International Spine Study Group - International Spine and Study Group

2023 ISSG Fall Meeting

Welcome to the ISSG

Members of the ISSG practice at sites across the United States and Internationally at sites in Canada and Japan. The ISSG is dedicated to the advancement of treatment for adults with spinal deformity

OUR MISSION

The ISSG is a group of surgeons dedicated to the advancement of treatment for adults with spinal deformity. Comprehensive multicenter prospective research studies are used to answer questions regarding treatment approach and techniques to achieve best possible outcomes. The ISSG is committed to being internationally recognized for the highest quality published research on new spinal deformity surgery techniques.

The ISSG Annual Meeting

The ISSG Annual Meeting was August 15th and 16th in Las Vegas at the Viticus Center. There were 200 attendees between fellows, residents, faculty and industry partners

50+

Active Researchers

4,700+

Participating Patients

30+

Participating Sites

Our Members

Shay Bess, MD

Shay Bess, MD, is a practicing spine surgeon at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center and Rocky Mou...

Christopher Ames, MD

Dr. Christopher Ames is director of spinal tumor and spinal deformity surgery at UCSF Medical Center...

Neel Anand, MD

Dr. Neel Anand serves as Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Co-Director of the Spine Center at the...

Christine (Chris) Baldus, RN MSN

Chris Baldus, RN MSN, is a Project Manager working with sites and investigators participating in ISS...

Thomas J. Buell, MD

Thomas J. Buell, MD, is an Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurolo...

Dean Chou, MD

Dr. Dean Chou is Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Columbia University, ...

Alan H. Daniels, MD

Dr. Alan H. Daniels is a Board-Certified spine surgeon who specializes in adult spinal deformity and...

Jenny De Jong, MSN, RN, CCRC

Jenny De Jong, MSN, RN, CCRC, is a Project Manager on the administrative team for the ISSG. Prior to...

Bassel Diebo, MD

Dr. Bassel Diebo is a Spine and Scoliosis Surgeon and the Director of Spine Research and Innovation ...

Robert Eastlack, MD

Dr. Robert Eastlack is Head of the Division of Spine Surgery at Scripps Clinic, Director of Clinical...

Adam Kanter, MD, FAANS

Dr. Adam Kanter serves as Associate Executive Medical Director, Pickup Family Neurosciences Institut...

JEFF GUM, MD

Dr. Jeff Gum completed his orthopedic surgery residency at University of Louisville and his spine fe...

Munish C. Gupta, MD, MBA

Munish C. Gupta, MD, MBA, joined the world-renowned Spine Department at Washington University in 201...

Kojo Hamilton, MD

Dr. Kojo Hamilton attended to the University of Maryland College Park and graduated with a Bachelor ...

Robert Hart, MD

Dr. Robert Hart retired from clinical practice and Medical Director of Spinal Deformity at Swedish N...

Naobumi Hosogane, MD, PhD

Dr. Naobumi Hosogane is an Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at National Defense Medical Col...

Richard Hostin, MD

Richard Hostin, MD is a board-certified, spine surgery fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon whose p...

Michael Kelly, MD

Dr. Michael Kelly is the director of scoliosis and spinal deformities in the Division of Orthopedics...

Han Jo Kim, MD

Dr. Han Jo Kim is an Attending Spine Surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery New York with an in...

Virginie Lafage, PhD

After obtaining her mechanical engineering degree in France, Dr. Virginie Lafage pursued a PhD in Bi...

Renaud Lafage, MD

Hailing from France, Dr. Renaud Lafage holds two master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from The...

Vivian Le, Clinical Research Manager

Vivian Le earned her Bachelor of Science degree in human biology from the University of California, ...

Breton Line, Mechanical Engineer

Bret Line has been working with the ISSG since 2008 and has been involved in every aspect of the res...

Jeffrey P. Mullin, MD, MBA

Jeffrey P. Mullin, MD, MBA is an Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at University at Buffalo, New Y...

Praveen Mummaneni, MD

Dr. Praveen Mummaneni is the Joan O'Reilly Distinguished Professor in Spinal Surgery at UCSF, San Fr...

Gregory Mundis, MD

Dr. Gregory Mundis grew up in Vienna, Austria, the son of a missionary family, which fuels his passi...

Pierce Nunley, MD

Dr. Pierce Nunley is the Director at the Spine Institute of Louisiana and an Associate Professor of ...

David O Okonkwo, MD, PhD

Dr. David O Okonkwo is Professor of Neurological Surgery and Director of the Scoliosis and Spinal De...

Eric O. Klineberg, MD, MS

Dr. Eric O. Klineberg is a Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at UTHea...

Paul Park, MD

Dr. Paul Park is presently at the Semmes-Murphey Clinic in Memphis and is a Professor of Neurosurger...

Peter G. Passias, MD

Dr. Peter G. Passias completed an accelerated masters and medical doctorate program with a sub-focus...

Themistocles Protopsaltis, MD

Dr. Themistocles Protopsaltis is Director of Adult Spinal Deformity Surgery and an Assistant Profess...

Justin K. Scheer, MD

Dr. Justin K. Scheer is currently a comprehensive spine fellow in the Department of Orthopedic Surge...

Frank Schwab, MD

Frank Schwab MD is the System Chief of Orthopaedic Spine Surgery at Northwell Health and the Chair o...

Christopher Shaffrey, MD, FAANS

Dr. Christopher I. Shaffrey graduated magna cum laude from The Citadel in Charleston, SC with B.S. d...

Justin Smith, MD, PhD

Dr. Justin Smith completed the MD, PhD program at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. He subsequently com...

Alex Soroceanu, MD

Dr. Alex Soroceanu earned her medical degree at McGill University in Quebec completed a residency in...

Alekos Theologis, MD

Dr. Alekos Theologis is a spine surgeon who cares for adults with a wide range of spinal disorders a...

Jay D. Turner, MD, PhD

Dr. Jay D. Turner is an American Board of Neurological Surgery certified attending neurosurgeon and ...

Juan S. Uribe, MD, FAANS

Dr. Juan S. Uribe is the Chief Division of Spinal Disorders and Vice Chairman of Neurosurgery at Bar...

Michael Y. Wang, MD, MBA, FAANS

Dr. Michael Y. Wang was born in Scottsdale, Arizona and spent his childhood in Atlanta, Georgia. He...

Mitsuru Yagi, MD

Dr. Mitsuru Yagi is a Professor and Chair of Orthopedic Surgery at International University of Healt...

Vedat Deviren, MD

Dr. Deviren specializes in the treatment of spinal disorders in children and adults. He completed a ...

DOUGLAS BURTON, MD

Dr. Burton attended Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas and received his medical degree fro...

Behrooz Akbarnia, MD

Dr. Behrooz Akbarnia formerly Professor and Vice Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery at St. Louis Universit...

Nana Prof. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei

Nana Prof. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei is the President and Founder of the Foundation of Orthopedics and C...

Breton Line

Bret has been working with the ISSG since 2008 and has been involved in every aspect of the research...

OUR SPONSORS

The ISSG Would Like To Thank The Following Sponsors For Making Our Research Possible

January Highlighted Members

Virginie Lafage, PhD

After obtaining her mechanical engineering degree in France, Dr. Virginie Lafage pursued a PhD in Biomechanics with a focus on finite element analysis and biomechanical simulations for scoliosis surgery. Her journey led to extensive clinical training in spine surgery under the mentorship of Jean Dubousset, MD, and Frank Schwab, MD, in Paris and New York respectively, with a specific focus on sagittal spinopelvic alignment, adult spinal deformity, cervical deformity, and soft tissue analysis.

Dr. Lafage became adept in multiple areas of clinical research, including managing multicenter trials, radiological and force plate analysis, complex statistical analysis, computer programming and manuscript preparation. In her roles as a Director of Research at NYU, HSS, and now Lenox Hill Hospital, along with her involvement in the International Spine Study Group, she has contributed to more than 650 peer-reviewed publications and participated in 1,200 podium presentations worldwide.

To bridge the gap between academic research and clinical practice, Drs. Lafage and Schwab co-founded Surgimap, an FDA-authorized platform that facilitates medical image compilation, spine-specific alignment parameter evaluation, surgical planning, outcome simulation, and collaborative sharing.

Dr. Lafage's passion for mentorship has guided 70-plus research assistants, residents, clinical fellows, research fellows, engineers, and physicians in spine research, fostering global collaborations. She is dedicated to inspiring others to pursue high-quality research in the field. Recently, she assumed the role of Assistant Vice President of Clinical Research for Orthopedics at Lenox Hill Hospital, expanding her contributions to orthopedic research.

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Dean Chou, MD

Dr. Dean Chou is Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Columbia University, New York. He is Chief of the Spine Division, Spine Fellowship Director, and the Co-Director of minimally invasive scoliosis surgery at Columbia University Department of Neurosurgery/New York-Presbyterian Och Spine Hospital. He previously was on faculty at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) as a Professor of Neurosurgery and Orthopedic Surgery. After medical school at UCSF, he completed his residency in neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and a spine fellowship at the Barrow Neurologic Institute.

Dr. Chou is on the editorial boards of Neurosurgery, the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine, and PLOS ONE. On the advisory board of Spine, he has served as the Treasurer of the Lumbar Spine Research Society, has served as the Scientific Program Committee Chair of the Neurosurgical Society of America, and is on the CME Committee for the Scoliosis Research Society. He is the designated Scientific Program Committee Chair for Spine Summit 2025 (Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves).

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David O Okonkwo, MD, PhD

Dr. David O Okonkwo is Professor of Neurological Surgery and Director of the Scoliosis and Spinal Deformity Program at UPMC, Pittsburg. He is also Team Neurosurgeon for the Pittsburgh Steelers Football Club. Dr. Okonkwo completed his neurosurgical residency at the University of Virginia and a fellowship at Auckland Public Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand.

Dr. Okonkwo’s clinical and research interests include open and minimally invasive surgery for spinal deformities as well as novel biomarkers and treatments for traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries. He has published more than 400 peer-reviewed papers and received numerous awards in his career.

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Research

Featured Research By Our Members

Pain and disability determine treatment modality for older patients with adult scoliosis, while deformity guides treatment for younger patients

Shay Bess, Oheneba Boachie-Adjei, Doug Burton, Matthew Cunningham, Chris Shaffrey, Alexis Shelokov, Richard Hostin, Frank Schwab, Kirkham Wood, Behrooz Akbarnia

International Spine Study Group

Pain and disability determine treatment modality for older patients with adult scoliosis, while deformity guides treatment for younger patients

Shay Bess, Oheneba Boachie-Adjei, Doug Burton, Matthew Cunningham, Chris Shaffrey, Alexis Shelokov, Richard Hostin, Frank Schwab, Kirkham Wood, Behrooz Akbarnia

International Spine Study Group

ISSG Fellowship

Learn More

Welcome to the ISSG

Welcome to the ISSG

OUR MISSION

The ISSG Annual Meeting

50+

4,700+

30+

Our Members

Shay Bess, MD

Christopher Ames, MD

Neel Anand, MD

Christine (Chris) Baldus, RN MSN

Thomas J. Buell, MD

Dean Chou, MD

Alan H. Daniels, MD

Jenny De Jong, MSN, RN, CCRC

Bassel Diebo, MD

Robert Eastlack, MD

Adam Kanter, MD, FAANS

JEFF GUM, MD

Munish C. Gupta, MD, MBA

Kojo Hamilton, MD

Robert Hart, MD

Naobumi Hosogane, MD, PhD

Richard Hostin, MD

Michael Kelly, MD

Han Jo Kim, MD

Virginie Lafage, PhD

Renaud Lafage, MD

Vivian Le, Clinical Research Manager

Breton Line, Mechanical Engineer

Jeffrey P. Mullin, MD, MBA

Praveen Mummaneni, MD

Gregory Mundis, MD

Pierce Nunley, MD

David O Okonkwo, MD, PhD

Eric O. Klineberg, MD, MS

Paul Park, MD

Peter G. Passias, MD

Themistocles Protopsaltis, MD

Justin K. Scheer, MD

Frank Schwab, MD

Christopher Shaffrey, MD, FAANS

Justin Smith, MD, PhD

Alex Soroceanu, MD

Alekos Theologis, MD

Jay D. Turner, MD, PhD

Juan S. Uribe, MD, FAANS

Michael Y. Wang, MD, MBA, FAANS

Mitsuru Yagi, MD

Vedat Deviren, MD

DOUGLAS BURTON, MD

Behrooz Akbarnia, MD

Nana Prof. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei

Breton Line

OUR SPONSORS

January Highlighted Members

Virginie Lafage, PhD

Dean Chou, MD

David O Okonkwo, MD, PhD

Featured Research By Our Members

Shay Bess, Oheneba Boachie-Adjei, Doug Burton, Matthew Cunningham, Chris Shaffrey, Alexis Shelokov, Richard Hostin, Frank Schwab, Kirkham Wood, Behrooz Akbarnia

Shay Bess, Oheneba Boachie-Adjei, Doug Burton, Matthew Cunningham, Chris Shaffrey, Alexis Shelokov, Richard Hostin, Frank Schwab, Kirkham Wood, Behrooz Akbarnia

ISSG Fellowship

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