Neurosurgery continues to evolve through advances in brain tumor care, cerebrovascular surgery, neurotrauma and complex spine surgery. Across the U.S., neurosurgeons are helping drive that progress through minimally invasive techniques, emerging technologies, research and leadership.
The following 15 neurosurgeons are advancing the field through clinical innovation, research, education and leadership.
Editor’s note: This is not a comprehensive or ranked list. Becker’s does not endorse any individual featured. To nominate a physician for a future list, please contact Sophie Eydis at seydis@beckershealthcare.com.
- Sepideh Amin-Hanjani, MD. University Hospitals (Cleveland): Dr. Amin-Hanjani is director of cerebrovascular and skull base surgery and vice chair of neurological surgery at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. She specializes in cerebrovascular surgery for aneurysms, vascular malformations, carotid disease and moyamoya, as well as skull base surgery for conditions including pituitary tumors and acoustic neuromas.
Dr. Amin-Hanjani is also a professor of neurological surgery at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland and holds the Warren R. Selman, MD, Chair in Neurosurgery at University Hospitals. She serves as director of cerebrovascular and skull base surgery and vice chair of the department of neurological surgery at UH Cleveland Medical Center. Her research focuses on cerebrovascular blood flow and stroke, and she has authored more than 200 scientific publications and 30 textbook chapters.
In August, she was elected president-elect of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. She is also immediate past chair of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Stroke Council.
- Joshua Beckman, MD. Neurosurgery One (Littleton, Colo.): Dr. Beckman is a neurosurgeon specializing in motion-preserving and minimally invasive spine surgery. He treats degenerative spine conditions, scoliosis, spinal tumors and trauma and was the first surgeon in Colorado to perform a Total Posterior Spine facet joint replacement, a motion-preserving alternative to lumbar fusion for certain patients.
Before joining Neurosurgery One in 2021, Dr. Beckman served as director of spine surgery at San Antonio Military Medical Center, where he treated complex spinal and head injuries as a U.S. Air Force spine surgeon. His practice emphasizes the least invasive treatment appropriate for each patient and enhanced recovery protocols designed to promote early mobility after spine surgery.
- Deborah Benzil, MD. Cleveland Clinic: Dr. Benzil is vice chair of neurosurgery at Cleveland Clinic and a neurosurgeon with the Center for Spine Health. Her practice focuses on comprehensive neurosurgical care, including minimally invasive surgical interventions.
Dr. Benzil has held clinical and academic positions throughout her career, including as an associate professor of neurosurgery at New York City-based Columbia University. She has been recognized for patient care, education and leadership, with a particular focus on socioeconomic issues affecting physicians and surgical specialists. She has also been active in using social media for patient education, advocacy and professional education.
- Shaad Bidiwala, MD. Texas Neurosurgery (Dallas): Dr. Bidiwala is a neurosurgeon specializing in minimally invasive treatment of cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine conditions, as well as brain and spinal tumors. His practice incorporates minimally invasive spine techniques, image-guided brain surgery, radiosurgery and brain-machine interfaces for conditions including Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor and epilepsy.
Dr. Bidiwala is an attending neurosurgeon at Dallas-based Baylor University Medical Center’s level 1 trauma center and a clinical assistant professor of neurosurgery at Texas A&M University Health Science Center in Bryan. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering, a background that informs his interest in integrating emerging technologies into brain and spine surgery.
- Anthony DiGiorgio, DO. University of California San Francisco: Dr. DiGiorgio is an associate professor of neurological surgery at UCSF and director of spinal neurotrauma at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. He specializes in neurotrauma and minimally invasive spine surgery and serves as lead neurotrauma consultant for the San Francisco 49ers.
Dr. DiGiorgio’s research focuses on healthcare costs, administrative burden, clinical registries and improving access to care for low-income patients. His work has appeared in JAMA, Health Affairs, Neurosurgery and JAMA Health Forum, and he has testified before committees in both chambers of Congress. He also serves on the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics and as a delegate to the American Medical Association House of Delegates.
- Peter Fecci, MD, PhD. University of Colorado School of Medicine (Aurora): Dr. Fecci is chair of the department of neurosurgery at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and a neurosurgeon specializing in primary and metastatic brain tumors. Before joining the university in 2025, he founded the Duke Center for Brain and Spine Metastasis in Durham, N.C., and held leadership roles in surgical neuro-oncology and brain tumor immunotherapy at Duke University.
Dr. Fecci’s research focuses on brain tumor immunology and immunotherapy, including T-cell dysfunction in glioblastoma, novel immunotherapeutic approaches and clinical trials for primary and metastatic brain tumors. He has authored more than 130 peer-reviewed articles, holds several patents related to his research and has served as principal investigator on multiple externally funded research grants.
- Saadi Ghatan, MD. Mount Sinai Health System (New York City): Dr. Ghatan is chair of neurosurgery at Mount Sinai West and Mount Sinai Morningside in New York City and director of the health system’s Pediatric Neurosurgery Program. He specializes in pediatric and adult neurosurgery, with expertise in epilepsy, brain and spinal cord tumors, vascular malformations, craniofacial disorders and minimally invasive neurosurgery.
Dr. Ghatan is also a professor of neurosurgery and pediatrics at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. He helped spearhead the growth of Mount Sinai’s pediatric epilepsy surgery program, and his research includes epilepsy surgery outcomes and surgical treatment of epilepsy associated with vascular malformations, autism and stroke. He also participates in a telemedicine program aimed at expanding access to neurosurgical care in upstate New York.
- Christina Jackson, MD. Penn Medicine (Philadelphia): Dr. Jackson is an assistant professor of neurosurgery at the University of Pennsylvania specializing in skull base and complex brain tumor surgery. Her expertise includes open and minimally invasive approaches, endoscopic skull base and pituitary surgery and the treatment of benign and malignant brain tumors, including meningiomas, pituitary adenomas, craniopharyngiomas, chordomas and schwannomas.
Dr. Jackson also leads translational research at the intersection of immunology, metabolism and brain tumor biology. Her laboratory studies mechanisms of immune evasion in malignant brain and skull base tumors with the goal of developing new immune-based therapies, using approaches including single-cell profiling, metabolomics and tumor organoid models.
- Jeffrey Mullin, MD. University at Buffalo Neurosurgery (Williamsville, N.Y.): Dr. Mullin is a neurosurgeon and associate professor of neurosurgery at the University at Buffalo specializing in complex spinal reconstruction. His expertise includes cervical and lumbar deformity, scoliosis, spinal instability, tumors, infections, stenosis and other complex spinal disorders in adult and pediatric patients.
Dr. Mullin is co-director of the University at Buffalo Neurosurgery Complex Spine Fellowship and assistant program director of its neurosurgery residency program. He serves on the executive committees of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons/Congress of Neurological Surgeons Joint Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves, as well as the AO Spine North America Fellowship Committee. He also hosts the Scoliosis Research Society’s “Scoliosis Dialogues” podcast and has authored peer-reviewed publications and book chapters on spine and neurosurgical care.
- John O’Toole, MD. Rush University Medical Center (Chicago): Dr. O’Toole is a professor of neurosurgery at Rush University specializing in spinal tumors and degenerative spine conditions. His practice emphasizes minimally invasive techniques, including microsurgery, aimed at reducing tissue disruption, pain and recovery time. In April, he performed the world’s first microsurgical spinal tumor resection using the Symani Surgical System.
His approach emphasizes shared decision-making and the use of advanced surgical techniques to improve outcomes and quality of life for patients with complex spinal conditions.
- David Park, MD, PhD. Stanford (Calif.) Health Care and VA Palo Alto (Calif.) Health Care System: Dr. Park is a neurosurgeon and clinical assistant professor at Stanford University School of Medicine specializing in neurosurgical oncology, skull base surgery, stereotactic radiosurgery and minimally invasive brain and spine surgery. His practice spans brain tumor surgery and CyberKnife radiosurgery at Stanford and cranial and spine care at VA Palo Alto, where he leads an endoscopic spine surgery program using biportal and uniportal techniques.
Dr. Park’s research bridges minimally invasive and noninvasive approaches to neurological care, including endoscopic surgery, radiosurgery and neuro-oncology. He co-leads Stanford research programs studying clinical neuro-oncology and radiosurgical outcomes and genetics and leads a medtech innovation lab at VA Palo Alto.
- Chen Shi, MD. Carolina NeuroSurgery & Spine Associates (Charlotte, N.C.): Dr. Shi is a neurosurgeon specializing in complex and minimally invasive spine surgery who treats adult cranial and spinal conditions. His practice incorporates minimally invasive techniques, robotic spine surgery and intraoperative navigation to improve surgical precision and recovery.
Dr. Shi also uses AI-driven preoperative planning tools to develop personalized surgical constructs and spinal alignment strategies. His approach emphasizes selecting the appropriate surgical technique for each patient and tailoring treatment plans to individual goals.
- Laura Snyder, MD. Barrow Neurological Institute (Phoenix): Dr. Snyder is chief of neurotrauma and a professor of neurosurgery at Barrow Neurological Institute specializing in minimally invasive spine surgery. She treats degenerative spine disease, spinal stenosis, spinal instability and spinal tumors and performs more than 250 spine procedures annually, including more than 100 minimally invasive procedures.
Her practice emphasizes tissue-sparing approaches designed to treat complex spinal disorders while helping patients return to work and active lifestyles.
- Kelvin Wilson, MD. Orlando (Fla.) Neurosurgery: Dr. Wilson is a neurosurgeon and comprehensive spine specialist with expertise in minimally invasive and complex spine surgery and spine neurotrauma. He completed his neurosurgery residency at the Gainesville-based University of Florida, becoming the program’s first Black graduate in 2016, and received advanced training in minimally invasive and complex spine surgery.
Dr. Wilson is a U.S. Army veteran who previously practiced at San Antonio-based Brooke Army Medical Center, where he served as director of minimally invasive spine surgery and deployed to Iraq and Germany. After leaving active duty in 2021, he joined Orlando Neurosurgery, where his practice focuses on comprehensive surgical care for spinal conditions.
- Christian Zimmerman, MD. Saint Alphonsus Medical Group (Boise, Idaho): Dr. Zimmerman is a neurosurgeon specializing in complex spine surgery, including spinal tumors, trauma, stenosis, herniated discs and minimally invasive procedures. He is past chair and founder of the Saint Alphonsus Neurosciences Institute and has held roles with the Idaho State Board of Health and Welfare and the National Academies of Medicine’s Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders.
Dr. Zimmerman established the institute’s research facility and leads interdisciplinary research spanning traumatic brain injury, spinal injury, stroke, sleep disorders and movement disorders. The institute has authored and presented more than 400 peer-reviewed publications at national and international meetings, and Dr. Zimmerman also serves as an adjunct professor at Boise State University.
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