Cheerag D. Upadhyaya, MD, MBA, MSc is Clinical Associate Professor of Neurosurgery, UNC Hospitals Spine Center Co-Medical Director, and Chief Transformation & Business Strategy Officer. He completed neurosurgical residency at the University of Michigan, complex and minimally invasive spine fellowship at the University of California San Francisco, and research fellowships at the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes / National Institutes of Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program resulting in a Masters in Science from the University of Michigan.
He recently completed his Masters of Business Administration from the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is a member of the Executive Committee for the AANS/CNS Spine and Peripheral Nerve Section as well as a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, American Medical Association, American College of Surgeons, and Scoliosis Research Society. He has been awarded the Scoliosis Research Society Edgar Dawson Traveling Fellowship and AANS/CNS Spine and Peripheral Nerve Outcomes Committee Award. Dr. Upadhyaya was elected to the Editorial Board of the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine in 2021.
Contact
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheerag-upadhyaya-md
- Twitter: @CheeragU
Media Committee
Tej Azad
More information about Tej Azad will be posted soon.
Roxana Beladi
Roxana N. Beladi, DO, is a neurosurgical resident at Michigan State University Ascension Providence Hospital. She completed medical school at Kansas City University (KCU) and is pursuing a fellowship in spinal deformity. She is currently serving as the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) Spine Section Resident Liaison and is the founder and chair of the CNS Resident Global Outreach Initiative. Dr. Beladi is also an active member on the CNS resident committee, CNS Wellness committee, an active WINS (Women in Neurological Surgery) and KCU mentor, and serves yearly as Sergeant-at-Arms for CNS. She was awarded the Charles Kuntz Scholar Award at Spine Summit in 2023, received the Gold President’s Volunteer Service Award from President Barack Obama, and was featured on the CNS member spotlight.
Andrew Chan
Andrew K. Chan, MD is an Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery at Columbia University and The Och Spine Hospital at NewYork-Presbyterian. He serves as Co-Director of Minimally Invasive Scoliosis Surgery and Director of Neurosurgical Spine Research. He received his medical degree from Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he graduated Alpha Omega Alpha, and completed neurosurgery residency at the University of California, San Francisco. Subsequently, he completed the spinal deformity & minimally invasive complex spine surgery fellowship at Duke University.
He is a member of the Scientific Program Committee and the Media Committee for the AANS/CNS Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves. He also is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons where he serves on the Digital Engagement Advisory Work Group and the Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation (NREF) Development Committee. Dr. Chan also serves on the Data Utility Workgroup for the American Spine Registry. He is an active member of the Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Cervical Spine Research Society, Lumbar Spine Research Society, AOSpine, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, and a candidate member of the Scoliosis Research Society.
Contact
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- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewchanmd
- Twitter/X: @andrewchanMD
- Website: https://www.neurosurgery.columbia.edu/profile/andrew-k-chan-md
Juan Pedro Giraldo
Dr. Juan P. Giraldo, is a postdoctoral fellow within the Department of Neurosurgery at Barrow Neurological Institute. His role is centered within the Sonntag Spine Center, where he works as the first virtual reality fellow, operating under the mentorship of Juan S. Uribe, MD.
Dr. Giraldo earned his medical doctorate degree from CES University in Medellin, Colombia. During his formative years in medicine, he joined Dr. Uribe’s team, dedicating his efforts to pioneering research for innovative tools for neurosurgical education. His work encompasses the cutting edge technology of virtual reality, mixed reality modules, and artificial intelligence development for neurosurgical education and training.
Dr. Giraldo pursued a focused neurosurgical internship at Pablo Tobon Uribe Hospital in Colombia. He has also completed neurosurgical clerkships in neuroradiology and neurosurgery, enriching his clinical experiences and commitment to advancing the field.
Dr. Giraldo’s research interests include developing new avenues for neurosurgical education, global clinical spine research, and improvement of minimally invasive spine surgery.
Contact
- Email: jgiraldo@BarrowNeuro.org
Jake Godzik
Jake Godzik, MD, MSc is an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital, The Kirklin Clinic Neurosurgery Medical Director, Co-Director of Marketing and Communications, Administrative Chief and Assistant Residency Director at the Birmingham Veterans Affairs Hospital/UAB. He is also a UAB Heersink Innovation fellow and currently part of the Innovation Depot/UAB Voltage Entrepreneurship program. He completed neurosurgical residency at the Barrow Neurological Institute, his complex and minimally invasive spine fellowship at the San Diego Spine Foundation, and medical school training at Washington University in St. Louis, with a Master’s of Science in Clinical Investigation.
He is a member of the Executive Committee for the AANS/CNS Spine and Peripheral Nerve Section as well as a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, and candidate member of the Scoliosis Research Society. Dr. Godzik was elected to the Editorial Board of Neurosurgery: Operative Neurosurgery in 2021.
Contact
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jgodzik/
- Instagram: @jakegodzikmd
- Twitter/X: @JakeGodzikMD
- Website: https://www.uab.edu/medicine/neurosurgery/faculty/godzik-jakub-m-d-ms
Jennifer Hong
More information about Jennifer Hong will be posted soon.
Contact
- Twitter/X: @neurosurjen
- Email: Jennifer.Hong@hitchcock.org
Joey Linzey
Joseph R. Linzey, MD, MS is a neurosurgical resident at the University of Michigan. He completed his medical school at the University of Michigan Medical School. He will complete a post-residency fellowship in minimally invasive and complex spinal deformity with Dr. Paul Park and Dr. Kevin Foley at Semmes Murphy Clinic in Memphis, Tennessee. He was awarded the Charles Kuntz Scholar Award at Spine Summit in 2023 and 2024.
Contact
- Twitter/X: @joseph_linzey
Jeffrey Mullin
Jeffrey P. Mullin, MD, MBA is a board certified attending neurosurgeon at UBNS and Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at University at Buffalo Medical School. He is the Co-Director of the University at Buffalo Neurosurgery Complex Spine Fellowship and the Assistant Program Director of the Neurosurgery residency program.
Dr. Mullin specializes in complex spinal reconstruction surgery. He treats the full spectrum of complex spinal disorders and has particular expertise in the treatment of cervical and lumbar spine deformities. Following completing his undergraduate degree and MBA at the University of Notre Dame, Dr. Mullin attended the Georgetown University School of Medicine. He trained in neurosurgery at Cleveland Clinic and completed a pediatric and adult deformity spine surgery fellowship at the University of Virginia, under the mentorship of Drs. Christopher Shaffrey and Justin Smith. He has developed clinical and research programs in spinal deformity and spine oncology.
Dr. Mullin is a nationally recognized leader in spine surgery. He serves on the executive committees of the Congress of Neurological Surgery and the AANS/CNS Joint Spine section. Additionally, he serves on the AOSpine North America Fellowship committee and hosts the Scoliosis Research Society “Scoliosis Dialogues”.
Contact
- Twitter: @jeffreymullinmd
Corey Walker
Dr. Corey T. Walker is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. His clinical interests include treating disorders of the spine and spinal cord. He is focused on healing complex spinal pathologies, including scoliosis, spinal deformities, spinal tumors, thoracic disc herniations and craniocervical junction pathologies. Dr. Walker’s expertise is in using minimally invasive approaches to improve outcomes by applying cutting-edge surgical technologies, including endoscopy, robotics and navigation. Dr. Walker has published extensively in the literature on various topics in spinal neurosurgery.
Prior to beginning at Cedar-Sinai, Dr. Walker earned his bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Rochester, graduating summa cum laude from the Hajim School of Engineering. He stayed at the University of Rochester School of Medicine for medical school on a Dean’s Merit Scholarship and graduated with a Distinction in Research. He went on to complete his residency in Neurosurgery at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, where he also completed fellowships in complex and minimally invasive spine pathologies. He also completed orthopedic spinal fellowship training at Scripps Clinic in San Diego, California through the San Diego Spine Foundation.
Contact
Theresa Williamson
More information about Theresa Williamson will be posted soon.
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