My interest in spine care started very early. My father was a neuroradiologist working in the 1970s through the late 1990s. Being around him meant that I was always around medicine, and in particular, spine and brain imaging. The advancement of spinal imaging at that time (MRI, CT, myelography) was especially exciting for him and he’d often be thrilled to tell me all about how technology advancement was improving the way we diagnosis and treat patients. When I got to medical school, I quickly learned that I wanted to be a surgeon. Given my early exposure to spine imaging and pathology, it seemed only natural that I was drawn to spine surgery and spine care. Fortunately, I completed all my training before my father passed, and I had the opportunity to show him some of the modern advancements that continue to improve diagnosis and treatment for our patients.

My involvement as faculty for the “Art and Science of the Physical Exam” course was especially impactful. The course was designed to teach PAs, NPs, RNs, and other interested providers the history and physiology behind spine examination techniques and help them to recognize and understand common pathology findings seen on spinal imaging studies. Following our lectures, we all gathered together in the lab to work on optimizing our physical examination techniques. This one-on-one time with the individual participants was especially rewarding. This opportunity to interact directly with the participants helped me learn so much about the various journeys each of them embarked to become involved in spine patient care. Each of them provided service to a variety of different communities (i.e. large medical centers, small town clinics, rural medical centers, etc), very different from my own. They had an eagerness to learn as the responsibility of their knowledge greatly impacted the care provided to their communities. I walked away from that experience learning more about the particular needs for varying communities and the importance of collaboration with all members of the spine care team. Finally, I appreciated hearing the other faculty members discuss their perspectives on the various topics as there is always something to learn from others’ experiences.

Outside of work, my other passion has always been music. I started playing various instruments at a young age, but I was particularly drawn to rock guitar. I’ve always been that guy who tried to put a band together (high school, college, medical school, and now). About ten years ago we hired a partner in my current practice who shared my passion. Naturally, we put a classic rock band together and we have been regularly performing shows all around the Chicago suburbs for the past decade.