UPMC and Pitt Neurosurgeons Named Neurosurgery and Spine Research All-stars
May 21, 2025
This story was originally posted on the Department of Neurological Surgery's website.
Thirteen University of Pittsburgh neurosurgeons were included on a list of “healthcare neurosurgery and spine research all-stars for 2025” in a study conducted by healthcare analytics company Avant-garde Health. This honor is recognition of the quality and quantity of the research they authored and published in 2024-25 and is an indicator that they are among the top 5% of all neurosurgeons and spine surgeons publishing leading-edge healthcare research.
The list includes:
- Kalil Abdullah, MD
- Taylor Abel, MD
- Nitin Agarwal, MD
- Robert Friedlander, MD
- Paul Gardner, MD
- Peter Gerszten, MD
- Jorge González-Martínez, MD, PhD
- Bradley Gross, MD
- Costas Hadjipanayis, MD, PhD
- Michael Lang, MD
- Ajay Niranjan, MD
- David Okonkwo, MD, PhD
- Pascal Zinn, MD, PhD
Of these, Dr. Okonkwo was listed among the top 1% all neurosurgery/spine researchers recognized.
The study also recognized UPMC Presbyterian and UPMC Shadyside as top hospitals for neurosurgery/spine research.
According to their website, "Avant-garde Health is a mission-driven healthcare analytics company that was born out of the value-based health care research at the Harvard Business School.”
Avant-garde’s "healthcare research all-star awards honor the outstanding physicians and hospitals whose contributions to healthcare research significantly enhance the quality of patient care. The study examined the research of more than 4,700 hospitals and 424,000 physicians."
