at Boston-based Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he specializes in herniated disc management, spinal stenosis, spinal surgery, spine fractures and spondylolisthesis. Dr. Bono also serves as associate professor at Boston-based Harvard Medical School and regularly conducts research on cervical spine fusion, lumbar spine fusion, lumbar discectomy, postoperative standards, critical analysis of spinal literature and spine trauma. 

 

David Barnett, MD, is a neurosurgeon currently serving as chief of neurosurgery at Dallas-based Baylor University Medical Center, co-medical director of the neuroscience center and co-medical director of the neuroscience council (Baylor Scott & White Health north division). Dr. Barnett specializes in treating herniated cervical and lumbar spinal discs, brain and spine tumors, cerebral aneurysms and cervical spine surgery. 

 

Darrel S. Brodke, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon and vice chair of the department of orthopedics at Salt Lake City-based University of Utah Health Care. He specializes in treating disc herniation, spinal stenosis, degenerative conditions, deformities and trauma of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine. 

 

Domagoj Coric, MD, is the department of neurosurgery chief for Charlotte, N.C.-based Carolinas Medical Center. He also serves as the medical director for the center's neurosurgical intensive care unit. Dr. Coric has conducted several clinical trials on spinal treatment, including biologics. 

 

Stephen Courtney, MD, is the founder of Plano (Texas) Orthopedic Sports Medicine and Spine Center's spine division. He is a past chief of orthopedic surgery at the Medical Center of Plano (Texas) and he serves on the hospital's executive and operating room committees. 

 

John R. Dimar II, MD, is a clinical professor and the chief pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Louisville, Ky.-based Norton's Children's Hospital. He is a member of several professional organizations including the North American Spine Society, Scoliosis Research Society and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. 

 

John P. Dormans, MD, is the chief of pediatric orthopedic surgery at Houston-based Texas Children's Hospital. He pioneered limb-sparing surgery for bone cancer and is widely recognized for his work in treating pediatric spinal deformities. 

 

Steven G. Dorsky, MD, founded the Chatham-based New Jersey Spine Center in 1978, and serves as the chief of orthopedic surgery at Summit, N.J.-based Overlook Medical Center. He holds a patent on a spine instrumentation system. 

 

Frank Eismont, MD, is the fellow education director and the spine division chief at the Miami-based Miller School of Medicine. He serves as the university's Leonard M. Miller professor and chairman in the orthopedics department. 

 

Sanford E. Emery, MD, is the chairman of the Morgantown-based West Virginia University department of orthopedics. Cleveland-based Case Western Reserve University awarded him its Dean's Academic Achievement Award in 2003. 

 

Thomas J. Errico, MD, is the chief of New York City-based NYU Langone's division of spine surgery. He has published more than 220 peer-reviewed publications.

 

Jeffrey S. Fischgrund, MD, Dr. Fischgrund is the spine surgery fellowship director at Royal Oak, Mich.-based William Beaumont Hospital. He serves as the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeon's editor-in-chief.

 

Kevin Foley, MD, is the Memphis-based University of Tennessee spine fellowship program's director. He was named a top doctor by U.S. News & World Report, Patient's Choice, Memphis Magazine and Good Health Magazine in 2012. 

 

Anthony Frempong-Boadu, MD, is the director of New York City-based NYU Langone's division of spinal surgery. He also serves as an associate professor of neurosurgery. 

 

Steven Garfin, MD, chair of UC San Diego's orthopedic department, specializes in adult spine treatment. San Diego Magazine named him one of its "Physicians of Exceptional Excellence" for 13 consecutive years. 

 

Barth A. Green, MD, is chairman of the department of neurological surgery at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He is a cofounder of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, a comprehensive spinal cord injury/paralysis research center. He has won numerous awards over the course of his career, including the Chairman's Recognition Humanitarian Award, Florida Board of Medicine. 

 

Daniel E. Gelb, MD, is the vice chair of the College Park-based University of Maryland Medical Center's orthopedic department. Dr. Gelb is a two-time recipient of the hospital's Vincent D. Pellegrini Jr., MD, Teaching Award. 

 

Zoher Ghogawala, MD, is the chairman of the Burlington, Mass.-based Lahey Clinic's orthopedic department. He has led several clinical trials throughout his career. 

 

Ziya Gokaslan, MD, is the chief of neurosurgery at Providence-based Rhode Island Hospital. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. 

 

Jeffrey Goldstein, MD, New York City-based NYU Langone's director of the spine service for education and the spine fellowship program, is actively involved in the research and development of biomedical materials and devices. The International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery awarded him its Leon L. Wiltse "Best Paper" award. 

 

Charles R. Gordon, MD, the co-founder of the Tyler-based Texas Spine & Joint Hospital, is a partner at Tyler-based Precision Spine Care. He specializes in laser techniques and stem cell treatments. 

 

Munish C. Gupta, MD, is the chief of pediatric and adult spine surgery and the co-director of pediatric and adult spinal deformity service at Washington University in St. Louis. He previously held a number of leadership positions at UC Davis. 

 

Regis W. Haid Jr., MD, is the director of Atlanta-based Piedmont Hospital's Spine Center. He also is an Atlanta Brain and Spine Center founding partner. Dr. Haid has been a visiting professor at 30 universities throughout his career. He has authored more than 85 chapters on spine disorders. 

 

Mitch Harris, MD, the orthopedic trauma service chief at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, has 177 peer-reviewed journal credits to his name. He also serves as professor at Boston's Harvard University. 

 

Roger Hartl, MD, is director of spinal surgery and neurotrauma at New York City-based Weill Cornell Brain and Spine Center and the founder and co-director of the Weill Cornell Spine Center. He serves as the New York Giants' neurosurgeon. 

 

Andrew Hecht, MD, New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System's chief of spine surgery, is a spine surgery consultant to the New York Jets, New York Islanders and New York Dragons. He is the director of the spine center at Mount Sinai Doctors. 

 

Russel C. Huang, MD, the director of New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery Spine Surgery Clinic, has published and lectured on several topics including minimally invasive surgery and lumbar stenosis frequently. 

 

Robert E. Isaacs, MD, is a neurosurgeon who currently serves as director of spine surgery at Durham, N.C.-based Duke University Medical Center. His research has focused on advancing minimally invasive techniques for spinal surgery, image-guided surgical techniques, outcomes research for patients undergoing spine surgery and developing innovative endoscopic techniques. 

 

J. Patrick Johnson, MD, is a neurosurgeon and current director of the Institute for Spinal Disorders at Los Angeles-based Cedars Sinai Medical Center, where he is also director of education and co-director of the Spine Stem Cell Research Program. His involvement in the field has led to his serving as director of the California Association of Neurological Surgeons. 

 

Hae-Dong Jho, MD, is chairman of neuroendoscopy and director of the Jho Institute for Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. He has served as professor at the University of Pittsburgh and at Philadelphia-based Drexel University School of Medicine. He specializes in developing endoscopic surgery techniques and other innovative neurosurgical procedures. 

 

James Kang, MD, the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine's immediate past president, is the Boston-based Brigham and Women's Hospital orthopedic surgery department's chairman. He pioneered disc degeneration and stem cell and gene therapy. 

 

A. Jay Khanna, MD, is a Johns Hopkins spine surgeon based in Bethesda, Maryland and Washington DC who serves as professor and vice chair of orthopedic surgery at the Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Khanna's clinical and research interests include minimally invasive spine surgery, cervical spine surgery, revision spine surgery and advanced techniques in spine imaging including image guidance.  He directs and teaches several courses for the North American Spine Society and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

 

Kee D. Kim, MD, is professor of neurological surgery and chief of spinal neurosurgery at UC Davis (Calif.) Spine Center, where he specializes in treating spinal tumor, infection, degenerative spine and trauma. Dr. Kim uses stem cells and pharmaceutical agents to treat spinal conditions and serves as a primary investigator on many clinical trials. 

 

Mesfin A. Lemma, MD, currently serves as director of spine services at Baltimore-based Medstar Good Samaritan Hospital, where he focuses on spine surgery, herniated discs, disc replacement, spine disorders and laminectomy. Dr. Lemma uses tubular retractors, state-of-the-art technologies and computer-assisted navigation to treat spinal problems in elderly patients, geriatric rheumatoid arthritis of the spine, spinal deformity and revision spinal surgery. 

 

Lawrence Lenke, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon at The Spine Hospital at NewYork-Presbyterian/Allen and a professor of orthopedic surgery at Columbia University, both in New York City. Dr. Lenke treats pediatric and adult patients with complex spinal conditions such as scoliosis, kyphosis, flatback syndrome, high-grade spondylolisthesis and major coronal and sagittal malalignment. 

 

Steven C. Ludwig, MD, is professor of orthopedics and head of the division of spine surgery at Baltimore-based University of Maryland Medical Center's department of orthopedics. Dr. Ludwig's areas of interest include disorders of the cervical spine, minimally invasive spinal techniques, motion preservation surgery, reconstruction of the traumatically injured spine and tumor reconstruction. 

 

Steven Mardjetko, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon at Morton Grove-based Illinois Bone and Joint Institute and orthopedic professor at Chicago-based Rush Medical Center. Dr. Mardjetko serves as chief of the spinal surgery section in the orthopedic surgery division at Chicago-based Cook County Hospital and devotes much of his research to pedicle screw fixation and scoliosis treatment. 

 

Thomas McNally, MD, is the Medical Director of the Chicago Spine Center at Weiss Memorial Hospital and a surgeron at the Chicago Center for Orthopedics. He is an American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery and Scoliosis Research Society fellow. 

 

Thomas Mroz, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon who directs the Cleveland Clinic's spine surgery fellowship and its clinical research department. Dr. Mroz specializes in minimally invasive surgery, cervical spine surgery, radiculopathy, myelopathy, stenosis, disc herniation, cervical disc replacement, revision cervical surgery, cervical infections, cervical tumors and cervical deformity.

 

Praveen V. Mummaneni, MD, is a neurosurgeon, professor and vice chair of neurological surgery at San Francisco-based UCSF, where he also directs the minimally invasive and complex spine fellowship program and co-directs the spinal surgery and UCSF spine center. Dr. Mummaneni specializes in complex cervical spine surgery for C1-2 pathologies and instability, cervicothoracic kyphosis, cervical myelopathy and in minimally invasive spine surgery for degenerative spondylolisthesis, stenosis, adult spinal kyphosis and scoliosis, spinal tumors and spinal trauma.

 

Andrew E. Park, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon at Addison, Texas-based Methodist Hospital for Surgery and director of the Dallas spine fellowship program. Dr. Park is especially interested in complex spinal disorders and minimally invasive spine surgery, and his orthopedic and spine surgery-related writing and research has been published in numerous peer reviewed journals.

 

David W. Polly Jr., MD, is a professor and chief of spine surgery at Minneapolis-based University of Minnesota's department of orthopedic surgery, where he specializes in orthopedics, spine and scoliosis, spine surgery and pediatric orthopedics. Dr. Polly is internationally recognized for his widely published biomechanics and outcomes research. 

 

Sheeraz A. Qureshi, MD, is chief of spinal trauma at Elmhurst (N.Y.) Hospital Center and associate professor of spinal surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital's department of orthopedic surgery, where he specializes in central cord syndrome, cervical myelopathy, neck fractures and sprains, spinal fusion, spinal stenosis and spondylolisthesis. Dr. Qureshi's research interests include clinical outcomes after spinal surgery as well as biological and biomechanical effects of motion sparing spinal technology. 

 

Raj Rao, MD, is chairman of Washington, D.C.-based The George Washington Medical Faculty Associates and professor of orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery at the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences. His special interests include spine surgery, minimally invasive spine surgery, neck and back disorders with nerve related issues, spinal trauma, spine tumors and spinal deformity. 

 

John Ratliff, MD, is associate professor and vice chair of neurosurgery, departmental quality officer and co-director of the spine and peripheral nerve surgery division at Stanford (Calif.) University Medical Center. His research interests include quality improvement, decreasing complications in spine surgery and improving surgical treatment of intramedullary spinal cord tumors. 

 

Charles Reitman, MD, is professor and vice chairman of the department of orthopedics at Medical University of South Carolina and co-director of the MUSC spine center, where he specializes in complex cervical spinal disorders, spine tumors and spinal cord injury. Dr. Reitman's research on cervical biomechanics and stability has been published over 60 times in peer reviewed publications. 

 

K. Daniel Riew, MD, is professor of orthopedic surgery and co-chief of spine surgery at New York City-based Columbia University Medical Center, where he also serves as director of cervical spine surgery and co-director of the adult and pediatric comprehensive spine fellowship. Dr. Riew specializes in cervical spine operations and has served as president of the Cervical Spine Research Society; he is currently chairman of the International Board of AO Spine. 

 

David Rothbart, MD, is medical director of Southlake-based Spine Team Texas, where he specializes in minimally invasive surgery techniques for the neck and back. Previously, Dr. Rothbart served the medical director of neurosurgery at Baylor Medical Center at Irving and Grapevine (Texas) and as associate professor of neurosurgery at Chicago-based Rush College of Medicine. 

 

Andrew Sama, MD, is associate attending orthopedic surgeon and spinal surgical service fellowship co-director at New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery and associate professor of clinical surgery at Weill Medical College of Cornell (N.Y.) University. Dr. Sama's areas of interest include clinical and basic science research involving the biology and biomechanics of spine fusion and fusion alternatives and he has used a number of research grants to study surgical and non-surgical approaches to treat lower-back pain. 

 

Rick Sasso, MD, is president of Carmel-based Indiana Spine Group, a practice he helped found. Dr. Sasso is also professor and chief of spine surgery at Indianapolis-based Indiana University School of Medicine, department of orthopedic surgery, where he specializes in comprehensive treatment and surgery of spinal disorders and is actively involved in spine surgery research and development. 

 

Nick Shamie, MD, is professor of orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery at Los Angeles-based UCLA School of Medicine, where he also serves as chief of orthopedic spine surgery. Dr. Shamie was previously president of the American College of Spine Surgery, has been elected as an expert reviewer for the Medical Board of California and currently serves as a qualified medical evaluator for the State of California.

 

Kris Siemionow, MD, is chief of spine surgery and assistant professor of orthopedics and neurosurgery at the University of Illinois in Chicago, where he specializes in surgical management of neck, spine and back conditions in adults and pediatrics. Dr. Siemionow performs surgeries in European and South American cities through Global Spine Outreach, a program he co-founded and participates in surgery mission trips to other parts of the world to operate on children and adults suffering from spinal trauma, scoliosis, tumors and infections.

 

David Skaggs, MD, is chief of orthopedic surgery and director of spine surgery at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, where he specializes in treating children with spinal deformities. Dr. Skaggs sits on the board of directors of the Scoliosis Research Society, is a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Academy of Pediatrics. 

 

Jonathan Slotkin, MD, is the director of spinal surgery and spinal cord injury research Geisinger Health System Neuroscience Institute in Danville, Pa. He is also medical director of Geisinger in Motion, a part of the informatics division, which produces mobile apps. 

 

Philip F. Stahel, MD, is director of service for Denver Health's orthopedics department. He is a member of the faculty and an instructor for AO North America's Musculoskeletal Trauma Education Committee. 

 

John Steinmann, DO, is the medical director of the Spine and Joint Institute at Redlands (Calif.) Community Hospital, director of spine trauma at Colton, Calif.-based Arrowhead Regional Medical Center and assistant clinical professor at London, Ontario-based Western University and Loma Linda (Calif.) University. Dr. Steinmann is a member of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons, American Osteopathic Association, California Medical Association and North American Spine Society. 

 

Daniel J. Sucato, MD, is chief of staff and director of Dallas-based Sarah M. and Charles E. Seay/Martha and Pat Beard Center for Excellence in Spine Research and professor at Dallas-based University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center department of orthopedic surgery. Dr. Sucato is a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and a member of the Mid-America Orthopaedic Association. 

 

Olaware Sulaiman, MD, PhD, is the chairman of the neurosurgery department and the back and spine center at Jefferson, La.-based Ochsner Health System. He has authored several peer reviewed publications and book chapters on spine surgery. 

 

Steven Theiss, MD, is the John D. Sherrill Endowed Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery at Birmingham-based University of Alabama. He also serves as the orthopedic residency program dirtector and as the interim chair of the University of Alabama's department of orthopedic surgery. Dr. Theiss is a member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery among others.

 

Nicholas Theodore, MD, the director of Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Neurosurgical Spine Center. He has written and co-authored 30 book chapters, over 180 peer-reviewed journal articles and holds 10 patents for medical devices and procedures. 

 

Vincent C. Traynelis, MD, is a neurosurgeon at and director of Chicago-based Rush University's neurosurgery residency program. Dr. Traynelis's research interests focus on cervical spine surgery and craniovertebral junction surgery and he serves on the editorial boards of Neurosurgery, Spine and The Spine Journal.

 

Alexander Vaccaro, MD, is chairman of the department of orthopedic surgery at Philadelphia-based Thomas Jefferson University, president of Philadelphia-based The Rothman Institute, president of the American Spinal Injury Association and currently serves as president of the Association of Collaborative Spine Research. Dr. Vaccaro has published over 530 peer reviewed works and 195 non-peer reviewed works and has published over 300 book chapters. 

 

Robert G. Viere, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon at Addison-based Texas Spine Consultants, where he treats adult scoliosis and is especially interested in complex cervical spine problems. Dr. Viere is a member of the North American Spine Society, Texas State Board of Medical Examiners, American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons and he is a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. 

 

Lawrence Vogel, MD, is chief of pediatrics at Chicago-based Shriners Hospital for Children and serves as medical director of the hospital's spinal cord injury program. Dr. Vogel is especially interested in pediatric spinal cord injury, transition to adulthood and infectious disease and is a professor of pediatrics at Chicago-based Rush University School of Medicine. 

 

Jeffrey Wang, MD, is professor of orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery at Los Angeles-based Keck School of Medicine of USC, chief of the orthopedic spine service at the Keck Medical Center of USC and co-director of the USC Spine Center. Dr. Wang is a Second Medical Opinion Physician with the NHL and NHLPA and runs a basic science laboratory where he researchers spinal disorder treatments. 

 

Robert Watkins III, MD, is co-director of the Marina del Rey, Calif.-based Marina Spine Clinic, where he treats spine injuries and sports related injuries in adolescents and adults. Dr. Watkins is a founding member of the North American Spine Society, has authored spin surgery many books and articles and treats professional athletes on a regular basis. 

 

Robert Watkins IV, MD, is co-director of the Marina del Rey, Calif.-based Marina Spine Clinic, where he specializes in minimally invasive spine surgery, computer-assisted surgery, spinal-deformity treatment and disc replacement. Dr. Watkins IV frequently lectures on spine issues to doctors, patients, athletic trainers and physical therapists, and  consults many athletes as well as Los Angeles-area sports teams. 

 

Bradley Weiner, MD, is vice chairman of orthopedic surgery and the chief of spine surgery at Houston Methodist, where he specializes in complex cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine surgery and microsurgery. Dr. Weiner holds membership with the American Orthopaedic Association and the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine and he currently serves as a professor within the department of orthopedics at Houston Methodist Medical Center. 

 

James N. Weinstein, DO, is CEO and president of Lebanon, N.H.-based Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health System in addition to serving as professor of orthopedics, professor of health policy and professor of clinical practice. Dr. Weinstein is a well-known researcher and author, having received more than $70 million in federal funding and published over 325 peer-reviewed articles. 

 

Stuart L. Weinstein, MD, is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon who specializes in spinal deformities at Iowa City-based University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Dr. Weinstein is past president of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Orthopaedic Association, American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery and the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North American. 

 

F. Todd Wetzel, MD, is professor vice-chair of the department of orthopedic surgery and sports medicine at Philadelphia-based Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine, where he specializes in spine surgery and pain management. He is the former president of the North American Spine Society and a member of American Orthopaedic Association and the Cervical Spine Research Society. 

 

 

James Yue, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon currently serving as co-chief of the orthopedic spine surgery section at the New Haven, Conn.-based Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Yue has published and presented over 100 scientific articles and two major spinal surgery textbooks and has been the principal/co-investigator on several FDA and non-FDA clinical trials for disc replacement, motion sparing and endoscopic spine surgery clinical trials. 

 

James Zucherman, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon at San Francisco Spine Surgeons and program co-director of Palo-Alto, Calif.-based Stanford/St. Mary’s Hospital Combined Surgery Fellowship Program. Dr. Zucherman developed and performed the first laparoscopic lumbar spine fusion and the first percutaneous cervical discectomy in the U.S. and has served as principal FDA investigator for many lumbar and cervical new technology trials.