Steven Garfin, MD, USA

Past President 2012-2013

Steven R. Garfin, MD is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedics at the University of California. Additionally, Dr. Garfin holds hospital positions at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center and at the La Jolla Veterans Administration Hospital.

At the University of Minnesota, Dr. Garfin earned a Medical Degree and was honored with the Alpha Omega Alpha Society award. Dr. Garfin’s internship in Surgery was at the University of California, San Diego as was his Orthopaedic Surgery Residency. As an Orthopaedic resident, he received the Zimmer-McCoy Residency Award and the Alfred V. Bateman Resident Anatomy Award. Dr. Garfin’s Fellowship in Disorders of the Spine was at Pennsylvania Hospital under Drs. R. H. Rothman and F. A. Simeone. Since his Fellowship, Dr. Garfin has been recognized for numerous awards including: Volvo Award for Research from ISSLS (x2), AcroMed Research Award of the North American Spine Society (x2), the Cervical Spine Research Society Research Award (x2), and the Orthopaedic Research Society New Investigator Recognition Award. More recently the North American Spine Society awarded Dr. Garfin the Wiltse Award for Leadership in the Field of Spine, and the Selby Award for contributions to NASS. Also, Dr. Garfin’s research interests have earned many grants by leading medical research institutes, societies, and companies.

Dr. Garfin is a member of the following professional societies: the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Orthopaedic Association, Cervical Spine Research Society, International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine, North American Spine Society, the Orthopaedic Research Society, and the Spinal Arthroplasty Society. For several of these societies Dr. Garfin has played active roles as society President, Board Member, and Program Chairman (he is current Program Chair for ISASS).

Dr. Garfin’s impressive published research and writing include: author of nine books, 123 book chapters, 255 peer-reviewed journal articles, and 132 abstracts. Additionally, Dr. Garfin has written five reviews, one magazine article, and was editor of eight focus journals. Currently, Dr. Garfin is Deputy Editor of Spine and is a Reviewer for the Journal of Orthopaedic Research, Journal of American Medical Association, Spine, and Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research. This very active and prolific doctor is also committed to education; he has presented over 450 lectures and over 80 exhibits at professional medical meetings.