Our community
The AO Spine RECODE-DCM community connects surgeons, healthcare professionals, researchers, and people with lived experience of DCM, from all regions of the globe, to accelerate progress in DCM. The equitable input from all stakeholders is crucial to ensure that the outcomes of the initiative are relevant to all who live or work with the disease.
AO Spine RECODE-DCM welcomes new members to the community. Please join us! Click here to receive updates and our quarterly newsletter.
Lack of interaction between research groups can be a barrier to progress. To find answers for a global problem, we must increase global synergy. Our diverse, inclusive community aims to break down geographical barriers and build synergy between research groups.
In 2020, the AO Spine Knowledge Forum Spinal Cord Injury called for Ambassadors to join the AO Spine RECODE-DCM Community, with the goals of enhancing synergy between research groups, focusing knowledge discovery, and translating knowledge to improve patient outcomes They have formed international special-interest ‘incubators’ (groups of clinicians, other healthcare professionals, and individuals with lived experience) focused on: Natural History, Diagnostic Criteria, and Peri-Operative Rehabilitation. These groups are led by Knowledge Forum representatives.
The formation of a specific set of Diagnostic criteria will enable earlier diagnosis but also foster improved diagnosis accuracy, timely therapy, reduce heterogeneity in research, establish standards for medical curriculum, facilitate inter-disciplinary communication and ultimately raise awareness for degenerative cervical myelopathy.
Ongoing activities:
• Scoping out methodology for formation of diagnostic criteria
• Scoping raw elements for DCM; patient survey, literature review, database analysis
• A multi-stakeholders Delphi procedure to establish diagnostic criteria based on signs, symptoms and imaging factors
Diagnostic criteria chair:
Fehlings, Michael
Neurosurgeon, Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Leadership committee:
Tetreault, Lindsay
Scientist & Neurology resident, New York University, Langone Health, Graduate Medical Education, Department of Neurology, New York, NY, United States
Rodrigues-Pinto, Ricardo
Orthopaedic surgeon, Spinal Unit (UVM), Department of Orthopaedics, Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto - Hospital de Santo António, Porto, Portugal
Wilson, Jamie RF.
Neurosurgeon, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Department of Neurosurgery, Omaha, Nebraska, United States
Kimmatkar, Nitin
Orthopaedic surgeon, Government Medical College Nagpur, Nagpurq, India
Milligan, Jamie
Family Physician, McMaster University Department of Family Medicine, Hamilton, ON, Canada
AO Spine RECODE-DCM Co-PCI:
Davies, Benjamin
Scientist & Neurosurgery resident, Myelopathy.org, International Charity for Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Team members:
Yurac, Ratko
Orthopaedic surgeon, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
Cameron, Lucy
MSK Physiotherapist, University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Addenbrooke's or Rosie Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Zipser, Carl
Spinal Cord Injury Center, Balgrist University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland
Abdel-Wanis, Mohamed
Orthopaedic surgeon, Sohag Faculty of Medicine, Sohag Governorate, Egypt
Sarewitz, Ellen
Person with lived experience and communication specialist. Myelopathy.org, International Charity for Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy, United Kingdom
Bruno Lourenço Costa
Orthopaedic surgeon, Hospital de São Teotónio (Centro Hospitalar Tondela - Viseu, Epe), Coimbra, Portugal
Widdop, Shirley
Person with lived experience, former nurse. Myelopathy.org, International Charity for Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy, United Kingdom
Betz, Michael
Orthopaedic surgeon, University Spine Center, Balgrist University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland
Obadaseraye, Oke
Senior Registrar- Orthopaedics and trauma, Nigeria, Africa
Pedro, Karlo
Neurosurgeon, University of the Philippines, Philippine General Hospital, Manila Philippines
Wood, Lianne
Spinal Advanced Practice Physiotherapist, Nottingham University Hospital, Nottingham, United Kingdom
Margetis, Konstantinos
Neurosurgeon, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, United States
Allan Martin
Neurosurgeon, University of California, Davis, United States
Chad E Cook
Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapists, Duke University, United States
Liz Roberts
Project Manager, myelopathy.org, United Kingdom
Ongoing activities:
• Guidelines on asymptomatic management of spinal cord compression
• Scoping design and feasibility for a prospective and international registry
Natural History criteria chair:
James Harrop
Department of Neurological Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
Leadership committee:
Ratko Yurac
Orthopaedic surgeon, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
Joost Dejaegher
Neurosurgeon, Faculty of Medicine KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Aria Nouri
Scientist & Neurosurgery resident, Division of Neurosurgery, Geneva University Hospitals, University of Geneva, Switzerland
Enrico Tessitore
Neurosurgeon, Division of Neurosurgery, Geneva University Hospitals, University of Geneva, Switzerland
Vishal Kumar
Orthopaedic Surgeon, Dept. of Orthopaedics PGIMER, Chandigarh, India
AO Spine RECODE-DCM Co-PCI:
Benjamin Davies
Scientist & Neurosurgery resident, Myelopathy.org, International Charity for Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy Department of Neurosurgery, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Team Members:
Rory Murphy
Neurosurgeon, Barrow Neurological Institute, Arizona, United States
Guy Wynne-Jones
Neurosurgeon, The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle, United Kingdom
Jose Joefrey F. Arbatin
Orthopedic surgeon, Spine and Orthopedics, Chong Hua Hospital, Cebu, Philippines
Iwan Sadler
Person with lived experience and Graphic Designer. Myelopathy.org, International Charity for Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy, United Kingdom
Juan José Zamorano
Orthopaedic surgeron, Clinica Alemania de Santiago, Santiago, Chile
So Kato
Consultant Spinal surgeon, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan
Manabu Ito
Orthopaedic surgeon, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, National Hospital Organization Hokkaido Medical Center, Sapporo, Japan
Oliver Mowforth
Scientist & Neurosurgery resident, Myelopathy.org, International Charity for Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy, United Kingdom
Manjul Tripathi
Neurosurgeon, Dept. of Neurosurgery, PGIMER, Chandigarh, India
Molliqaj Granit
Neurosurgeon, Division of Neurosurgery, Geneva University Hospitals, University of Geneva, Switzerland
Jefferson Wilson
Neurosurgeon, Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
David B Anderson
Physiotherapy/Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Sydney School of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Ronie Romelean
Jayapalan Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University Malaya Medical Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Nicolas Dea
Spine surgeon, Combined Neurosurgical and Orthopedic Spine Program. Vancouver General Hospital, University of British Columbia, Canada
Olesja Hazenbiller
Senior Research Project Manager, Network Clinical Research, AO Foundation, Davos, Switzerland
Ongoing activities:
• Enviroscan of current practice, access and opportunities
Chair, AO Spine RECODE-DCM PCI
Mark Kotter
Neurosurgeon, Department of Neurosurgery, University of Cambridge. Myelopathy.org, International Charity for Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy, United Kingdom
Leadership committee:
Sukhvinder Kalsi-Ryan
Affiliate Scientist, KITE|Toronto Rehab|University Health Network. Clinic/Scientific Lead - Rocket Family Upper Extremity Clinic-Lyndhurst Site, Canada
Timothy Boerger
Person with lived experience & Scientist. Department of Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, United States
Fahim Anwar
Consultant Rehabilitation Medicine, Cambridge University Hospital, United Kingdom
Aref-Ali Gharooni
Scientist & Neurosurgery resident, Myelopathy.org, International Charity for Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy, United Kingdom
Vishal Kumar
Orthopaedic Surgeon, Dept. of Orthopaedics, PGIMER, Chandigarh, India
Harry Mee
Academic Rehabilitation Registrar at Addenbrookes hospital, United Kingdom
AO Spine RECODE-DCM Co-PCI:
Benjamin Davies
Scientist & Neurosurgery resident, Myelopathy.org, International Charity for Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy Department of Neurosurgery, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Team Members:
Andreas Demetriades
Consultant Neurosurgeon and Spinal Surgeon, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Pedro Luís Bazán
Spinal Surgeon, Hospital Italiano de La Plata, Argentina
Caroline Treanor
Physiotherapist in the national neurosurgical service, Ireland - Team MembersRam Hariharan, Consultant in Spinal Injuries at Sheffield Spinal Injuries Centre, United Kingdom
Wunna Aung
Consultant in Spinal Injuries at South Tees Hospital, United Kingdom
Jeetinder Makkar Kaur
Pain Physician, Professor, Department of Anaesthesia, Post graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India
David B Anderson
Physiotherapy/Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Sydney School of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Liz Roberts
Project Manager, myelopathy.org, United Kingdom
Why build a multi-stakeholder community?
When all stakeholders are brought together, they can work most efficiently to give the maximum benefit to those living and working with DCM. Everybody who works or lives with the disease is invited.
How do I get involved?
Click here to subscribe to updates and the AO Spine RECODE-DCM quarterly newsletter.
For all other queries, please contact the AO Spine Knowledge Forum Spinal Cord Injury research project manager, Olesja Hazenbiller at ohazenbiller@aospine.org.