Here are 15 spine surgeons whose research has been recognized by professional societies over the past year.
Joshua Auerbach, MD (Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center). The International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery recently honored Dr. Auerbach with the 2012 Kostiuk Innovation Award for his work comparing Coflex interlaminar stabilization to posterior spinal fusion for patients with spinal stenosis and spondylolisthesis. Dr. Auerbach is the chief of spine surgery at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center and assistant professor of surgery at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, N.Y. His clinical practice focuses on pediatric and adult spinal deformities and spinal tumors. Throughout his career, Dr. Auerbach has received several research grants and awards for projects focusing on patient safety during spine surgery to prevent neurologic injury. He is a member of the North American Spine Society, Orthopaedic Research Society and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Dr. Auerbach earned his medical degree at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City and completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. His additional training includes a spinal reconstruction fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine/Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.
John A. Bendo, MD (NYU Langone Medical Center, New York City). Dr. Bendo and his colleagues were recognized at the North American Spine Society 2011 annual meeting for their cost utility analysis of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion compared with cervical disc arthroplasty. He is the vice chair of clinical affairs and director of the spine service at NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases. His clinical practice focuses on surgical treatment of degenerative spinal disorders and spinal deformity. Throughout his career, Dr. Bendo has authored several article published in peer-review journals. He earned his medical degree at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, where he also completed his residency in orthopedic surgery. His additional training includes a spine fellowship at the Hospital for Joint Diseases.
Sigurd H. Berven, MD (University of California, San Francisco). Dr. Berven received a Value Award Presentation at the North American Spine Society annual meeting in 2011 for his research on the development of a model for translation of the neck disability index to utility scores for cost-utility analysis in cervical disorders. Dr. Berven is an associate professor in residency in the orthopedic surgery department with the University of California, San Francisco. His clinical interests include pediatric and adult spinal deformity, spinal tumors, degenerative conditions and spinal trauma. His research interests include assess clinical outcomes of surgery and minimally invasive techniques. Throughout his career, he has also been active in studying cellular and molecular techniques for the biological regeneration of spinal components. Dr. Berven earned his medical degree at Harvard Medical School and completed his residency and fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco.
Darrel S. Brodke, MD (University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City). Along with his colleagues Pierce Nunley, MD, and Ajay Jawahar, MD, Dr. Brodke received one of the Cervical Spine Research Society's 21st Century Research and Education grant for their project on the determination of the true five year incidence of adjacent segment disease after total disc arthroplasty for cervical myelo-radiculopathy at one and two levels. Dr. Brodke is the director of the University Spine Center with a clinical interest in degenerative conditions and traumatic injuries of the spine. His research focuses on spinal biomechanics and he has published several articles in peer-review journals. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Brodke is a member of the North American Spine Society and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He earned his medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco, and completed his residency at the University of Wisconsin. His additional training includes a spine surgery fellowship at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Ivan Cheng, MD (Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, Calif.). The Cervical Spine Research Society recognized Dr. Cheng in 2011 with the Seed StarterGrant for his research into the timing of local versus distal transplantation of human neuronal stem cells following spinal cord injury. He also received a best paper award from the North American Spine Society for his work with outcomes assessment in spinal surgery and a prize in clinical research from the International Society of the Study of the Lumbar Spine. Dr. Cheng is an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery, chief of the education committee in the department of orthopedic surgery and residency program director of orthopedic surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine. His clinical practice focuses on spinal reconstruction and he is trained in minimally invasive and motion preservation surgery. Dr. Cheng is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and North American Spine Society. He earned his medical degree at Harvard Medical School in Boston and completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at the University of California Davis Medical Center. Hi additional training includes a spine surgery fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis.
Rick Delamarter, MD (Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles). Dr. Delamarter's research into the ProDisc-C Total Disc Replacement earned him the Charles D. Ray Award for Best Clinical Paper at the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery's 2012 annual meeting earlier this year. He is the vice chair for the department of surgery and co-medical director at the Cedars-Sinai Spine Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Throughout his career, Dr. Delamarter has been a pioneer in artificial disc replacement, motion preservation, non-fusion and minimally invasive technologies and procedures. His research focuses on several aspects of spine surgery, including growth factors for fusion and stem cells for repairing degenerative disc disease. During his career, Dr. Delamarter was among the first spine surgeons to use growth factor tissue engineering for intervertebral discs and perform multi-level artificial disc replacement for the cervical and lumbar spine. His research has also been recognized with the Volvo Award from the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine and Acromed Award from the North American Spine Society. Dr. Delamarter earned his medical degree from the University of Oregon Health Science Center and completed his orthopedic residency at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center. His additional training includes a fellowship in spine surgery at Case Western Reserve University and training in the acute spinal cord injury unit at Cleveland Veteran's Hospital.
Jeffrey A. Goldstein, MD (NYU Langone Medical Center Hospital for Joint Diseases, New York City). Dr. Goldstein and his colleagues were recognized at the North American Spine Society 2011 annual meeting for their cost utility analysis of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion compared with cervical disc arthroplasty. Dr. Goldstein is the Director of the Spine Service and Associate Director of the Spine Fellowship at NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases. His clinical expertise includes the surgical treatment of degenerative diseases, deformity, trauma and tumors. He has been a pioneer in minimally invasive spine surgery and artificial disc replacement. In addition to his clinical practice Dr. Goldstein serves on the editorial board of The Spine Journal, among several other publications. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American College of Surgeons. He sits on the Board of Directors of the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS) and is also a member of the American Orthopaedic Association, the Cervical Spine Research Society, International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine, NASS, the Lumbar Spine Research Society and the Scoliosis Research Society. Dr. Goldstein was a recipient of the Leon Wiltse award for the best overall paper at ISASS. Dr. Goldstein earned his medical degree at State University of New York Downstate Medical Center at Brooklyn and completed his orthopaedic surgery training at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. His additional training includes a fellowship in spine surgery at the Maryland Spine Fellowship in Baltimore.
Mitchel B. Harris, MD (Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston). Dr. Harris and his colleagues received a 2011 resident fellows grant from the Cervical Spine Research Society for their work on the relationship between preoperative expectations and postoperative outcomes and satisfaction in cervical spine surgery. He is the chief of the orthopedic trauma service at Brigham and Women's Hospital and associate professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston. Dr. Harris's clinical interests include spinal tumors, arthritis, trauma and peri-articular fractures. Throughout his career, Dr. Harris has authored articles for peer-review publication. His research interests include the outcomes of the management of spinal disorders, outcomes of geriatric spinal fracture management and stem cell augmentation of fracture healing. Dr. Harris earned his medical degree at the University of Illinois College of Medicine and completed his residency at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. His additional training includes a fellowship in spine and trauma at the University of Toronto, Sunnybrook Health Science Center in Canada and a second fellowship in orthopedic surgery at Queens' Medical Centre.
Ajay Jawahar, MD (Spine Institute of Louisiana, Shreveport). Along with his colleagues Pierce Nunley, MD, and Darrel S. Brodke, MD, Dr. Jawahar received one of the Cervical Spine Research Society's 21st Century Research and Education grant for their project on the determination of the true five year incidence of adjacent segment disease after total disc arthroplasty for cervical myelo-radiculopathy at one and two levels. He is the director of the Spine Institute of Louisiana's medical research. Throughout his career, he has received funding for six grants and been a principal investigator for several projects. In addition to his clinical research, Dr. Jawahar has published several articles in peer-review journals and lectured nationally on his research in spine surgery. Dr. Jawahar earned his bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery at the University of Rajasthan in India and completed his residency in neurosurgery at the Apollo Institute of Neurosciences in New Delhi, India. His additional training includes fellowships at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Louisiana State University Health Science Center in Shreveport.
Joseph Marzluff, MD (Trident Medical Center, Charleston, S.C.). Dr. Marzluff received the best poster recognition at the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery's 2012 annual meeting earlier this year for his research into the effects of cervical arthroplasty compared to anterior cervical discectomy and fusion on adjacent level disease. He is a neurosurgeon at Trident Medical Center. During his career, Dr. Marzluff also participated in a trial for the SECURE-C cervical artificial disc from Globus Medical. He earned his medical degree at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston and completed his internship at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego. His additional training includes a residency at the Medical University of South Carolina.
Kevin J. McGuire, MD (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston). Along with Mitchel Harris, MD, and Alexandra Soroceanu, MD, Dr. McGuire received a resident fellows grant from the Cervical Spine Research Society for his work on the relationship between preoperative expectations and postoperative outcomes and satisfaction in cervical spine surgery. Dr. McGuire is the co-director of the spine center at Beth Israel Deaconess and co-director of the Combined Beth Israel Deaconess/Harvard Medical School Spine Fellowship. He also serves as the chief of the orthopedic spine service at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and assistant professor in orthopedic surgery at Harvard Medical School. Dr. McGuire's clinical practice focuses on cervical spine surgery, endoscopic spine surgery, spinal column tumors and minimally invasive surgical techniques. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. McGuire's research interests include cervical pathology and spinal cord injuries with an emphasis on elderly patient. Dr. McGuire is a member of the North American Spine Society and Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery. He earned his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia and completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at the University of Pennsylvania Health System. His additional training includes a spine fellowship at the University Hospital of Cleveland at Case Western Reserve.
Pierce D. Nunley, MD (Spine Institute of Louisiana, Shreveport). Along with his colleagues Ajay Jawahar, MD, and Darrel S. Brodke, MD, Dr. Nunley received one of the Cervical Spine Research Society's 21st Century Research and Education grants for their project on the determination of the true five year incidence of adjacent segment disease after total disc arthroplasty for cervical myelo-radiculopathy at one and two levels. Dr. Nunley is the director of the Spine Institute of Louisiana and an assistant professor in the orthopedic surgery department at LSU Health Sciences Center. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and on the research fund management committee of the North American Spine Society. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Nunley serves on the board of the Spine Institute of Louisiana Foundation, Musculoskeletal Institute of Louisiana and Syndicom. Throughout his career, Dr. Nunley has published in several professional publications and presented papers in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Italy. He earned his medical degree at the University of Kansas Medical College and completed his residency at LSU Health Sciences Center. His additional training includes a spine fellowship at the University of Basel in Switzerland and with the Dallas Spine Group.
Daniel K. Park, MD (William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Mich.). Dr. Park and his colleagues earned a resident fellows grant for their project on surgical training using three-dimensional real-time navigation during the placement of cervical lateral screws from the Cervical Spine Research Society in 2011. He is an attending spine surgeon at William Beaumont Hospital. Throughout his career, Dr. Park's research and clinical interests include minimally invasive surgery and cervical spine procedures. He has presented his research at several national meetings, including the Lumbar Spine Research Society and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Dr. Park is a member of the Korean American Spine Society and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He earned his medical degree at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C., and completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at Rush University in Chicago. His additional training includes a spine surgery fellowship at Emory University in Atlanta.
John M. Rhee, MD (Emory Healthcare, Atlanta). Dr. Rhee and his colleagues earned a resident fellows grant for their project on surgical training using three-dimensional real-time navigation during the placement of cervical lateral screws from the Cervical Spine Research Society in 2011. He is an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at Emory with a clinical interest in spinal tumors, lumbar spine surgery and cervical spine surgery. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Rhee is an active researcher and teacher. He is a member of North American Spine Society, Scoliosis Research Society and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He earned his medical degree at the University of California in San Francisco, where he also completed his residency in orthopedic surgery. His additional training includes a fellowship in spine surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
S. Tim Yoon, MD (Emory Healthcare, Atlanta). Dr. Yoon and his colleagues John Rhee, MD, and Daniel Park, MD, earned a resident fellows grant for their project on surgical training using three-dimensional real-time navigation during the placement of cervical lateral screws from the Cervical Spine Research Society in 2011. Dr. Yoon is an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at Emory Healthcare with clinical interests in degenerative spinal disorders, spinal deformity and minimally invasive surgical techniques. His research interests include gene therapy for disc disease. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Yoon is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and Orthopaedic Research Society. Dr. Yoon earned his medical degree at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., and completed his residency at the University of California, San Francisco. His additional training includes a fellowship at Rush Presbyterian Hospital in Chicago.