Scientific Advisory Board of Physicians
The Alphatec Spine Scientific Advisory Board of Physicians is a premier board of distinguished physicians.
Stephen J. Hochschuler, M.D.
Chairman
Dr. Hochschuler is a board certified orthopedic surgeon with outstanding credentials and expertise in the treatment of the spine. Co-Founder of the Texas Back Institute and a Founding Member of the Board of Directors of the Spine Arthroplasty Society, Dr. Hochschuler has been published in a number of prestigious international spine journals, as well as authoring two books for the lay reader, Back in Shape and Treat Your Back Without Surgery. A graduate of Columbia University in New York, Dr. Hochschuler received a medical degree from Harvard Medical School. He completed an internship and general residency at Harvard Surgical Service, Boston City Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, and an orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and Parkland Memorial Hospital, both in Dallas, Texas.
Bret B. Abshire, M.D.
Dr. Abshire is a member of the neurosurgical faculty at the University of California, San Diego serving as Assistant Clinical Professor of Surgery. He is Vice Chair of the Surgery Department at the Southwest Healthcare System in Southern California. In addition, he maintains a private, general neurological practice performing surgery for brain tumors and cerebrovascular disease. Dr. Abshire's area of special expertise includes disorders of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine, and he is skilled in complex re-operative spine surgeries with spinal instrumentation. He has participated in several clinical studies involving the treatment of spinal disorders and has had a number of papers published in scientific journals. Dr. Abshire received a medical degree from the University of Health Sciences at The Chicago Medical School. He completed a surgical internship and neurosurgery residency at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation and a spine fellowship at the University of South Florida/Tampa General Hospital. Dr. Abshire is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.
Frank J. Eismont, M.D.
Dr. Eismont has been affiliated with the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami since 1980. He is currently a Professor and Co-Chairman of the Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation and is Program Director for the orthopedic residency training program as well as the spine surgery fellowship training program. Dr. Eismont has co-authored over 70 research articles and has served 10 years as a Director of the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery. A graduate of the University of Rochester School of Medicine in New York, Dr. Eismont completed both internship and orthopedic fellowship programs at the Case-Western Reserve University in Cleveland and at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. He is also an active member of numerous organizations including the Scoliosis Research Society, the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine, the North American Spine Society, the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery, and the Cervical Spine Research Society of which he is a past President.
J. Patrick Johnson, M.D.
Dr. Johnson practices and is a Director at Cedars-Sinai Institute for Spinal Disorders and Co-Director at the Cedars-Sinai Hyperhidrosis Center in Los Angeles, California. He served as Co-Director of the UCLA Comprehensive Spine Center for 10 years prior to his current position. Dr. Johnson's research activities include minimally invasive and endoscopic spinal surgery, stem cell research for regeneration of spinal disorders, spinal biomechanics, and spinal implant technology design. He is an active member of many neurological organizations, academic committees and editorial review boards. He has lectured widely and published in numerous peer-reviewed journals and books. Dr. Johnson received a medical degree from Oregon Health Sciences University. He completed a surgical internship and neurosurgical residency at the University of California, Los Angeles and a neurology/neurosurgical fellowship at the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases at Queen Square in London, England. He completed a second fellowship in spinal surgery at the University of Tennessee in Memphis, Tennessee.
James J. Yue, M.D.
Dr. Yue is an Assistant Professor of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation at the Yale University School of Medicine, Co-Director of the Yale Spine Center, and Director of the Combined Yale Spine Fellowship. Dr. Yue has focused his recent clinical and basic science research in the area of non-fusion spinal technology. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters examining the use of total disc arthroplasty in the lumbar and cervical spine. After completing an internship and residency in orthopedic surgery at Case Western Reserve University Hospitals in Cleveland, he completed a trauma and spine fellowship at the University of Maryland/RA Cowley Shock Trauma Hospital and an additional spine fellowship at Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham and London, England.
