The North American Spine Society has bestowed its 2024 recognition awards to five surgeons.
Addisu Mesfin, MD, was awarded the annual Henry Farfan Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions in spine-related basic science research, according to a Sept. 24 news release. Dr. Mesfin has been a NASS member for 15 years, and serves as the vice chair of research and professor of orthopedics at Medstar Orthopaedic Institute/Georgetown University School of Medicine.
Charles Reitman, MD, was awarded the David Selby Award in recognition for outstanding contributions in spine-related basic science research. He has been a NASS member since 2001, and served on the board of directors from 2009 to 2022. Dr. Reitman is currently professor and vice chairman of the department of orthopedics at Medical University of South Carolina and co-director of the MUSC Spine Center.
Nicholas Theodore, MD, was awarded the Leon Wiltse Award in recognition for excellence in leadership and/or clinical research in spine care. He has been a NASS member since 1998, pioneering research in the realms of brain and spinal cord injury, robotic surgery and advocacy. He founded Excelsius Surgical, which developed the first real-time image-guided robotic system for spine, brain and orthopedic trauma surgery, now utilized in over 75,000 cases globally.
Philip Schneider, MD, was awarded the Spine Advocacy Award, which recognizes members of the North American Spine Society who have made exceptional contributions to the federal advocacy efforts on behalf of patients and members of the society. He has been a NASS member for 33 years and served as advocacy council chair since 2018. He has also served on NASS’ board of directors and numerous committees. He is a past president of the National Association of Spine Specialists. Dr. Schneider is an orthopedic surgeon in Chevy Chase, MD, and is also the founder and director of the Holy Cross Hospital Spine Center, the first accredited Spine Center of Excellence in the Washington, D.C., area.
Christopher M. Bono, MD, was awarded the NASS Past Presidents award. He has been a NASS member since 2002 and since 2018 has been The Spine Journal’s editor in chief. Dr. Bono was NASS President during the 2015 to 2016 term. He is executive vice chair of the orthopedic department at Massachusetts General Hospital. Since 2018, he has served as a professor at Harvard Medical School.