89 Spinal Surgeon Device Inventors & Innovators to Know

John M. Abrahams, MD (New York Medical College, Valhalla). Dr. Abrahams is an associate professor of neurosurgery at New York College of Medicine as well as an inventor and entrepreneur. He developed a medical hydrogel to reduce bleeding during surgery and an injection to treat back pain. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Abrahams is also launching the Westchester Neuroscience Research Foundation to research spinal cord injuries, stroke recovery and brain tumors. His research has been honored by the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and Pennsylvania Neurologic Society. Dr. Abrahams earned his medical degree at New York Medical College and completed his residency in neurosurgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. His additional training includes the Philadelphia Spine Fellowship.

Joseph Aferzon, MD (Hospital of Central Connecticut, New Britain). Dr. Aferzon is a board-certified neurosurgeon and the chief of the department of neurosurgery at the Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain. He is also the co-director of Connecticut Spine Institute for Minimally Invasive Surgery. Dr. Aferzon holds approximately 26 patents related to spinal surgery, including an apparatus for intervertebral spinal fixation and fusion and a minimally invasive lateral fixation system and method. Dr. Aferzon completed his neurosurgery residency at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut, where he received the highest grade in the history of the neurosurgery program. He performs procedures that include cervical and lumbar disc replacement, minimally invasive TLIF using the Pathfinder, XLIF, cervical and lumbar endoscopic microdiscectomies, muscle-sparing lumbar fusions and more.

Neville Alleyne, MD (Orthopaedic Specialists of North County, Oceanside, Calif.). Dr. Alleyne focuses on treatment of neck and back problems and has invented several medical devices, including the Spinal Cord Protective Device and Radiofrequency Coblation for spinal surgery. He is certified to perform robot-assisted spinal surgery. In May, Dr. Alleyne was appointed to the scientific advisory board of Aurora Spine. He founded and served as chief medical director for start-up spinal device companies, including ProSpine, NAS Medical and Smartdisc. He received his medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and completed both an internship and residency at Yale New Haven (Conn.) Hospital. Dr. Alleyne has spinal surgery fellowship training from New England Baptist Hospital in Boston, and he studied total joint reconstruction at Massachusetts General Hospital-Harvard in Boston.

Wilson Asfora, MD (Sanford Clinic Neurosurgery & Spine, Sioux Falls, S.D.). Dr. Asfora is a neurosurgeon at Sanford Health in Sioux Falls, S.D., who focuses on neurosurgery, pediatric surgery and spinal cord injury medicine. The Brazilian-born surgeon invented the FDA 510(k)-approved Bullet Cage, a lumbar intervertebral body fusion device to treat degenerative disc disease. He also developed a patented subdural hemotoma drain called SEPS and sold it to Medtronic. Dr. Asfora is the founder of Medical Designs. He completed his neurosurgery residency at University of Sao Paulo in Brazil and completed a general neurosurgery fellowship at University of California San Francisco.

Jeffrey A. Bash, MD (Connecticut Spine Institute for Minimally Invasive Surgery, New Britain). Dr. Bash is a spine surgeon with Connecticut Spine Institute for Minimally Invasive Surgery and chief of spine surgery at Middlesex Community Hospital. During his career, he has authored several patents and participated directly in the development of new spine products. He is on the medical advisory board for US Spine and serves as a consultant for several other device companies. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Bash is a member of the National Association for Spine Surgeons, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and Society of Lateral Access Surgeons. Dr. Bash earned his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine and completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at New York University Medical Center-Hospital for Joint Diseases. His additional training includes a spine surgery fellowship at Texas Back Institute in Plano.

Clay Baynham, MD (Palm Beach Orthopaedic Institute, Palm Beach, Fla.). Dr. Baynham is a founder and director of Atlas Spine, a company focused on developing products for the cervical and lumbar spine. He is currently an orthopedic spine surgeon at Palm Beach Orthopaedic Institute with a professional interest in adult and pediatric spinal problems as well as a consultant with the Palm Beach County Trauma District. He is trained in microsurgical and laser techniques and has served as a spinal consultant to Children's Medical Services. Dr. Baynham earned his medical degree at the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he also completed his residency. His additional training includes an adult and pediatric spine surgery fellowship at Lakewood Orthopedic Clinic, and he spent time training at Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles.

Edward Benzel, MD (Cleveland Clinic). Dr. Benzel holds at least nine patents for devices, including a cervical spine stabilization method and system and a spinal column retaining apparatus. He is chairman of the Cleveland Clinic's department of neurosurgery. His clinical interests focus on spinal disorders, complex spine instrumentation and spine tumors. He is one of the founding members of the Lumbar Spine Research Society, which formed in 2007. He is chairman of the review board for the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine and has reviewed for Spine, The Spine Journal and other publications. Dr. Benzel is medical co-director of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation Spine Research Laboratory. He earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, where he also completed his residency in neurosurgery. He received fellowship training in spine surgery and spinal cord injury at VA Medical Center in Albuquerque.

Oheneba Boachie-Adjei, MD (Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City). Dr. Boachie-Adjei is the chief of the scoliosis service at Hospital for Special Surgery and an inventor who holds several patents for spine surgery devices. He helped develop the Monarch instrumentation from DePuy Spine and MESA posterior spinal system from K2M. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Boachie-Adjei founded the Foundation of Orthopedics and Complex Spine, and served as its president. More recently, he has been instrumental in the development of an orthopedics hospital in Ghana and received the Humanitarian Research Award from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He has served as president of the Scoliosis Research Society. Dr. Boachie-Adjei earned his medical degree from Columbia University in New York and completed his residency at St. Vincent Hospital & Medical Center. His additional training includes a spine surgery fellowship at Twin Cities Spine & Scoliosis Center.

Scott Boden, MD (Emory Healthcare, Atlanta). Dr. Boden holds at least six different patents for medical devices and his research focuses on spine fusion, spinal disorders and bone regeneration. He is the director of Emory Healthcare's orthopedics and spine center as well as chairman and founder of the National Spine Network. More than 150 of Dr. Boden's journal articles have been published, and he has authored or edited more than 42 book chapters and nine books on spine topics. His research on the fundamental mechanisms of bone growth and regeneration has been awarded by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, North American Spine Society, International Society for Study of the Lumbar Spine and other professional organizations. He earned his medical degree at University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia, completed an internship at George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, DC, and received fellowship training at Case Western Reserve University Hospital in Cleveland.

Charles L. Branch Jr., MD (Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, N.C.). Dr. Branch is a professor and chairman of the department of neurosurgery at Wake Forest's School of Medicine. His clinical specialties include spinal disorders, stenosis and spinal tumors, among others. He has published 20 book chapters, holds 13 patents for spine technology and has served on the editorial boards of many medical publications, including the Journal of Radiosurgery and The Spine Journal. In 2003, Dr. Branch co-founded the Brain Tumor Center of Excellence at Wake Forest to devote research to finding a cure for brain cancer. Four years later, he developed the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma Research, which is dedicated to the treatment of serious spine injuries in children. A former president of the North American Spine Society, Dr. Branch has extended his care beyond American borders on mission programs to Haiti, Nigeria and Guatemala, among other locations. He earned his medical degree from University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and completed residencies at North Carolina Baptist Hospital and University of California, San Francisco.

Robert S. Bray, Jr., MD (DISC Sports & Spine Center, Marina del Rey, Calif.). Dr. Bray has contributed to more than 20 patents, including a cervical dynamic stabilization system, SmartPlate spinal implant and a slidable bone plate system. He is the founding director and CEO of his practice, DISC Sports & Spine Center. He was chief of neurosurgery for the U.S. Air Force at David Grant Medical Center in 1989 and the founding director of the Institute for Spinal Disorders at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. DISC is the official medical provider for U.S. Olympic Athletes, Red Bull America and the Los Angeles Kings. After he received his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Dr. Bray completed his residency at Baylor Affiliated Hospitals, also in Houston.

Glenn Buttermann, MD (Midwest Spine Institute, Stillwater, Minn.). Dr. Buttermann is in private practice at Midwest Spine Institute and serves as medical co-director of the spine division at Midwest Orthopaedic Research Foundation. He currently holds three patents for an intervertebral prosthetic device and the method of performing surgery. During his career, Dr. Buttermann has received the NIH Grant for Small Business and Innovation and Research for a prosthetic spinal disc and his research has been recognized by the North American Spine Society and Scoliosis Research Society. He is also a member of the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery. Dr. Buttermann earned his medical degree at Mayo Medical School in Rochester, Minn., and completed his residency at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. His additional training includes a fellowship in spine surgery at the University of California, San Francisco, and a fellowship in orthopedic surgery and biomechanics at the University of Minnesota.

J. Abbott Byrd, MD (Atlantic Orthopaedic Specialists, Virginia Beach, Va.). Dr. Byrd currently practices with Atlantic Orthopaedic Specialists and previously served as chief of spine surgery at West Virginia University in Morgantown. He has a professional interest in treating patients with complex spinal problems, scoliosis and trauma. During his career, he has focused on innovation and holds numerous patents, including one for the Synergy Spinal System. His research has been published in professional journals and he lectures nationally and internationally on spine-related topics. Dr. Byrd is an active member of the North American Spine Society. He earned his medical degree at the Medical College of Virginia School of Medicine in Richmond and completed his residency training at Duke University Medical Center. His additional training includes a fellowship in spine surgery at Twin Cities Scoliosis Center in Minneapolis.

Robert M. Campbell, Jr., MD (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia). Dr. Campbell invented the VEPTR device for treating thoracic insufficiency syndrome. He is a professor at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and founder of the Center for Thoracic Insufficiency Syndrome. During his career, he has testified to the Senate Committee for Health in support of the 2007 Pediatric Medical Device Safety and Improvement Act. In addition to his clinical practice, he conducts research focusing on complex spine and chest wall deformity in pediatric patients. Dr. Campbell earned his medical degree at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, DC, and completed his residency at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Denver. His additional training includes a fellowship at Alfred I. DuPont Institute in Wilmington, Ohio.

Andrew Cappuccino, MD (Buffalo Spine Surgery, Lockport, N.Y.). Dr. Cappuccino is a spine surgeon at Buffalo Spine Surgery in Lockport, N.Y. He was one of the first surgeons in the state of New York to perform an artificial disc replacement surgery. Dr. Cappuccino's areas of expertise include cervical spine disorders, degenerative disc disease, lumbar spine disorders and degenerative spinal conditions, among others. He is the chair of the Surgeon Advisory Board at Lanx, in Broomfield, Colo., a medical device company focused on developing innovative devices for spinal surgery. Dr. Cappuccino completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at the University of Buffalo. He then returned to John Hopkins to complete specialty training in spine surgery.

John J. Carbone, MD (Harbor Hospital, Baltimore). Dr. Carbone is director of the orthopedic spine services at Harbor Hospital and has a special interest in the design and use of orthopedic implants and surgical instruments. He holds several patents for orthopedic prosthetics and is a consulting surgeon with the National Aquarium in Baltimore. His practice focuses on treating patients with a variety of spinal pathology and performing minimally invasive techniques. Currently, Dr. Carbone's primary research focuses on the biomechanical design and use of orthopedic implants in spinal fusion. Dr. Carbone earned his medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore. His additional training includes a fellowship in reconstructive spinal surgery.

Joseph Cauthen, MD, Ret. (North Florida Regional Medical Center, Gainesville). Dr. Cauthen is a retired neurosurgeon and co-founder of Anulex, a spine device company. He contributed to the development of several medical devices and holds three patents for artificial disc replacement. He has been a co-inventor on 28 device patents. He was an associate clinical professor of neurosurgery at the University of Florida College of Medicine from 1970 until 1999. He also served as the assistant chief of the neurosurgical section at Madigan General Hospital in Tacoma, Wash. Dr. Cauthen received his medical degree from Duke University in Durham, N.C.

James Chappuis, MD (Spine Center Atlanta). Dr. Chappuis is an orthopedic spine surgeon at Spine Center Atlanta who has been greatly involved in the medical device industry throughout his career. He has many spine and medical inventions and holds 13 patents, including for an internal pedicle screw insulator apparatus and method of use, facet fusion system and expandable pedicle tap and method. He is an active lecturer on adult spinal disorders and neurointegrity monitoring. Dr. Chappuis is currently the principal investigator in a study on the Simmons spinal plating system for pedicle screw applications. He serves as a consultant for Medtronic and is a faculty member for MIS Stryker Spine and MIS Training Course. Dr. Chappuis is fellowship trained in spine surgery from Jargen Harms, PhD, in Karlsbad, Germany. He completed an orthopedic surgery residency at Campbell Clinic at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Kingsley R. Chin, MD (Institute for Modern & Innovative Spine Surgery, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.). Dr. Kingsley is the founding spine surgeon at the Institute for Modern & Innovative Spine Surgery and inventor of the FacetFuse Minimally Invasive Screw System and MANTIS minimally invasive pedicle screw system for spinal fusion. During his career, Dr. Chin served as the chief of spine surgery at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and has published several articles in professional journals. He is a diplomat of the National Board of Medical Examiners and American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He earned his medical degree at Harvard University in Boston and completed the Harvard Combined Orthopaedic Residency with Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. His additional training includes a fellowship in adult reconstructive surgery at Harvard and a fellowship in spine surgery at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

John S. Collis, MD (St. Vincent Charity Medical Center, Cleveland). Dr. Collis is a neurosurgeon and the co-director of The Spine and Orthopedic Institute at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center in Cleveland. He has a special interest in disorders and injuries of the cervical and lumbar spine. He has helped invent many devices, including surgical instruments for total disc replacement, a laminectomy retractor and a table for disc puncture testing and treatment. Previously in his career, Dr. Collis has served as an associate professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, director of spinal surgery at Cleveland Clinic and director of neurosurgery at St. Vincent and Lutheran Hospital. He received his residencies in general surgery and neurological surgery at the Cleveland Clinic.

Steve Courtney, MD (Plano Orthopedic Sports Medicine & Spine Center, Plano, Texas). Dr. Courtney is the founder of Eminent Spine, a medical device company focused on manufacturing spinal implants. He is a spine surgeon at Plano (Texas) Orthopedic Sports Medicine & Spine Center and has served as chief of orthopedic surgery at the Medical Center of Plano. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Courtney is a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and North American Spine Society. Dr. Courtney earned his medical degree at Louisiana State University Medical School in Eunice and completed his residency at Texas A&M University Medical Center in College Station. His additional training includes a fellowship in spine surgery at the Florida Neck & Back Institute in Gainesville.

Dennis Crandall, MD (Sonoran Spine Center, Mesa, Ariz.). Dr. Crandall is the founder and medical director of Sonoran Spine Center and founder and chairman of Sonoran Spine Research and Education Foundation. During his career, he has developed a new spinal instrumentation system designed to solve certain difficult spinal deformity problems. Dr. Crandall is a member of the Scoliosis Research Society, North American Spine Society and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He is also the team spine surgeon for the Phoenix Suns and Arizona Cardinals. Dr. Crandall earned his medical degree at St. Louis University, where he also completed his residency in orthopedic surgery. His additional training includes a spine surgery fellowship at the University of Maryland in College Park.

Ara Deukmedjian, MD (Deuk Spine Institute, Melbourne, Fla.). Dr. Deukmedjian is the CEO and medical director for the Deuk Spine Institute. He developed the Deuk Laser Disc Repair procedure and instrumentation. The procedure uses an endoscope and laser to perform the procedure through a quarter inch incision. During his career, Dr. Deukmedjian has been president of the Brevard County Medical Society and is a fellow of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. He also established the Deuk Spine Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports continued research and development in spine health innovation. Dr. Deukmedjian earned his medical degree at the University of Southern California's School of Medicine and completed his neurosurgical training at the University of Florida at Shands. His additional training includes a fellowship funded as a principal investigator by the National Institutes of Health. He also traveled overseas to gain knowledge about laser spine surgery.

John Dietz, Jr., MD (OrthoIndy, Indianapolis). Dr. Dietz is a spine surgeon with OrthoIndy and the practice's hospital, Indiana Orthopaedic Hospital. He serves as secretary of the Board of Directors of OrthoIndy and is a fellow of the Scoliosis Research Society. His additional affiliations include the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and North American Spine Society. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Dietz is an inventor and holds multiple patents on surgical instrumentation used during endoscopic spine surgery. He has published several articles in professional medical journals and presented on his research at national meetings. Dr. Dietz earned his medical degree at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C., and completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Wash. His additional training includes a fellowship in spine surgery at Swedish Hospital Medical Center in Seattle.

David Ditsworth, MD (Nano Spine Institute, Los Angeles). Dr. Ditsworth is a board-certified neurosurgeon who developed the non-traumatic discectomy for treating herniated and bulging discs. He is on staff at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Ditsworth has authored more than 33 professional articles and serves as a member of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons. Dr. Ditsworth earned his medical degree at the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City and completed his residency in neurosurgery at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. His additional training includes a fellowship in neurosurgery at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn.

Steven G. Dorsky, MD (New Jersey Spine Center, Chatham, N.J.). Dr. Dorsky is chief of orthopaedic surgery at Overlook Medical Center in Summit, N.J. He is a clinical assistant professor in orthopedic surgery at New Jersey Medical School as well as the site director for New Jersey Medical School's Orthopaedic Residency Program at Overlook Medical Center. He is the inventor of a system of spinal instrumentation that has been used worldwide and is well published. Dr. Dorsky founded New Jersey Spine Center in 1987 as the first multi-disciplinary center in New Jersey for the treatment of spine-related disorders. He has a special interest in microsurgery, complex reconstructions, scoliosis, trauma and the treatment of failed back surgery. Dr. Dorsky attended Brown University Medical School. He completed both his residency training in orthopedic surgery and spine fellowship at Hospital for Joint Diseases in New York City.

Charles C. Edwards, II, MD (The Maryland Spine Center, Baltimore). Dr. Edwards is medical director at the Maryland Spine Center and has a special interest in minimally invasive spine surgery and microscopic techniques. During his career, he developed a new skeletal reconstruction procedure for patients with conditions such as spinal tumors. He designed a cylindrical brace with rods on either side of the spinal column for the procedure. During his career, Dr. Edwards has been the invited presenter at national meetings and published several articles based on his research. He was awarded the first National Institutes of Health grant for evaluating the non-operative surgical management of symptomatic adult scoliosis. Dr. Edwards earned his medical degree at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and completed his orthopedic surgery residency at Emory University in Atlanta. His additional training includes a focus on managing adult and pediatric deformity at Washington University in St. Louis.

Thomas Errico, MD (New York University Medical Center, New York City). Dr. Errico is the chief of spine surgery with the New York University Hospital of Joint Disease department of orthopedics. He has been instrumental in the development of several modern spine surgery implants and has been the national principal investigator for the Flexicore Lumbar Total Disc Replacement Trial. During his career, Dr. Errico has served as president of the North American Spine Society and International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery. He earned his medical degree at New Jersey Medical School and completed his orthopedics residency training at NYU Medical Center. His additional training includes a fellowship in spine surgery at Toronto General Hospital in Canada.

Justin Field, MD (Desert Institute for Spine Care, Phoenix). Dr. Field helped develop RISE, an expandable interbody lumbar cage that is designed for use with endoscopic fusions. The device is inserted through a 7-millimeter incision and expands to a height of 17 millimeters to restore disc space height and lordosis. Dr. Field also has special training in motion sparing technology such as artificial disc replacement and adult deformity correction. During his career, Dr. Field has been recognized as one of America's Most Compassionate Doctors. He earned his medical degree at Tulane University in New Orleans and completed his orthopedic surgery residency at Duke University in Durham, N.C. His additional training includes a spine surgery fellowship at The Spine Institute in Santa Monica.

Jeffrey Fischgrund, MD (The Oakland University School of Medicine, Royal Oak, Mich.). Dr. Fischgrund is an orthopedic spine surgeon who has been on the board of directors of TranS1, a medical device company for degenerative conditions of the lower lumbar spine region, since April 2012. He is a professor of orthopedic surgery at The Oakland University School of Medicine in Royal Oak, Mich. He has served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons since 2009 and has been the spine fellowship director at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak since 2008. His research interests are in spinal surgery, bone morphogenetic proteins and cervical disc replacements. Dr. Fischgrund received his medical degree from George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. He completed an orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore and a spine surgery fellowship at the Beaumont Hospital. He is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Michigan Orthopaedic Society, Michigan State Medical Society and more.

Mark Flood, DO (Laser Spine Institute, Tampa). Dr. Flood has pioneered the RegenaDISC and Minimally Invasive Stabilization procedures. The RegenaDISC procedure is a stem cell solution for patients with discogenic back pain and the MIS procedure includes minimally invasive fusion for the cervical and lumbar spine. Dr. Flood previously founded his practice, Spine and Orthopedic Specialists of Texas, and was a founding member of the Center for Spinal Disorders and Pediatric Orthopedics in Mesa, Ariz., before joining Laser Spine Institute in 2008. During his career he has co-authored several scientific papers. Dr. Flood earned his osteopathic medicine degree at the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Midwestern University and completed an orthopedic surgery residency. His additional training includes a spine surgery fellowship at Southern Illinois University and a scoliosis and pediatric orthopedic surgery fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine.

George A. Frey, MD (Colorado Comprehensive Spine Institute, Englewood). Dr. Frey is founder of Colorado Comprehensive Spine Institute and has a professional interest in complex spinal disorders. Throughout his career, Dr. Frey has focused on the development of new surgical techniques, spinal systems and implants. He holds dozens of patents in the United States and worldwide. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Frey has co-authored several articles on spine surgery. He earned his medical degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and completed his residency and spine surgery fellowship at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago. His additional training includes a fellowship in reconstructive and traumatic spine surgery.

Steven R. Garfin, MD (University of California San Diego). Dr. Garfin is the chairman of the Surgeon Advisory Board at SI-BONE, a company focused on minimally invasive sacroiliac joint surgery. He is a professor and chairman in the department of orthopedic surgery at the University of California in San Diego. During his career, Dr. Garfin has been the president of the North American Spine Society and Cervical Spine Research Society. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Garfin has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals and was part of a group of surgeons who met to devise an algorithm for treatment of patients with SI joint pathology. Dr. Garfin earned his medical degree from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis and completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at the University of California in San Diego. His additional training includes a spine disorders fellowship at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia.

Charles R. Gordon, MD (Texas Spine and Joint Hospital, Tyler). Dr. Gordon has contributed to the development of several patented devices, including an artificial functional spinal unit system and an expandable articulating intervertebral implant. He founded the device company Flexuspine along with his practice, Gordon Spine Associates, based in Tyler, Texas. He is a co-founder of Texas Spine and Joint Hospital and a member of the North American Spine Society and American Association of Neurological Surgeons, among other professional organizations. He received his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and completed his residency and fellowship at The Medical College of Virginia.

Paul A. Glazer, MD (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston). Dr. Glazer is a spine surgeon in Boston and has a special interest in developing improvements to surgical instrumentation. He holds several spine surgery-related patents and treats patients with conditions such as scoliosis and spinal trauma. Dr. Glazer is a member of the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine, North American Spine Society and Scoliosis Research Society. He earned his medical degree at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City and completed his residency at New York Orthopedic Hospital. His additional training includes a fellowship in spine surgery at the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine.

Regis W. Haid, Jr., MD (Atlanta Brain and Spine Care). Dr. Haid holds multiple patents for implants used during cervical lateral mass plating, anterior cervical plating, posterior and transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion and cervical arthroplasty. He is a founding partner of Atlanta Brain and Spine Care and medical director of the Piedmont Spine Center and neuroscience service line at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta. Dr. Haid has traveled internationally to present at spine conferences, including visits to Italy, Russia and Switzerland. He was previously the staff neurosurgeon for the U.S. Air Force at Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio. Dr. Haid earned his medical degree from West Virginia University in Morgantown, where he also completed his neurosurgical residency. He received fellowship training in spinal disorders at the University of Florida College of Medicine.

Roger Hartl, MD (NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York). Dr. Hartl is the chief of spinal surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College. He is also a co-director of NewYork-Presbyterian's Spine Center. Dr. Hartl specializes in complex spine procedures, minimally invasive surgery and treatment of patients with head and spinal cord injury, among other areas. Dr. Hartl has been working with Cornell's biomedical engineering department to develop a tissue-engineering technique for the repair and regeneration of degenerated spinal discs. He has lectured and published extensively on the surgical treatment of spine disorders and traumatic brain and spinal cord injury. Dr. Hartl received his medical degree from the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany, and he completed his neurosurgery residency at Weill Cornell Medical College. After finishing a fellowship in complex spine surgery at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, he re-joined the department of neurosurgery at Weill Cornell Medical College as an attending surgeon.

James Hawkins, MD (Arizona Spine Care, Phoenix). Dr. Hawkins is founder of Arizona Spine Care and co-inventor of some expandable cannula designs. He holds seven patents for those designs. Dr. Hawkins is a member of the North American Spine Society and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He is the chairman of orthopedic surgery at BEMC. During his career, Dr. Hawkins has given several spine-related presentations and written articles published in professional journals. His professional experience includes chief engineer of Bonutti Orthopaedic Services, Apogee Medical Products. Dr. Hawkins earned his medical degree at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and completed the Phoenix Orthopaedic Residency Program. His additional training includes a spine fellowship at SpineCare, San Francisco Spine Institute.

Robert Hirschl, MD (Mercy Neurosurgery, Des Moines, Iowa). Dr. Hirschl has a special interest in complex spine surgery and minimally invasive spine surgery. During his career, he has invented several surgical instrumentation devices and is a consultant member of a surgeon panel for the development of biological agents. In addition to his clinical practice, he has authored several professional articles published in medical journals. Dr. Hirschl earned his medical degree at The Ohio State University, where he also completed his residency in neurological surgery. His additional training includes a fellowship in neurointerventional endovascular care at The Ohio State University Medical Center.

Stephen Hochschuler, MD (Texas Back Institute, Plano). Dr. Hochschuler is the co-founder of Texas Back Institute and chairman of Texas Back Institute Holdings. He has several patents for spinal stabilization devices and co-founder of Innovative Spinal Technologies. During his career, Dr. Hochschuler has served on the scientific advisory board of physicians for Alphatec Spine and business advisory board for DePuy Spine. He was co-founder of the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery, and has participated in several FDA trials. Dr. Hochschuler earned his medical degree at Harvard Medical School in Boston and completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas.

Ken Y. Hsu, MD (St. Mary's Spine Center, San Francisco). Dr. Hsu is co-inventor of the X-Stop Interspinous Process Decompression System, which alleviates the symptoms of lumbar spinal stenosis. The process, FDA-approved in 2005, was first in the category of interspinous process devices. Dr. Hsu, who holds 43 patents, has been the director of spine surgery at St. Mary's Medical Center since 1988 and is a member of the clinical faculty at Stanford University. He received his medical degree from State University of New York, completed a residency in general surgery at Mt. Zion Hospital in San Francisco and an orthopedic surgery residency at St. Mary's. He completed a fellowship in spine and pediatric orthopedic surgery at the University of Hong Kong.

Khaled Kebaish, MD (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore). Dr. Kebaish is the co-inventor and co-founder of BOSS Medical, a company founded in 2011 that brought together Johns Hopkins engineers and spinal surgeons to develop novel surgical devices to use gold standard autologous bone graft material. He is also an associate professor in the Johns Hopkins department of orthopedic surgery's spine division. He received his medical degree in Cairo, Egypt. He completed a residency at the University of Toronto in Canada and a fellowship in spinal reconstructive surgery at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Kebaish's research interests include disc degeneration and biological repair, spine biomechanics, and clinical outcomes in spinal deformity.

A. Jay Khanna, MD (Johns Hopkins Medical Center, Baltimore). Dr. Khanna is an associate professor of orthopaedic surgery and biomedical engineering at the Johns Hopkins University and holds patents for an orthopedic screw system and universally deployable and expandable bone and screw anchor assembly. He currently serves on the clinical teams of BOSS Medical and Cortical Concepts, two companies that he co-founded with his colleagues and biomedical engineering students from Johns Hopkins to foster the development of new orthopedic technologies. Dr. Khanna previously served as the clinical director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Bioengineering, Innovation and Design (CBID) which prepares graduate and undergraduate biomedical engineering students to become leaders in the medical device industry and creates collaborations between clinicians and engineers at Hopkins to develop new technologies and companies. Dr. Khanna has a special interest in treating patients with cervical spinal disorders and the use of minimally invasive techniques for the treatment of lumbar spinal disorders. He is a member of North American Spine Society and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Khanna has research interests in minimally invasive spine surgery and spinal biomechanics. He earned his medical degree at the Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and completed his residency at Johns Hopkins. His additional training includes a fellowship spine surgery in the departments of in orthopedic and neurosurgery at the Cleveland Clinic.

John P. Kostuik, MD (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore). Dr. Kostuik is the founder, past chairman and chief medical officer of K2M. He previously served as chief of spine surgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. During his career, Dr. Kostuik served as president of the Scoliosis Research Society and North American Spine Society. He was one of the original members and organizers of NASS and is recognized as a leading teacher in spine surgery, having instructed more than 150 international spine fellows. In addition to his clinical practice, he has authored several articles on advanced spinal technologies and treatments and served as a key note speaker at major spine society events. Dr. Kostuik earned his medical degree at Queen's University Faculty of Health in Ontario, Canada.

Jeffrey A. Kozak, MD (Foundren Orthopedic Group, Houston). Dr. Kozak is a spine surgeon with Foundren Orthopedic Group and has a special interest in performing anterior procedures. He helped design several spinal implants and holds a patent for a spinal fixation device he invented. During his career, Dr. Kozak served on the Texas Workers' Compensation Task Force and authored several professional articles on spine surgery. He is a founding member and past president of the Texas Spine Society and member of the North American Spine Society. Dr. Kozak earned his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, where he also completed his residency in orthopedic surgery. His additional training includes spinal fellowships in England, France and Germany.

Gary E. Kraus, MD (Kraus Back & Neck Institute, Houston). Dr. Kraus is the founder of Kraus Back and Neck Institute and inventor of spinal instrumentation and devices. He has patents pending for his inventions related to minimally invasive spine surgery. He is the medical director of neurosurgery at Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital and chairman in the department of neurosurgery at Memorial Hermann, Memorial City Hospital. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Kraus is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, North American Spine Society and American Medical Association. He earned his medical degree at State University of New York at Stony Brook School of Medicine and completed his residency in the department of neurosurgery at St. Louis University School of Medicine. His additional training includes a neurovascular and skull base surgery fellowship at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix.

Toussaint LeClercq, MD (Huntington, W.Va.). Dr. LeClercq holds a patent on a non-metallic artificial disc. He currently serves as a neurosurgeon in Huntington, W. Va., and previously practiced with Brown University, Marshall University and Louisiana State University. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. LeClercq conducts research related to traumatic brain injury and artificial lumbar disc replacement. Dr. LeClercq earned his medical degree at the Faculty of Medicine State University of Liege in Belgium.

Casey K. Lee, MD (Spine Care and Rehabilitation, Roseland, N.J.). Dr. Lee is a spine surgeon with Spine Care and Rehabilitation and founder of Nexgen Spine, which developed the Physio-L Artificial Disc. He serves as chairman and chief medical officer of Nexgen Spine and continues his interest in the development of artificial disc prostheses. During his career, Dr. Lee has served as president of the North American Spine Society and New Jersey Orthopaedic Society as well as co-founder of the Korean American Spine Society. He has authored several papers published in spine text books and peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Lee earned his medical degree from Kyungpook National University Medical School in Korea and completed his orthopedic surgery residency at Carney Hospital/Boston City Hospital in Boston. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Lee spent time as a professor of surgery at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School in Newark.

Isador Lieberman, MD (Texas Back Institute, Plano). Dr. Lieberman holds multiple patents for his technological innovations, including SpineAssist, a robotic tool he co-developed for use during minimally invasive spine surgery. He has held appointments with Cleveland Clinic as staff surgeon and professor of surgery at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. His developments have been recognized with awards from Cleveland Clinic and the Spine Society of Europe. He also co-founded the Uganda Charitable Spine Surgeon Mission, with which he accompanies a team of surgeons to visit Uganda each year to treat the underprivileged with spine conditions. He earned his medical degree from the University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada, and completed his residency at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. He also completed residency programs in orthopedic surgery at two Toronto hospitals along with a clinical fellowship in spine and trauma surgery at The Toronto Hospital.

Morgan P. Lorio, MD, FACS (Neuro-Spine Solutions, Bristol, Tenn.). Dr. Lorio is in private practice where he focuses on complex spinal disorders. He also serves as Chairman of International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery Coding & Reimbursement Task Force, and Assistant Clinical Professor of Orthopedics at East Tennessee State University Medical School. He collaboratively holds the patent for Alphatec's Guided (Guyer) Lumbar Inter body Fusion (GLIF), and holds the honor of performing the first ever three-level GLIF. Dr Lorio is also co-inventor for the commercialized Lanx Epic Plate. Additional patents are pending for spinal devices and implants. In addition to his clinical work, he is instrumental in advocating for spine patients in his role as spokesperson for the Spine Health Foundation, where he received the 2011 Hope Award. Dr. Lorio earned his medical degree at Louisiana State University Medical Center, Shreveport and completed his orthopedic surgical residency training at SUNY at Buffalo Medical/ Dental Educational Consortium.  His additional training includes a fellowship with Hansen A. Yuan, MD, at Health Science Center Syracuse, New York, Simmons Spine Fellowship at SUNY, at Buffalo Medical/ Dental Educational Consortium and a Hand & Microsurgery Fellowship at the Hand Center of Western New York.

Gary L. Lowery, MD (Phoenix Orthopedic Residency Program). Dr. Lowery is a founding member of the North American Spine Society and serves on the board of directors. Previously, Dr. Lowery was chief of spine surgery at Phoenix Orthopedic Residency Program and medical director of Research Institute International. He is also co-founder of International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery and has research and invented myriad devices and techniques throughout his career. Dr. Lowery's inventions include the Orion Cervical Plating System, Spondylolisthesis Reduction System and Transverse Loaded Spinal Fixation. He has served as medical director of Viscogliosis Bros., a venture capital group. He was principal in starting Medtronic Sofamor Danek and DePuy Spine, as well as serves on the scientific advisory boards for Synthes Spine, Paradigm Spine, SpineVision, Osteotech and more.

David W. Lowry, MD (The Brain+Spine Center, Holland, Mich.). Dr. Lowry is a neurological spine surgeon with The Brain+Spine Center and co-founder of TransCorp Spine. He continues to serve as a board member of the company. During his career, Dr. Lowry invented a new spine surgery technique, the TransCorporal Micro Discectomy, for patients suffering from spinal stenosis. He holds two patents for his work and continues his efforts in research and development in areas such as the cervical spine. Dr. Lowry is a member of North American Spine Society and Congress of Neurological Surgeons. He also serves on the board of trustees for Hope College, his alma mater. Dr. Lowry earned his medical degree at Johns Hopkins Medical School in Baltimore and completed additional training at the University of Pittsburgh.

James Lynch, MD (SpineNevada, Reno, Nev.). Dr. Lynch is a neurological surgeon who specializes in complex spine surgery, as well as minimally invasive spine surgery. He is the founder and CEO of SpineNevada and chairman and director of spine at the Surgical Center of Reno. He is on staff at St. Mary's Hospital and Renown Regional Medical Center, both located in Reno. Dr. Lynch also serves as director, spine services, for Regent Surgical Health, where he directs Regent's program to help physicians develop spine-focused ASCs and specialty spine hospitals. He earned his medical degree from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, followed by a residency at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Dr. Lynch completed three spine fellowships at the Mayo Clinic, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, England, and the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix. His work has been published in several professional publications including The Journal of Neurosurgery and Neurosurgery and Spine.

Robert Masson, MD (NeuroSpine Institute, Orlando). Dr. Masson is the founder and president of NeuroSpine Institute and a retired Lieutenant Commander of the United States Naval Reserve. He has a professional interest in minimally invasive spine surgery and developer of the iMAS surgical principles, techniques and products for Synthes Spine. The iMAS is an interpedicular minimal access surgery of the lumbar spine. During his career, Dr. Masson has treated several professional athletes, including football and basketball players. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Masson is a member of the Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery. He was also featured on a Discovery Health documentary as a neurological surgery expert. Dr. Masson earned his medical degree at the University of Florida and completed his neurological surgery residency in Gainesville, Fla. His additional training includes a fellowship in skull base surgery and neurotology at the House Ear Clinic in Los Angeles.

Paul C. McAfee, MD (St. Joseph Medical Center, Towson, Md.). Dr. McAfee is the director of the Scoliosis and Spine Center at St. Joseph Medical Center with a special interest in deformities and neurological deficits. He invented a cervical disc replacement prosthesis and procedure currently used in 37 countries for patients with neck pain. His additional inventions include spinal rods for scoliosis and fractures. During his career, Dr. McAfee served as a lead investigator for the Charite Lumbar Artificial Disc Replacement FDA clinical trial and consultant for more than 20 spinal instrumentation and pharmaceutical companies. Dr. McAfee earned his medical degree from State University of New York at Syracuse and completed surgical training at the University of Virginia and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He completed a fellowship in spine surgery.

Richard McCarthy, MD (Arkansas Children's Hospital, Little Rock). Dr. McCarty is an orthopedic surgeon at Arkansas Children's Hospital and a professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences. He invented the SHILLA system, which was developed by Medtronic for patients with early onset scoliosis. The growth guidance system is a rod and screw based system incorporating a flanged screw set designed to capture the rod and allow it to slide as the patient grows. He is a member of North American Spine Society and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Dr. McCarthy earned his medical degree at State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn and completed the Harvard Combined Training program in Boston. His additional training includes fellowships in pediatric orthopedics and scoliosis at Children's Hospital in Boston and has been president elect of Scoliosis Research Society.

Robert McLain, MD (Cleveland Clinic). Dr. McLain directs the Spine Research Program at Cleveland Clinic and is inventor of a composite hydrogel artificial disc, a cannulated probe for traspedicular aspiration of autologous osteoprogenitor stem cells and holds a provisional patent for unilateral anterior cervical plate. He is a member of the North American Spine Society, International Society for the Study of lumbar Spine and Scoliosis Research Society. He previously served as the director of the Spine Care Center at the University of California, Davis. Dr. McLain earned his medical degree at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine and completed his residency at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. His additional training includes a spine fellowship at UC Davis Medical Center and the North American Traveling Fellow of The American Orthopaedic Association.

Gary Michelson, MD, Ret. (Centinela Hospital Medical Center, Inglewood, Minn.). Dr. Michelson is a board-certified, fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon who develops surgical treatments for major spinal disorders. His inventions include minimally invasive spine implants, anterior cervical plating systems, interbody spinal fusion systems and systems for implanting spinal motion preservation devices, such as artificial discs. Dr. Michelson has more than 250 U.S. patents on instruments, methods and devices for spine and orthopedic procedures, and in 2005 he sold many of his patents to Medtronic. He retired from private practice and runs several charitable organizations including the Medical Research Foundation Trust, Michelson Medical Research Foundation and Twenty Million Minds Foundation. He completed fellowship training at St. Luke's Medical Center in a joint program between Baylor University and the University of Texas.

Warren Neely, MD (Texas Neurosciences Institute, San Antonio). Dr. Neely is co-founder and chief medical officer for Wenzel Spine. During his career, Dr. Neely has focused on research and participated in pioneering research and development of new stand-alone lumbar fusion technology and procedures. He has a professional interest in treating adult patients with cervical and lumbar spinal pathologies and has been in private practice for more than 32 years. He is a board-certified neurological surgeon and a diplomate of the American Board of Neurological Surgeons. Dr. Neely earned his medical degree at The University of Louisville (Ky.) and completed his residency and fellowship at Montreal Neurological Institute in Canada.

Seth Neubardt, MD (Seth Neubardt, M.D. & Jack Stern, M.D., Ph.D., White Plains, N.Y.). Dr. Neubardt is the sole inventor of several medical patents, including one for a spinal procedure to safely insert screws which is now used at more than 600 hospitals in 15-plus countries. He has a professional interest in developing technology for minimally invasive spine surgery, such as an electrically insulated surgical probing tool and an apparatus and method for locating defects in bone tissue. He is a fellow with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and member of the North American Spine Society. Dr. Neubardt earned his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston and completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. His additional training includes an orthopedic and neurological spine fellowship at New York University Medical Center in New York City.

Pierce D. Nunley, MD (Spine Institute of Louisiana, Shreveport). Throughout his career, Dr. Nunley has been involved in the design and development of several spinal implants used throughout the world. He is also involved in research and participated in several clinical trials as the principle researcher. He is the founder of the Spine Institute of Louisiana Foundation, which funds research, education and community service-related to spine care. Dr. Nunley earned his medical degree at the University of Kansas and completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at Louisiana State University. His additional training includes an AO scholarship to study in Basel, Switzerland, and a fellowship in spine surgery at Dallas Spine Group.

Said Osman, MD (American Spine, Columbia, Md.). Dr. Osman is an orthopedic spine surgeon with a professional interest in microspine surgery and endoscopic technique. He was involved in the development of several surgical instruments, including the Uni-directional Dynamic Spinal Fixation Device, a method for postoperatively compressing a bone graft and a biologic intramedullary fixation device. Dr. Osman is also co-founder of Spine Plus, where he created minimally invasive surgical instrumentation and methods. During his career, Dr. Osman has received the Kambin Foundation Annual Award for research in minimally invasive spine surgery at Best Resident Research Paper Award from the Ohio Orthopedic Society. Dr. Osman earned his medical degree from the University of Nairobi in Kenya and completed his fellowship training at the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh, Scotland. His additional training includes a residency and spine fellowship at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Tushar Ch. Patel, MD (Commonwealth Orthopaedics, Fairfax, Va.). Dr. Patel is a spine surgeon with Commonwealth Orthopaedics and previously served as chief of the section of spine surgery at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. He has a special interest in the changing technologies for spine instrumentation and tools, and he holds six patents for spinal implants. His clinical practice focuses on cervical spine surgery, disc replacement and minimally invasive technique. In addition to his clinical practice, he is a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and a member of North American Spine Society. Dr. Patel earned his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and completed his fellowship in orthopedic surgery at George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. His additional training includes a fellowship in spine surgery at Cleveland Clinic.

Miguelangelo J. Perez-Cruet, MD (Michigan Head & Spine Institute, Royal Oak). Dr. Perez-Cruet is the chief of minimally invasive spine surgery at Beaumont Hospitals and vice chairman and director of minimally invasive spine surgery and spine program director at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine. He has been involved in the invention of a minimally invasive percutaneous pedicle screw and slotted rod assembly. He is also the author of several text books, including Outpatient Spine Surgery and has been a leader of the Minimally Invasive Neurosurgical Society. He earned his medical degree at Tufts University in Boston and completed his residency in neurological surgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. His additional training includes a fellowship in minimally invasive spine surgery at Rush University in Chicago.

Kenneth A. Pettine, MD (Rocky Mountain Associates, Loveland, Colo.). Dr. Pettine is co-inventor and co-designer of the Maverick Artificial Disc, a disc replacement device for the neck and back. He is a co-founder of Rocky Mountain Associates and a surgeon at Loveland (Colo.) Surgery Center. During his career, Dr. Pettine has been chief investigator for eight FDA studies involving non-fusion spine technology. He is a distinguished speaker at national and international symposiums and the author of nearly 20 research publications. He received his medical degree from the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver. He completed his residency and his master's degree in orthopedic surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and completed a fellowship at the Institute for Low Back Care in Minneapolis.

Madhavan Pisharodi, MD (Pisharodi Surgical Clinic, Brownville, Texas). Dr. Pisharodi was recently awarded the Malayalee Achievers Award from the World Malayalee Council for advancements in the field of spine surgery. He has secured 25 patents and won FDA approval for four, including implants he developed for spine surgery. His product, Saral, is designed to improve a cervical plate system by locking attached screws inside the plate without the use of additional locking screws or tools. During his career, he has given many national and international presentations on a wide range of topics, including a lumbar intervertebral disc stabilization technique. Dr. Pisharodi completed his residency at the University of Texas in Galveston.

Mark A. Reiley, MD, Ret. (Berkeley Orthopedics Surgical, Berkeley, Calif.). Dr. Reiley is the chief medical officer, inventor and founder of SI-BONE, located in San Jose, Calif. He developed the Kyphon system for vertebral compression fractures of the spine and the Archus Orthopedics RDFAS system, a novel implant for spinal stenosis. He also has several foot and ankle devices. Dr. Reiley was a founding member of Berkeley Orthopedics Surgical group where he practiced for 20 year before retiring in 2009. He earned his medical degree from George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., and completed both his orthopedic residency and fellowship at the University of California San Francisco.

Seyed M. Rezaian, MD (California Orthopaedic Medical Clinic). Dr. Rezaian is the medical director of the California Orthopaedic Medical Clinic and the inventor of the New External Bone Fixator and Rezaian Spinal Fixator for stabilizing spinal fractures or replacement of damaged intervertebral bodies. He is a fellow of the North American Spine Society, International College of Surgeons and American Academy of Neurological and Orthopedic Surgery. Throughout his career, he has published more than 100 papers in scientific literature and made more than 200 presentations at national and international meetings. Dr. Rezaian earned his medical degree at Meshed University in Iran and completed his residency in London. His additional training includes a fellowship at the Royal College of Surgeons in England.

Andrew A. Sama, MD (Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City). Dr. Sama is an associate attending orthopedic surgeon at Hospital for Special Surgery and fellowship director of the spinal surgical services. Dr. Sama also helped design orthopedic implants used in spine surgery and is the developer of an implant system and lumbar cage as well as the inventor and designer of the Integrated Spine System and Pagoda Spine System. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Sama is active in the North American Spine Society, International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. His research interests include biology and biomechanics of spinal fusions. Dr. Sama earned his medical degree at the University of Miami School of Medicine and completed his residency at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital Medical Center. His additional training includes a fellowship at Hospital for Special Surgery/Weill Cornell Medical College in spinal disorders and deformity surgery.

Harvinder Sandhu, MD (Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City). Dr. Sandhu is a spine surgeon who has a special interest in minimally invasive spine surgery, endoscopic spine surgery, microsurgery, computer-assisted surgery and biologics. He is actively engaged in the development and invention of medical devices and instruments. Dr. Sandhu holds several patents relating to the diagnosis and treatment of spinal disorders. He has published more than 75 articles on biologic enhancement of spine surgery and minimally invasive techniques. He has been recognized for his research by the North American Spine Society, Orthopedic Research Society and International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine. Dr. Sandu received his medical degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. He completed his residency at State University of New York and his fellowship at the University of California at Los Angeles.

Rick Sasso, MD (Indiana Spine Group, Indianapolis). Dr. Sasso is a founding member and president of Indiana Spine Group. He is also co-medical director of St. Vincent Spine Center and chief of spine surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine department of orthopedic surgery. Last year he received approval for a patent for instruments and techniques for guiding treatments to a spinal column related to anterior cervical discectomy and fusion as well as safely and accurately placing cervical disc replacements into the intradiscal space. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Sasso is a member of North American Spine Society, International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery and Scoliosis Research Society. He earned his medical degree at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis and completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston. His additional training includes spine surgery fellowships at the University of Texas Medical Center, Northwestern University in Chicago, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and in St. Gallen, Switzerland.

David G. Schwartz, MD (OrthoIndy Northwest, Indianapolis). Dr. Schwartz is the inventor of the Anteres Spinal Instrumentation System, which is used for the treatment of spinal fractures, scoliosis and tumors. During his career, Dr. Schwartz's clinical interests include spinal deformities, kyphosis, scoliosis and low back pain. He is the director of OrthoIndy's Spine Fellowship and an assistant clinical professor in the department of orthopedic surgery at Indiana University in Bloomington. He earned his medical degree from Loyola University in Chicago, completed a residency in orthopedic surgery at Northwestern University in Chicago and received fellowship training in spine surgery at the Leatherman Spine Center, Kosair Childrens Hospital and the University of Louisville, all located in Louisville, Ky.

Lali Sekhon, MD (Nevada Neurosurgery, Reno). Dr. Sekhon is spine-focused neurosurgeon with a special interest in cervical myelopathy, degenerative disc disease, spinal tumors and spinal trauma. The practice currently holds 12 patents on eight products related to spine surgery. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Sekhon conducts research in cervical and lumbar disc prostheses, spinal implant designs and bone morphogenic proteins. He is a member of the North American Spine Society and American College of Surgeons. He is a fellow of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and on the editorial board for the Journal of Spinal Disorders & Techniques. He earned his medical degree from the University of Sydney in Australia and completed additional training at Yale-New Haven (Conn.) Hospital. Dr. Sekhon also completed a fellowship at Mayo Clinic and another at Toronto Western Hospital in Canada.

John E. Sherman, MD (Twin Cities Orthopedics, Edina, Minn.). Dr. Sherman is the medical director of CoreSpine, a company focused on developing technology for advanced surgical devices for spine surgery. He practices at Twin Cities Orthopedics in Edina, Minn., and performs spine surgery. Dr. Sherman also has served as an assistant professor at the University of California Los Angeles' Orthopaedic Hospital Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. He has conducted research on engineering technologies and focuses on motion preservation and minimally invasive spine surgery. Dr. Sherman graduated from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He completed a surgery residency at the University of Minnesota Medical School and a fellowship at UCLA's department of orthopedics.

Krzysztof B. Siemionow, MD (Illinois Bone & Joint Institute, Morton Grove, Ill.). Dr. Siemionow is a spine surgeon and assistant professor of orthopedics and neurosurgery at the University of Illinois in Chicago. He holds several patents for developing devices and technology used during nerve and spine surgery, and has been involved in applications for terahertz electromagnetic waves with scientists from Case Western Reserve University. During his career, Dr. Siemionow has published several scientific articles related to spine surgery and has received an NIH grant for his studies. His current research focuses on the aging spine, less invasive surgical techniques and robotic spine surgery. Dr. Siemionow completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at Cleveland Clinic and finished a spine and neurosurgical fellowship at Cleveland Clinic Spine Institute. He completed an additional fellowship in adult spine surgery at Rush University Medical Center and a pediatric spine fellowship at the Shriners Hospital for Children.

Paul Slosar, MD (SpineCare Medical Group, Daly City, Calif.). Dr. Slosar is the medical director of Titan Spine, a spine device company. He serves as president of SpineCare Medical Group and assistant director of surgical research and surgical fellowship at The San Francisco Spine Institute. During his career, he has served as a reviewer for Spine and on the editorial board of The Spine Journal. He is a member of several professional societies, including North American Spine Society, Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery and International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine. Dr. Slosar earned his medical degree at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and completed his orthopedic surgery residency at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill. His additional training includes a fellowship in spine surgery at The San Francisco Spine Institute and SpineCare Medical Group.

Scott Spann, MD (Westlake Orthopaedics Spine & Sports, Austin, Texas). Dr. Spann is the founder of Westlake Orthopaedics Spine & Sports and medical device company Pantheon Spinal, both in Austin, Texas. He started Pantheon in 2007 to develop and manufacture advanced lumbar spine surgery products and implants. Dr. Spann holds many patents for surgical products and implants related to spine. He has also participated in numerous clinical trials. He serves as the chairman of spine surgery at The Hospital at Westlake Medical Center and is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedics Surgeons, North American Spine Society, Texas Orthopaedic Association and Travis County Medical Society. Dr. Spann received his medical degree from the University of South Carolina in Columbia. He completed his orthopedic residency at Ochsner Foundation Hospital in New Orleans.

Jeffrey Thramann, MD (Boulder Neurological Associates, Boulder, Colo.). Dr. Thramann is the co-founder and chairman of the board of directors at Lanx, a spine device company. He also founded his practice, Boulder Neurological Associates. During his career, he has served on the medical advisory board for NeoSpine, a spine surgery center management and development company. Dr. Thramann is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. In addition to his clinical work, he has published articles in professional journals. He earned his medical degree from Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York City and completed his neurosurgery residency at Maricopa Medical Center at St. Joseph Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. His additional training includes time at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix.

Scott G. Tromanhauser, MD (Boston Spine Group). Dr. Tromanhauser is a member of Boston Spine Group and co-founder of Cortek, Inc., a medical device company where the spinal fusion products are based on his patents. He also founded Intelligent Outcomes, a company that creates medical decision support tools using an Artificial Neural Network platform. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Tromanhauser has participated in ongoing FDA-sanctioned trials of new spine devices. He earned his medical degree from Albany (N.Y.) Medical College and completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at Albany Medical Center Hospital. His additional training includes a fellowship in spine surgery at New England Baptist Hospital in Boston.

Jeffrey Wang, MD (UCLA Comprehensive Spine Center, Los Angeles). Dr. Wang practices with the UCLA Comprehensive Spine Center and is the director of the UCLA Spine Surgery Fellowship. He is the inventor of an artificial disc, which he used in a spine surgery for Governor Benigno R. Fitial, who was suffering from spinal stenosis. During his career, Dr. Wang has served on the editorial boards for several professional journals, including editor-in-chief for Global Spine Journal and deputy editor for The Spine Journal. He has served on the board of directors for the Cervical Spine Research Society and North American Spine Society as well as held leadership positions with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Wang runs a basic science laboratory. His research interests include gene therapy for spinal disorders, minimally invasive spine surgery and bone growth biological proteins. He earned his medical degree at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at UCLA School of Medicine. Dr. Wang's additional training includes a spine and spinal cord injury fellowship at University Hospitals of Cleveland.

Sherwin J. Wayne, MD (Orthopedic Sports Medicine & Spine Care Institute, St. Louis). Dr. Wayne is an orthopedic spine surgeon with a special interest in lumbar spine surgery. He invented a positioning device for lumbar spine surgery that has helped revolutionize surgical technique to improve operative exposure and minimize blood loss. He served as a team physician for local athletes for several years and is a member of the North American Spine Society and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He earned his medical degree at the University of Illinois School of Medicine and completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at St. Louis University. His additional training includes a reconstructive orthopedic surgery and rehabilitation fellowship at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital in Los Angeles.

Richard Wohns, MD (NeoSpine, Puyallup, Wash.). Dr. Wohns is a spine surgeon and a leader in the development of ambulatory spine practices. He is the founder and president of NeoSpine in Puyallup, Wash., and founded a spine ASC development company that is currently part of Symbion Healthcare. Dr. Wohns also co-founded U.S. Radiosurgery, a company that developed and managed Gamma Knife and Cyberknife Radiosurgery centers. He was one of the first neurosurgeons in the United States qualified to perform the extreme lateral interbody fusion procedure. Dr. Wohns attended medical school at Yale University School of Medicine and completed his neurosurgery residency at the University of Washington in Seattle. He holds an executive MBA from the University of Washington and is currently pursuing a law degree from Seattle University School of Law.

Eric Woodard, MD (New England Baptist Hospital, Roxbury Crossing, Mass.). Dr. Woodard is the chief medical officer of InVivo Therapeutics, a medical device company focused on finding solutions for patients with spinal cord injury. Dr. Woodard is also the chief of neurosurgery at New England Baptist Hospital and former chief of spine surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital, both in Boston. He established the neurosurgery fellowship in spine surgery at NEBH and has been on the editorial board for The Journal of Spinal Disorders & Techniques and Spine Universe. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Woodard is a member of several professional societies, including North American Spine Society and has served as chairman of the AO Spine North America Board. Dr. Woodard earned his medical degree from Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pa., and completed his neurological surgery residency at Emory University in Atlanta. His additional training includes a fellowship in complex spine surgery at Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.

Christopher Yeung, MD (Desert Institute for Spine Care, Phoenix). Dr. Yeung helped develop RISE, an expandable interbody lumbar cage which is designed for use with endoscopic fusions. The device is inserted through a 7 millimeter incision and expands to a height of 17 millimeters to restore disc space height and lordosis. During his career, Dr. Yeung has also been the principle investigator for several FDA studies, including Flexicore lumbar artificial disc replacement. Dr. Yeung is the team spine surgeon for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Rattlers. Dr. Yeung earned his medical degree from the University of Southern California School of Medicine and completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at the University of California Irvine Medical Center. His additional training includes a spine surgery fellowship at USC Center for Orthopedic Spine Surgery/Los Angeles Spine Surgery.

Anthony T. Yeung, MD (Desert Institute for Spine Care, Phoenix). Dr. Yeung developed the FDA-approved Yeung Endoscopic Spine System, and was one of the first spine surgeons to utilize endoscopically-guided laser for degenerative conditions of the lumbar spine. During his career, Dr. Yeung has authored more than 70 scientific publications on his technique. He is currently the president of the World Congress of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgeons and has held leadership positions within numerous other national and international spine organizations. Dr. Yeung received his medical degree from University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque, completed his residency at Maricopa County General Hospital in Phoenix and served in the U.S. Navy Medical Corp in Subic Bay, Philippines.

Thomas Zdeblick, MD (University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wis.). Dr. Zdeblick is an orthopedic surgeon and chief of the department of orthopedics and rehabilitation at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine in Madison. He treats spinal disorders and cervical deformity using anterior thoracolumbar spinal instrumentation, interbody fusion cages, artificial discs and minimally invasive surgery. Dr. Zdeblick designed and invented the Z-plate anterior thoracolumbar spinal fixation, Novus interbody lordotic fusion cage and LT Cage. Medtronic purchased his devices. He served his spine fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore after completing a residency and internship at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Dr. Zdeblick received his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston.

Steven Zielinski, MD (Providence Hospital, Waco, Texas). Dr. Zielinski is the head of the department of neurology at Providence Hospital in Waco, Texas. He holds a patent for an artificial spinal implant that was developed for insertion between vertebrae to replace ruptured, degenerated or damaged spinal discs. Dr. Zielinski also serves as the president and CEO of Zielinski Medical Technologies. He served a neurosurgical residency at Montreal Neurological Hospital in Canada and a cerebrovascular fellowship at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. He's a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons and North American Spine Society.

Christian G. Zimmerman, MD (Idaho Neurological Institute, Boise). Dr. Zimmerman is chairman and founder of the Idaho Neurological Institute, (INI).  He currently holds a number of patents for Pedicle Screw use including an anchoring device for osteoporotic bone, an expanding screw design and an intervertebral body mechanism to preclude disc recurrence. Dr. Zimmerman established the INI research facility in 1995 to focus on nervous system injury, repair and neuroplasticity. Research projects include a 20-year longitudinal study of traumatic brain injury, investigations of spinal injury, stroke, arterial thrombolytic therapy intervention, neuropathology, CNS tumors, sleep disorders, and five TATRC Telemedicine grants.  Dr. Zimmerman is diplomate of the American Board of Neurological Surgery and Pain Management, a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and Physician Executives, a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine (UK) and received his Masters of Business Administration from Auburn University. He earned his medical degree at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and completed his residency at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. He also completed a fellowship at Barrow Neurological Institute of St. Joseph's Hospital.

Jim Zucherman, MD (San Francisco Orthopaedic Surgeons). Dr. Zucherman is a senior spine partner at San Francisco Orthopaedic Surgeons Medical Group and inventor and co-developer of the X-Stop, an interspinous process device for treating lumbar spinal stenosis. He also developed the Starflex motion preservation minimally invasive spine stabilization device through Spartek. During his career, Dr. Zucherman has pioneered several surgical techniques and developed one of the first laparoscopic lumbar spinal fusions and percutaneous cervical discectomy procedures in the United States. He has been a principle investigator for the Prodisc and Flexicore FDA lumbar disc replacement trials as well as the Prestige and Cervicore cervical disc replacement trials. Dr. Zucherman earned his medical degree at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and completed his residency in orthopedic surgery through the San Francisco Orthopaedic Residency Program. His additional training includes a pediatric and orthopedic spine surgery fellowship at the Duchess of Kent Children's Orthopaedic Hospital of the University of Hong Kong.