2026 North American Spine Society Distinguished Fellow of NASS (DFNS) Class

The individuals featured in this publication comprise the 2026 Distinguished Fellows of the North American Spine Society (DFNS) inductees. This prestigious designation recognizes members who have demonstrated sustained commitment to professional excellence, engagement, and service to the spine community throughout their careers.

As Distinguished Fellows, these members exemplify the leadership, expertise, and dedication that advance both NASS and the field of surgical and comprehensive spine care. To commemorate this inaugural class of Distinguished Fellows, all inductees were invited to reflect on their career journey, share what NASS has meant to them professionally, and offer advice to the next generation of spine care providers and researchers. The profiles throughout this publication feature responses from those Distinguished Fellows who chose to participate, providing personal insights and experiences that highlight the many paths to leadership and excellence in spine care.

We are proud to recognize their achievements and celebrate their lasting contributions to the profession. Learn more about the Distinguished Fellow of NASS program or apply for 2027 at www.spine.org/dfns.

List of all 2026 Distinguished Fellows of the North American Spine Society

Distinguished Fellow Profiles

Muhammad Abd-El-Barr, MD, PhD Durham, NC
Kabir Abubakar, MBBS, FWACS, PhD Kano, Nigeria
Siddharth Badve, MD Lewistown, PA
Sigurd Berven, MD San Francisco, CA
Ernest Braxton Jr., MD, MBA Vail, CO
Adam Bruggeman, MD San Antonio, TX
Andre Cardoso, MD, MSc Goiânia, Brazil
Michael Chang, MD Tempe, AZ
Kingsley Chin, MD, MBA Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Brian Clifford, DPT, OCS, CSCS Boston, MA
Olumide Danisa, MD Durham, NC
Sarvdeep Singh Dhatt, MBBS, MS Chandigarh, India
Tom Faciszewski, MD Eagle, ID
Lisa Ferrara, PhD Hendersonville, NC
David Gendelberg, MD San Francisco, CA
Kush Goyal, MD Cleveland, OH
Ram Haddas, PhD, MBA, MEng Rochester, NY
Scott Haldeman, MD, PhD, DC Santa Ana, CA
Alan Hilibrand, MD Bensalem, PA
Deeptee Jain, MD Palm Beach, FL
Manish Kasliwal, MD, MCh Cleveland, OH
Sameer Kitab, MD Al-Qadisiyah, Iraq
Michael Klein, MD, MS, FACS Gold River, CA
Justin Lantz, DPT Los Angeles, CA
Jeff Lehmen, MD Jefferson City, MO
Isador Lieberman, MD Plano, TX
Sukanta Maitra, MD Las Vegas, NV
Tobias Mattei, MD, JD, FACS St. Louis, MO
Gregory McComis, MD Munster, IN
Hitesh Mehta, PhD Atlanta, GA
Christian Morgenstern, MD, PhD, MSc Barcelona, Spain
Catherine Olinger, MD North Liberty, IA
Douglas Pahl, MD Columbus, GA
Stephen Pirris, MD Jacksonville, FL
Volodymyr Radchenko, MD Kharkiv, Ukraine
Mitchell Reiter, MD, PC Summit, NJ
Daniel Resnick, MD, MS Madison, WI
Philip Schneider, MD Chevy Chase, MD
Lali Sekhon, MD, PhD, MBA Reno, NV
Gabriel Smith, MD Cleveland, OH
Chris Summa, MD, MBA Santa Cruz, CA
Ryan Tauzell, PT, MA, MDT Christiansburg, VA
Santhosh Thomas, DO, MBA Avon, OH
Alexander Vaccaro, MD, PhD Philadelphia, PA
Jeffrey Wang, MD Los Angeles, CA
David Weiner, MD, MS Brandywine, MD
Jamie Wilson MD, FRCS, MSc Charleston, SC
Jim Youssef, MD Durango, CO
James Yue, MD Hamden, CT
Samy Abdou, MD, MS San Diego, CA
Vivek Babaria, DO Newport Beach, CA
Kaku Barkoh, MD Kingwood, TX
R. Dale Blasier, MD, FRCSC, MBA Little Rock, AR
Nathaniel Brooks, MD Madison, WI
Avery Buchholz, MD, MPH Orlando, FL
R. Carter Cassidy, MD Lexington, KY
Akhil Chhatre, MD Baltimore, MD
Theodore (Ted) Choma, MD Columbia, MO
Mark Croucher, DC Williamsburg, VA
Joost DeBruijn, PhD Bilthoven, Netherlands
Jaime Diaz de Atauri Bosch, MD Alcobendas, Spain
Michael Fehlings, MD, PhD, FRCSC Toronto, ON, Canada
John Finkenberg, MD San Diego, CA
Michael Gerling, MD Brooklyn, NY
Richard Guyer, MD Plano, TX
Yong Hai, MD, PhD Beijing, China
Stanley Herring, MD Seattle, WA
Jung-Woo Hur, MD, PhD Seoul, South Korea
Hemant Kalia, MD, MPH Rochester, NY
Daniel Kim, MD, MS Birmingham, AL
Christopher Kleck, MD Aurora, CO
Christina Koshak, MD, MPH, FRCSC Pueblo, CO
Ho-Jin Lee, MD, PhD Cheonan, South Korea
Alexander Lemons, MD Pinehurst, NC
Sheng-fu (Larry) Lo, MD, MHS Great Neck, NY
Mohammad Majd, MD Newport Coast, CA
Tom Mayer, MD Dallas, TX
Christopher McDonald, MD Mansfield, MA
Mark Mikhael, MD Glenview, IL
Richard (Dick) Nasca, MD Wilmington, NC
Lindsay Orosz, PhD, MSc, PA-C Reston, VA
Ripul Panchal, DO, FACS Frisco, TX
Stephanie Plummer, DO Charlotte, NC
Gazanfar Rahmathulla, MD, MBA, FACS Eau Claire, WI
Kamran Sahrakar, MD, FACS Little Rock, AR
Zeeshan Sardar, MD, MSc New York, NY
Andrew Schoenfeld, MD, MSc Boston, MA
Jeremy Shaw, MD Salt Lake City, UT
Michael Suer, MD Madison, WI
Koji Tamai, MD Osaka, Japan
Mark Testaiuti, MD Mount Laurel, NJ
Andrew Trontis, MD, MBA Englewood, NJ
Richard Vogel, PhD, DABNM Nashville, TN
William Watters III, MD, MMS, MS Houston, TX
F. Todd Wetzel, MD Cooperstown, NY
Jau-Ching Wu, MD, PhD Taipei City, Taiwan
Elizabeth Yu, MD Columbus, OH
Slaviša Zagorac, MD Belgrade, Serbia