Lumbar Spine Research Society
September 30, 2025 Re: NASS 2025-2065 Time Capsule, Letter from LSRS Presidential Line 2023-2027
To Our Colleagues in 2065: The Lumbar Spine Research Society was started in 2007 when Dr. Thomas Zdeblick hosted the first annual meeting for 30 attendees. Since that time, the organization has steadily grown into a reputable international society that focuses on research, education, and mentorship. In 2025, the Annual Meeting had a record number of abstract submissions (421) and largest attendance (230) in its history. The Society, mostly through generous donations from its members, was able to award 50k in research funding (two 20k grants, and one 10k resident grant) in 2025. The LSRS Executive Leadership Team is pleased to share a series of reflections on the current state of the Society, our vision for its future over the next 40 years, and our personal perspectives on the evolution of spine care in the decades to come.
“In 2025, I am proud of the development and growth of the Lumbar Spine Research Society into an impactful society of spine physicians seeking to optimize treatments, research directions and quality care of the lumbar spine. I am certain that in the next 40 years, the LSRS will continue its current trajectory in growth and will continue to be a leading voice in lumbar spine surgical care.
As for spine care, in the next 40 years I am most curious about two things. 1) How will technology have advanced care for the spine? With all the excitement on machine learning, predictive algorithms, robotic usage, large data and artificial intelligence today, how will spine care have changed in the next 40 years? How much of what we do today will be automated? 2) Will we have made any advances in better understanding back pain? As we know back pain is a symptom with many etiologies. Some we understand well, others we clearly do not. What more (or not) will we understand about axial back pain in 2065?”
Michael J. Lee, MD Professor and Vice Chair University of Chicago Dept of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine LSRS President 2026-2027
“I joined the LSRS as a fellow at the University of Wisconsin. The meeting stood out to me because it solely focused on the science of the lumbar spine, pathology, and disease management. The presentations were cutting edge and inspired considerable discussion. It quickly became my favorite meeting of the year. Over 15 years later, the organization has grown substantially with regards to membership, abstract submission, and attendance. Despite the growth, the goals and original vision of the founders have not changed. Society organizations and meetings are facing difficult times regarding funding and available time away for members. I am confident LSRS will thrive and continue to grow. The organization is nimble, and mission driven.
In 2025 data is considered our latest natural resource. It is abundant and a source of significant potential output regarding artificial intelligence and machine learning. We will soon be better able to predict the most appropriate treatment to guide the best outcome. Robotics, advanced navigation, and virtual reality have removed the technical difficulties in placing spinal implants, biologics have improved fusion rates. Spine surgery has become a cognitive - as opposed to - a technical focused specialty. Organizations such as the LSRS will harness and hone science and help drive future reach and innovation into the next frontier. As we move towards AI driven diagnostics, and autonomous robotic treatments, surgeon scientists will need to continue to study and report on issues such as quality, safety and outcomes well beyond the next 40 years. I am confident my future peers will continue to utilize the founder’s original mission and vision to continue to drive spine care well into time ahead.
Michael P. Steinmetz, MD William P. and Amanda C. Madar Endowed Professor and Chair Department of Neurosurgery Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western School of Medicine Director, Center for Spine and Pain Medicine Cleveland, Clinic LSRS President 2025-2026
“I am incredibly proud of what the society has done over the past year. We have been able to increase our research funding and had a record attendance at the instructional course lecture and annual meeting. The society is at the forefront of educating residents and fellows and developed a mentorship program to help foster the development and success of its younger members. Over the next 40 years, I believe that the LSRS will become the leader in resident/fellow education. I expect that the mentorship program will continue to grow as it is incredibly important for the professional and personal development of our members. Furthermore, I hope that the LSRS continues to critically evaluate the impact that technology (artificial intelligence, use of biologics, navigation, etc.) has on our patients’ outcomes and provides a cost-conscious recommendation based on sound, unbiased scientific evidence.”
Jason W. Savage, MD Director: Spine Surgery Fellowship and Adult Spinal Deformity Program Cleveland Clinic Associate Professor of Surgery Case Western Reserve University and Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine LSRS President 2024-2025
“It being 2025, The future of Spine surgery certainly is at a crossroads. Although we have recently made significant advances in the understanding of diagnoses and outcome- based management with the collection of patient reported outcomes, we as a field are faced with a technological revolution utilizing artificial intelligence in combination with robotics. We Foresee a significant change in the way we perform Spine surgery in the next five years with the capability of algorithmic models replacing many of the services of what spine surgeons offer today. The speed and process of integration of this technology with appropriate human oversight will be a debatable topic for years to come. Although much of this debate and work will be performed at the society level, the lumbar spine research Society remains in an excellent place as far as growth, size, and emphasis of research is concern. We believe that our society may be best position to make this transition with both scientific reporting and discussion required for real world integration. We are excited to see and aid in the transition and transformation of our field in the next decade.”
Wellington K. Hsu, MD Vice-chair of Research Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Department of Neurological Surgery Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine LSRS President 2023-2024
We are pleased to submit to the NASS 2025 to 2065 Time Capsule the scientific abstracts selected from our 2025 Annual Meeting, published in the Journal of Neurosurgery Spine Volume 42 in May of 2025. We have also submitted our 14th Annual Instructional Course and 18th Annual Meeting programs, for a historical account of our educational focus in May of 2025. As you embark on or continue your journey in the demanding and rewarding field of spine surgery, we want to extend our sincere wishes for your continued success, growth, and fulfillment.
With every good wish for your future endeavors,
The Lumbar Spine Research Society www.LSRS.org