speakers Details

Brief Introducation

After 36 years as an innovative neurosurgeon and faculty leader, Charles L. Branch Jr., MD, Eben Alexander Professor and Chair of Neurosurgery and Professor of Pediatrics and Orthopaedic Surgery at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine announced his retirement in December 2023. . Branch has been at the forefront of discovery for neurosurgery and is recognized internationally for the surgical techniques he pioneered and perfected, including the minimally invasive posterior interbody lumbar fusion technique that has transformed the way clinicians perform spinal fusions. His innovative surgical techniques also resulted in the commercialization of numerous state-of-the-art medical devices, including 40 patents, as well as his instruments and implants for interbody spine fusion that are now used around the world. In 2004, Dr. Branch was named editor-in-chief for The Spine Journal and subsequently served on the editorial board for The Journal of Neurosurgery – Spine. In 2021 he was appointed editor-in-chief for the International Journal of Spine Surgery. Over the years, his research interests have included brain tumor therapy, herniated discs, lumbar vertebrae, spinal diseases and trauma, spinal stenosis and spine degeneration. He has published 24 book chapters, 80 journal articles and abstracts. Throughout his career he also served in many leadership and editorial positions at prestigious neurosurgery and spine specialty organizations, including as director and chair of the American Board of Neurological Surgery and as the president of the North American Spine Society. Over the course of his career at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Dr. Branch has helped to train more than 60 neurosurgical residents. As Chair, the number of faculty in the department has more than tripled and the number of residents in training has doubled. Research funding from the NIH for department faculty and collaborators has grown from a modest number to more than $11 million in 5-year awards. The department currently participates in more than 20 clinical trials with thousands of life-changing neurosurgical procedures performed each year. He continues to share his experience and to train neurosurgeons worldwide.