The North American Spine Society (NASS) has announced its selections of the most outstanding 20 musculoskeletal professionals under the age of 40 years old.
SpineLine’s “20 Under 40” 2023 Honorees
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Truly, here is the future of spine surgery.
The young leaders were formally recognized in the most recent edition of NASS’s publication SpineLine.
“We have an exceptional class of honorees and are thrilled by the quality of candidates we receive year after year,” said F. Todd Wetzel, M.D., SpineLine’s Editor in Chief and a former NASS president. “The 20 Under 40 program has continued to grow over the past six years, and we’ve enjoyed watching our honorees advance into leadership roles within NASS and the spine care field.”
In their “20 Under 40” application statements, the honorees described factors that led them to spine care and named mentors who helped along the way. They also shared the highlights of their spine careers thus far, their philosophy of care, and how they contribute to the betterment of their communities.
This year’s “20 Under 40” honorees as selected by the SpineLine Editorial Board are:
- Abduljabbar Alhammoud, M.D., MSc, Orthopedic Surgeon, Tucson, Arizona
- Massiel Alvarado Morales, M.D., Neurosurgeon, San Jose, Costa Rica
- Bryce Basques, M.D., M.H.S., Orthopedic Surgeon, Providence, Rhode Island
- Daniel Choi, M.D., FAAOS, Orthopedic Surgeon, Ronkonkoma, New York
- Hoon Choi, M.D., Ph.D., FAANS, Neurosurgeon, Weston, Florida
- Christine M. DiPompeo, M.D., Orthopedic Surgeon, Peoria, Illinois
- James Eubanks, M.D., D.C., M.S., Physiatrist, Charleston, South Carolina
- Juanita Garces, M.D., FAANS, Neurosurgeon, San Antonio, Texas
- Stephanie Halloran, D.C., MS, Chiropractor, Boston, Massachusetts
- Brian Karamian, M.D., Orthopedic Surgeon, Salt Lake City, Utah
- Justin M. Lantz, D.P.T., Physical Therapist, Los Angeles, California
- Alexander Lemons, M.D., FAAOS, Orthopedic Surgeon, Pinehurst, North Carolina
- Alex P. Michael, M.D., Neurosurgeon, St. Louis, Missouri
- Jacob Rohrs, M.D., Physiatrist, Scottsdale, Arizona
- Renee Rosati, D.O., Physiatrist, Charleston, South Carolina
- Sunny Sharma, M.D., Physiatrist, Dallas, Texas
- Gabriel A. Smith, M.D., Neurosurgeon, Cleveland, Ohio
- Courtney Toombs, M.D., Orthopedic Surgeon, Ronkonkoma, New York
- Aditya Vedantam, M.D., Neurosurgeon, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Andrew S. Zhang, M.D., Orthopedic Surgeon, Shreveport, Louisiana
OTW asked Dr. Wetzel about the increasing popularity of SpineLine’s “20 Under 40” and he said, “I think the program is gaining momentum for two reasons. Firstly, the membership is becoming a bit younger, which we would like to encourage. I think younger physicians also see this as a great opportunity to get engaged in committee administrative and academic work at NASS. Secondly, there is the human-interest angle. More senior practitioners enjoy getting to associate names with faces, and 20 under 40 is the perfect introductory vehicle.”
“Selection criteria include clinical, academic, and educational achievement,” stated Dr. Wetzel to OTW. “Recipients need not necessarily be in an academic post but need to be outstanding and committed leaders and their particular situations.”
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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