11th World Congress on
Spine and Spinal Disorders

Nils D. Haberland is a German spine and brain surgeon with over 33 years of experience in treating spinal and brain conditions. He is a pioneer in Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery (MISS) and spinal navigation combined with intraoperative CT scans, a technique he first published worldwide in 2000 in the United States. He was also among the first in Germany to perform brain surgery using robots. Dr. Haberland developed the Spongioplasty procedure for stabilizing vertebral bodies in cases of osteoporotic or pathological fractures.

Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery and Spinal Navigation

Dr. DePalma is the President and Medical Director of Virginia iSpine Physicians, where he specializes in Interventional Spine Care. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience, graduating magna cum laude, and a certificate in Foundations of Medicine from the University of Pittsburgh's Honors College in 1995. He completed his medical degree cum laude at the Medical University of South Carolina in 1999 and then completed his residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at The Ohio State University Medical Center.

Intervertebral Disc Repair

Bruce McCormack is a neurosurgeon based in San Francisco. He graduated from Brown University in 1982 and earned his medical degree from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1986. After completing a six-year Neurosurgery Residency at NYU in 1992, he went on to pursue two fellowships in spinal surgery at the University of Florida and the University of New Mexico. In 1994, Dr. McCormack joined UCSF as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery and later became the Director of the Spine Neurosurgery Service. He has authored numerous articles, abstracts, and chapters in the field of spine surgery. In 1998, he founded a private neurosurgery practice in San Francisco, which remains active today. Additionally, Dr. McCormack founded two medical device companies and is an angel investor in several medical technology startups.

Neurosurgery, Degenerative Disc Disease

Dr. Aladine A. Elsamadicy, MD, is a male resident based in New Haven, CT. He is affiliated with Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Spine Surgery

Prof. Dr. Ali Fahir Ozer graduated from Atatürk University School of Medicine in 1976. He completed his neurosurgery residency at Hacettepe University School of Medicine from 1977 to 1982. He became an associate professor in 1988 and a full professor in 1994. Dr. Ozer served as the head of the neurosurgery department at Kocaeli University from 1994 to 1995. Since 1995, he has worked in the neurosurgery department at the American Hospital and is currently a faculty member in the Department of Neurosurgery at Koç University School of Medicine. In 2018, he became an Adjunct Professor in Bioengineering and Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Toledo. His research focuses on spine biomechanics and dynamic stabilization, and he has patented spinal products used in surgery.

Biomechanics of the Spine