Dr. Christopher I. Shaffrey graduated magna cum laude from The Citadel in Charleston, SC with B.S. degree in biology. He played varsity basketball and was the co-captain his senior year. In 1986, Dr. Shaffrey received his medical degree from the University of Virginia. He completed his general surgical internship at Naval Hospital San Diego in 1987 where he was named the surgical intern of the year. He then completed both neurosurgical and orthopaedics residencies at the University of Virginia, followed by a spine fellowship in pediatric and adult reconstructive spine surgery in 1995.

Following completion of his surgical training, he was appointed to the senior staff in the departments of neurological surgery and orthopaedic surgery at Detroit’s Henry Ford Hospital where he was actively involved in treating members of Detroit’s college and professional athletic teams. In 1999, Shaffrey was appointed associate professor of neurological surgery and adjunct associate professor of orthopaedic surgery and sports medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle. In 2003, he returned to the University of Virginia as professor of neurological surgery and director of the neurosurgery spine division. In 2008, he was named Harrison Distinguished Teaching Professor of Neurological and Orthopaedic Surgery. In 2018, Dr. Shaffrey was named the chief of the Duke Spine Division for the departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Neurological Surgery and is a tenured professor of Orthopaedic and Neurological Surgery.

Dr. Shaffrey is Board-certified in the fields of neurological surgery and orthopaedic surgery and has more than 450 peer-reviewed publications and more than 1,000 national and international presentations. He served as the Deputy Editor of the journals Spine and Spine Deformity and as the Chair of the Editorial Board for JNS: Spine as well as being an editor for several textbooks on spinal surgery. He has been the Chair of the ABNS and is currently a member of the Neurosurgery Residency Review Committee. He is currently the president of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.