Michael W. Groff, MD

Vice-Chair, Neurosurgery
Director, Spinal Neurosurgery
Co-Director, Comprehensive Spine Surgery
Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts

Michael W. Groff, M.D. is the Vice-Chairman and Director of Spinal Neurosurgery at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He earned his MD at the University of Pittsburgh and then went on to the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York for internship and residency training in Neurological Surgery. He completed his training at the Medical College of Wisconsin with a fellowship in Spinal Surgery. Dr. Groff is actively involved in national neurosurgical societies. He is a past-Chairman of the AANS/CNS Joint Section of the Spine and Peripheral nerves, the national neurosurgical spine organization. He is also active in the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and serves as the Vice-Chairman of the Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation (NREF). He serves on the Editorial board for the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine, as well as Neurosurgery, World Neurosurgery, and Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery. Dr. Groff’s research interests have focused on spinal biomechanics, health services research, and evidence based medicine. The common thread has been trying to improve the outcome of individual patients. His clinical focus has been on Complex Cervical Spine surgery, Spinal Oncology, intradural spinal cord tumors, and minimally invasive surgery. He was awarded board certification in 2005 and was first selected as one of the Best Doctors in America in 2007. Dr. Groff is committed to ensuring that every patient receives personalized care that is responsive to their goals and concerns. Although we recognize that the vast armamentarium of a world-class tertiary care medical center can deliver miracles, the one-to-one relationship of a patient and caregiver is the most important aspect of the healthcare we deliver.

Yi Lu, MD, PhD

Director, Neurological Trauma
Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts

Dr. Lu is the Director of Neurosurgical Trauma, a spine surgeon, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurosurgery. He always puts patients first, and treats them as he would for family members. Dr. Lu's clinical practice is focused on minimally invasive spine surgery, spinal deformity and scoliosis correction, spinal tumors (primary and metastasis), and spinal trauma. His research involves spinal cord injury, namely the axon regeneration and locomotion recovery after injury.

Danielle L. Sarno, MD

Chair, Wellness Committee, Department of Neurosurgery
Co-Director, Interventional Pain Simulation Center
Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts

Dr. Danielle Sarno is an Instructor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School, Chair of the Wellness Committee in the Department of Neurosurgery, and Co-Director of the Harvard Interventional Pain Simulation Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She is double board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Pain Medicine. Dr. Sarno utilizes a patient-centered, multidisciplinary approach in her treatment of spine disorders, with a focus on optimizing function and improving quality of life. Dr. Sarno’s research interests include simulation for interventional pain education, radiation safety, therapeutic neuroscience education, and clinical innovations to enhance the experience for patients with chronic pain.

Hasan A. Zaidi, MD

Director, Spine Research at Computational Neurosurgical Outcomes Center
Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School
Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts

Dr. Zaidi is an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery and director of spine research at the Computational Neurosurgical Outcomes Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Given the complex nature of spine diseases, Dr. Zaidi believes in tailoring surgical techniques and individualizing care to treat each patient’s unique set of circumstances. He strongly adheres to the philosophy of caring for his patients as if they were his own family members. Dr. Zaidi believes that developing a surgical plan depends on a thoughtful conversation with his patients and their families and tailoring surgery to meet the patient’s goals and specific needs. Fascinated by the complexity of spinal disorders and the ability of spine surgery to restore function and improve the quality of a patient’s life, he pursued a specialized fellowship in complex spine surgery, adult spinal deformity surgery, as well as endoscopic surgery. He integrates novel, minimally invasive techniques and modern technological innovations to treat a variety of spinal pathologies. Dr. Zaidi’s clinical practice is focused on the treatment of global spinal imbalance among patients with degenerative spine disease, tumors and scoliosis; by restoring the natural curvature of the spine, surgery can reduce pain and improve function. His research focuses on developing novel surgical tools to improve the safety and efficacy of surgery, as well as analyzing surgical outcomes in order to improve surgical outcomes.