Newswise — R. Shay Bess, MD, a nationally-recognized leader in spine surgery and spinal deformity research, has been appointed the new chief of the Adult Spinal Deformity Service for the Division of Spine Surgery in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center’s Hospital for Joint Diseases. In addition, Dr. Bess will serve as director of spinal deformity research, overseeing all research efforts in adult spinal deformity. His appointments are effective September 1, 2015.
Also named associate professor of orthopaedic surgery at NYU School of Medicine, Dr. Bess will see patients at two locations: NYU Langone’s Center for Musculoskeletal Care located on East 38th Street, and the Hospital for Joint Diseases Ambulatory Care Center on East 23rd Street in Manhattan.
Dr. Bess has been instrumental in advancing adult spinal deformity research through the International Spine Study Group Foundation, for which he serves as President. The nonprofit research foundation has presented over 600 abstracts and published over 80 manuscripts since the foundation was formed in 2009. He also is a member of the Scoliosis Research Society and North American Spine Society.
A prolific researcher, Dr. Bess’ studies have been chronicled in more than 60 peer-reviewed journal articles, and he has authored 15 book chapters and reviews, and presented his work nationally and internationally at medical conferences.
“We are excited to bring Dr. Bess’ fresh energy and leadership in both research and clinical care to our long-standing tradition of excellence in spine services at NYU Langone,” says Thomas Errico, MD, chief of the Division of Spine Surgery at NYU Langone.
“Recruiting a top-level spine surgeon like Dr. Bess is the latest example of the Division of Spine Surgery’s commitment under Dr. Errico’s leadership to providing our patients with complex spinal deformities the best care possible,” says Joseph D. Zuckerman, MD, the Walter A. L. Thompson Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery.
Most recently, Dr. Bess served as Director of the Pediatric Scoliosis Services at Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children/Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center in Denver.
An alumnus of Columbia University, Dr. Bess earned his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. He completed his residency at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and his postdoctoral spine fellowship in pediatric and adult scoliosis and spinal deformity at Washington University in St. Louis.
#####NYU Langone Medical Center is ranked #5 in U.S. News & World Report’s 2015-16 “Best Hospitals” list for Orthopedics. NYU Langone's orthopaedic surgeons provide highly specialized, inpatient orthopaedic surgical care at the Hospital for Joint Diseases (HJD). In addition, NYU Langone’s Center for Musculoskeletal Care is a dedicated state-of-the-art facility for outpatient orthopaedic care for injuries and ailments that affect muscles, bones and joints. NYU Langone’s Department of Orthopaedic Surgery performed more than 16,000 surgical procedures in 2014, published 175 articles in academic journals and received $2 million in research funding. The department ranks 10th in research ranking in the FY14 Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research list of NIH-funded research programs.
Learn more about Orthopaedic Surgery at NYU Langone at http://nyulangone.org/locations/orthopaedic-surgery.
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