The 2023 Spine Summit, presented by the AANS/CNS Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves, will pack in plenty of intriguing educational opportunities, exciting networking events and thrilling entertainment over the four-day meeting at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach, March 16-19. At the new Spine Summit, keynote speakers, presenters and entertainment will revolve around the theme of “Excellence Requires Change – MVP: Mastery, Vision, Purpose.”
The 39th Annual Spine Summit, which has preemptively been coined a massive success, has a record-breaking 826 medical registrants to date, a 67% increase from last year. The Spine Summit Exhibit Hall will be packed with 70 diverse exhibitors from established industry giants to nimble startup companies; a healthy 11% increase from the 2022 event. With access to industry experts, neurosurgeons and thought leaders, the floor will serve as the destination to explore advanced technology, attend hot topic presentations and network with colleagues. Throughout the summit, there will be a plethora of learning opportunities including educational courses, special sessions, 357 oral abstract presentations and 254 I-Poster presentations.
The 2023 Spine Summit kicks off at the Opening Reception Thursday night at the Fontainebleau’s Ocean Lawn where L.A.vation: The World’s Greatest Tribute to U2, sets the backdrop for networking and socializing. Other opportunities to get to know your fellow neurosurgeons include the WINS Reception and the Young Spine Surgeon Reception and Dinner.
Corresponding with the meeting’s MVP theme, the Spine Section will celebrate athletic MVPs at its inaugural Sport & Spine Session as pro football Hall of Famer and Super Bowl champion Ronnie Lott of the San Francisco 49ers discusses being an MVP on the gridiron and in life. Lott will take the stage with former teammate and friend, Jeffrey Fuller, who sustained a career-ending spinal cord injury on the field.
Visionary speakers will kick off every Plenary Session with TEDx-style talks and each will be capped off with an impartial take on the session’s theme by tech leaders. Courses have been revamped, debates and controversies reinvigorated and scientific sessions reimagined.
In addition to Lott and Fuller, the 2023 Spine Summit will feature inspirational remarks from Michael T. Modic, MD; Michael Brant-Zawadzki, MD, FACR; Sasha Strauss; Liam Duffy and C. Philip O’Carroll, MD.
Michael T. Modic, MD
Michael Modic, MD, joined Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2018 as senior vice president, population health and professor of radiology and radiological sciences. He worked with the population health team integrating clinical activities and establishing and enabling evidence-based clinical standards across diverse network-based ambulatory and inpatient settings. In addition to his administrative efforts, he continued to engage in clinical research and care, committing time to clinical service and the teaching and mentoring of residents, fellows and junior staff as a member of the neuroradiology section.
Michael Brant-Zawadzki, MD, FACR
Brant-Zawadzki, MD, FACR, is the senior physician executive at Hoag Hospital and the Ron & Sandi Simon Executive Medical Director Endowed Chair of Hoag’s Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute. In these roles, he facilitates business and strategic relationships with specialist clinicians, and oversees a platform for programmatic care that integrates specialized services with population health. He helps Hoag transform health care strategy, focusing it on specific health conditions using a program-driven, physician-led, multi-disciplinary team approach measured by patient-focused outcomes. He also oversees the Hoag Center for Research and Education.
Sasha Strauss
Sasha Strauss shares two decades of experience in brand development, building brands for corporations, philanthropies and universities while working at top advertising, PR, marketing and branding firms worldwide. His unique and proven perspective on how brands are built and communicated laid the foundation for his brand strategy consulting firm, Innovation Protocol. The 10-year-old company has a team of 25, with staff in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. His team’s ability to inculcate brand truth is the reason brands like ADP, Amgen, Disney, Google, Notre Dame, PayPal, Nestle and Korn Ferry enlist their consult and keynotes on brand strategy.
Liam Duffy
Liam Duffy is a dynamic, high-motor trial lawyer who has significant experience in high-stakes cases. At Yarborough Applegate, Duffy has handled numerous catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases involving issues of workplace safety, over-service of alcohol, product liability, tractor-trailer collisions, premises liability, electric shock and electrocution and more. Liam’s creativeness and forward-thinking approach to trial work has helped his clients achieve numerous seven-figure recoveries, as well as an eight-figure jury verdict in 2019.
Jeffrey Fuller
Jeffrey Fuller was recruited to Texas A&M in 1980 and was later drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in 1984 where he played in two Super Bowls and went on to win Super Bowls XIX and XXIII.
As the result of damage caused to Candlestick Stadium by the 1989 Loma Pierta earthquake, Fuller played his last professional game at Stanford Stadium on October 22, 1989. In the second play of the game, he was partially paralyzed after a helmet-to-helmet hit on New England running back John Stephens.
Ronnie Lott
Considered by many to be the greatest defensive back to put on a uniform, Ronnie Lott’s influence reinvented how the position was played, and whose influence can still be seen on the field today. In 14 professional seasons and 192 career games, Lott had 63 interceptions, 1,146 tackles and five touchdowns. He is a 10-time Pro Bowler, made the All-Pro team six times, the All-NFC six times, the All-AFC once and was named to the NFL’s 75th anniversary team in 1994. In 2000, Lott was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Philip O’Carroll, MD
Philip O’Carroll, MD, is an expert in mind-body interactions. A native of Ireland and a graduate of University College Dublin Medical School, he completed a three-year residency in internal medicine in Canada, followed by a residency in neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. O’Carroll completed a fellowship in neurophysiology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He is a co-founder of the Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute at Hoag Hospital.
The 2023 Spine Summit is being brought to attendees by Adam Kanter, MD, FAANS, AANS/CNS Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves Chair; Scott Meyer, MD, FAANS, Annual Meeting Chair and Charles Sansur, MD, FAANS, Scientific Program Chair.
Adam Kanter, MD, FAANS, Section Chair
Adam Kanter, MD, FAANS, Section chair, graduated with cum laude honors from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. He performed research for NASA while obtaining a master’s degree at Boston University and then on to medical school at the University of Vermont. He completed neurosurgery residency at the University of Virginia, including a year abroad in Auckland, New Zealand, followed by fellowship training in minimally invasive spine surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. He then joined the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) as director of the minimally invasive spine program. Dr. Kanter launched UPMC’s complex spine fellowship in 2012, was appointed chief of spine in 2014 and performed more than 6,000 operations as he ascended the ranks to tenured professor of neurological surgery. Dr. Kanter has authored more than 150 journal publications, numerous books and chapters, and given more than 200 lectures across the globe.
After 15 years in Pittsburgh, Dr. Kanter sought new adventures and leadership opportunities, relocating his family and practice to Newport Beach, California, where he joined Hoag Hospital as Associate Executive Medical Director, Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute and Chief of Neurosurgery, Hoag Specialty Clinic. He is actively obtaining his executive MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles, following which he will assume the executive directorship of the Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute.
Scott Meyer, MD, FAANS, Annual Meeting Chair
Scott Meyer, MD, FAANS, Annual Meeting chair, is a top neurosurgeon in New Jersey specializing in degenerative spine disease, minimally invasive spine surgery, cervical disc replacement, spinal deformity (scoliosis), spinal tumors and spinal trauma. In New Jersey, Dr. Meyer has served as chairman and a member of the Spine Technology Committee at Atlantic Health System. He is president of the New Jersey Neurosurgical Society, and also a member of the Executive Board for the New Jersey Spine Society. Dr. Meyer is a member of the Spine Steering Committee at both Morristown Medical Center and Overlook Medical Center.
Charles Sansur, MD, FAANS, Scientific Program Chair
Charles Sansur, MD, FAANS, Scientific Program Chair, is a professor and director of spine surgery for the Department of Neurosurgery at the University of Maryland in Baltimore. He is also the current program director and vice-chair of neurosurgery at the University of Maryland. He is a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Neurosurgery, Spine. He has served on the Spine Section Executive Committee since 2010. He holds several patents and is actively engaged in product development in spine surgery. He is frequently invited to teach other spine surgeons throughout the country at various national meetings.
About the 2023 Spine Summit:
From March 16-19, 2023, in Miami Beach, Florida, neurosurgeons, orthopaedic spine surgeons, spine surgery fellows, as well as residents and advanced practice providers will join for the 2023 Spine Summit for educational advancement, networking opportunities and riveting entertainment. This annual meeting is the
About the AANS/CNS Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves:
The AANS/CNS Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves brings together neurosurgeons, orthopedic spine surgeons, spine surgery fellows, as well as residents and advanced practice providers focused on spinal surgery. The Spine Section advances spine surgeon’s interests, represents them in national advocacy and disseminates science.
For more information, visit www.spinesection.org
