A physician appointed to a board of trustees in Florida and nine more spine surgeons to know:
1. Johnathan Erulkar, MD. Illinois Bone and Joint Institute (Des Plaines). Dr. Erulkar specializes in cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine conditions. He received his medical degree from Yale School of Medicine and completed his residency at Yale New Haven Hospital, both in New Haven, Conn.
2. Serena Hu, MD. Orthopaedic Spine Center Redwood City (Calif.). Dr. Hu's specialties include arthritis, herniated discs and spinal stenosis. She received her medical degree at McGill University Faculty of Medicine in Montreal, Canada, and completed her residency at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.
3. Heidi Hullinger, MD. New Jersey Spine Specialists (Summit). Dr. Hullinger has extensive experience in operative and nonoperative treatments of complex spine disorders. She's an active member of the North American Spine Society, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Medical Association.
4. Richard Menger, MD. USA Health (Mobile, Ala.). Dr. Menger specializes in complex spinal reconstruction. His research has focused on the intersection between economic policy and spine surgery.
5. Brian Neuman, MD. Johns Hopkins Medicine (Baltimore). Dr. Neuman specializes in treating complex spine deformities. He also works as an associate professor of orthopedic surgery.
6. Charles Park, MD, PhD. Minimally Invasive Brain and Spine Center (Baltimore). Dr. Park is director of the Minimally Invasive Brain and Spine Center, part of Mercy Medical Center. He recently started using Spineology's OptiLIF procedure to treat lower back and leg pain.
7. James Schwender, MD. Twin Cities Spine Center (Minneapolis). Dr. Schwender received his medical degree at State University of New York Downstate Medical School in New York City, and completed his residency at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine in Burlington.
8. Andrew Shaw, MD. Lyerly Neurosurgery (Jacksonville, Fla.). Dr. Shaw is a neurosurgeon who specializes in complex spine surgery, spinal oncology and spinal tumors. He was recently appointed to the Florida State College at Jacksonville district board of trustees.
9. Andrew Trontis, MD. Cedars-Sinai Spine Center (Los Angeles). Dr. Trontis is currently in his spine fellowship, and received his medical degree at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia. During his residency at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, he became the first resident board member of the Maryland Orthopedic Association.
10. Jason Toy, MD. Orthopedic Associates of Central Texas (Austin). Dr. Toy is an orthopedic spine surgeon and specializes in conditions affecting the cervical, thoracic and lumbosacral spine. He recently debuted Nexxt Spine's Matrixx implant.
Note: This is not an exhaustive list. Surgeons are listed in alphabetical order. To nominate a surgeon for future lists, please contact Carly Behm at cbehm@beckershealthcare.com.