Our Physicians

Dr. Shakil Ahmed, assistant professor of clinical anesthesiology, is the director of the Tri-Institutional Pain Fellowship Program. Board-certified in Anesthesiology, Dr. Ahmed specializes in the management of cancer pain, as well as chronic and acute non-cancer pain. He is an expert at performing diagnostic and therapeutic spinal injections, discography, percutaneous discectomy, vertebroplasty, cryotherapy, implantation of spinal cord stimulators and intrathecal pumps, and pulsed and thermal radiofrequency neurolysis.

Dr. Ahmed joined the Anesthesiology Department of Weill Cornell Medicine in 2002. He completed his Anesthesia residency training at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital at Columbia University; received his MBBS from Khyber Medical College in Peshawar, Pakistan; and completed his surgical training in the UK where he was awarded the Fellowship of Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Dr. Ayyad is board-certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and fellowship trained in Interventional Spine and Sports medicine. He specializes in treating a variety of pain conditions, including neck and back pain as well as musculoskeletal conditions such asmuscle, joint, and tendon pain. His philosophy centers on treating "the whole patient," not just the symptoms, by listening and evaluating patients to develop individualized treatment plans to facilitate recovery and prevent re-injury. Dr. Ayyad is fluent in Spanish and his clinical interests include using exercise, physical therapy, and integrative medicine practices to treat musculoskeletal pain, as well as mind–body therapies in the perception of pain and healing. In addition, Dr. Ayyad performs various minimally invasive treatments that include fluoroscopic guided spine injections, ultrasound-guided joint injections, regenerative medicine, and neuromodulation including spinal cord stimulation and peripheral nerve stimulation.

Dr. Michelle Chi is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Rehabilitation Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College who is dual board-certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Pain Medicine. She specializes in treating a variety of pain conditions related to spinal disorders, including neck and back pain, as well as neurologic and musculoskeletal conditions, such as headaches, joint pains, and tendinopathies.

Kai-Ming Fu is an award-winning neurosurgeon who combines surgical expertise with advanced training in state-of-the-art techniques to provide patients with effective, minimally invasive treatments for conditions of the spine. Dr. Fu specializes in scoliosis, disc herniation, spinal stenosis, and tumors of the spinal cord. He is widely published and has presented lectures on his research internationally.

Dr. Roger Härtl, Hansen-MacDonald Professor of Neurological Surgery, is co-director of Och Spine at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. A graduate of the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany, Dr. Härtl completed his neurosurgery residency at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. After finishing a fellowship in complex spine surgery at the Barrow’s Neurological Institute in Phoenix, AZ, he re-joined the Department of Neurosurgery’s faculty at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Härtl is recognized as an international leader in minimally invasive spinal surgery and spinal 3D navigation surgery. His research is focused on creating an “artificial spine” using biological disc repair, regeneration, and replacement. Dr. Härtl’s clinical expertise, coupled with his scientific work, has led him to work with fellow medical practitioners across multiple disciplines to find the best avenue of care for his patients. In 2024 he was named by Newsweek/Statista as one of the top spine surgeons in the United States, and he is consistently named to the lists of top neurosurgeons in New York by Castle Connolly/New York magazine and New York Super Doctors.

Dr. Ibrahim Hussain is an accomplished neurosurgeon with advanced fellowship training in endoscopic, minimally invasive, and complex reconstructive spine surgery as well as advanced training in peripheral nerve surgery. He treats patients with the full spectrum of spinal disorders, including those with disc herniations, age-related degenerative arthritis, fractures, spinal cord injury, infections, primary and metastatic spinal cord tumors, congenital anomalies, and scoliosis. A significant portion of his practice is devoted to revision surgeries in those who have had prior spine surgery, and those with peripheral nerve problems such as tumors and compressive neuropathies. Having trained with pioneers of spine surgery at some of the top neurosurgical institutions in the world, Dr. Hussain uses and is involved in the development of state-of-the-art intraoperative technologies that aim to make surgeries safer and less invasive, including three-dimensional computer-assisted navigation, endoscopy, robotics, and augmented reality. He has special interest in performing outpatient and “awake” spine surgeries when appropriate for patients, which aim to get patients home faster and without the negative effects of general anesthesia.

Dr. Jatin Joshi, assistant professor of anesthesiology, is a board certified anesthesiologist and interventional pain management physician specializing in treating a range of chronic and acute pain issues, including back, neck and joint pain; sciatica; spinal stenosis; and musculoskeletal pain. His clinical focus is on spinal cord stimulation and other minimally invasive procedures to treat spinal problems, joint and neuropathic pain, and complex regional pain syndrome/reflex sympathetic dystrophy.

Dr. Joshi completed his residency training in Anesthesiology at Massachusetts General Hospital and pursued a fellowship in Interventional Pain Medicine at Weill Cornell, Hospital for Special Surgery, and Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He obtained his MD and degree in Public Health from UNC-Chapel Hill as a Distinguished Medical Scholar. He is also a Harry S. Truman Scholar, a distinguished fellowship given by the US government to individuals showing exemplary public service.

Rohan Jotwani MD, MBA is a board-certified anesthesiologist and pain medicine specialist, practicing clinically within both fields of anesthesiology and pain management. Dr. Jotwani spent his childhood split between Seoul, South Korea and Flushing, Queens. He first became interested in science and technology while attending the renowned Bronx High School of Science, where he began researching cancer genetics at the age of fifteen. This eventually inspired him to complete his undergraduate studies in biology at Columbia University. He then went on to complete both his medical degree and his Master of Business Administration concurrently in four years at Tufts University School of Medicine.

Tiffany Lin, MD, is a pain management specialist at Och Spine at NewYork-Presbyterian at the Weill Cornell Medicine Center for Comprehensive Spine Care. Dr. Lin received her undergraduate degree from Duke University and her MD from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Her specialties include degenerative spine disease, neuropathic pain, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome; she performs minimally invasive procedures for back and neck pain, including spinal cord stimulation, radiofrequency ablation, and electrical nerve stimulation for chronic pain.

Dr. Neel Mehta, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Medical Director of Pain Medicine. Dr. Mehta obtained his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine; he completed his residency at Weill Cornell–NewYork Presbyterian Hospital. He was a Tri-Institutional Interventional Pain Medicine Fellow, gaining experience at Weill Cornell, Hospital for Special Surgery, and Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. His focus is on musculoskeletal pain of the back, neck, and joints, neuropathic disorders, and cancer pain. He conducts research on Spinal Cord Stimulation.

Dr. Lynn McGrath, Jr., is an award-winning neurosurgeon trained in both traditional open surgery as well as cutting-edge minimally invasive and endoscopic spine surgical techniques. He is internationally renowned as an innovator working to develop diagnostic tools using artificial intelligence, work for which he was named the Congress of Neurological Surgeons “Innovator of the Year” in 2019. Dr. McGrath received his BA from Dartmouth College and his MD from the University of Central Florida. He then completed his residency in neurological surgery at the University of Washington, followed by a fellowship in which he trained in minimally invasive and complex spine surgery under Dr. Roger Härtl at Weill Cornell Medicine.

Dr. Vincent Miccio joins Weill Cornell Medicine as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Rehabilitation Medicine. Dr. Miccio is board certified in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and in Pain Medicine. He specializes in providing comprehensive, patient-centered care for a wide range of complex conditions of the spine, joints, muscles, and nerves using minimally invasive techniques such as fluoroscopically-guided spine procedures, ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve blocks, and neuromodulation. He completed a fellowship in Pain Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center and completed his residency training program in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and Columbia University Medical Center, where he served as Chief Resident.

Dr. Daniel Pak is a double-board certified physician in Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine who specializes in Interventional Pain Management. His expertise is in the management of complex back/neck pain, sciatica, spinal stenosis, cancer pain, arthritis, and neuropathies. His clinical focus revolves around minimally invasive treatments, including injection therapies, spinal cord stimulation, dorsal root ganglion (DRG) stimulation, intrathecal pump therapy, and the MILD© procedure (Minimally Invasive Lumbar Decompression). He has also published numerous peer-reviewed manuscripts, book chapters, and given national lectures on the topics of intrathecal pump therapy and neuromodulation.

Dr. Paul Park is an accomplished orthopedic surgeon with advanced fellowship training in adult and pediatric spine surgery. He treats patients with a wide array of spinal disorders, including those with spinal deformity (both adult and adolescent), age-related degenerative arthritis, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, disc herniation, trauma, fractures, spinal cord injury, infections, as well as those patients requiring revision spinal surgeries. Dr. Park believes in a multi-disciplinary approach to spinal care, and is able to work with world-class colleagues in various fields to help patients find the right treatment for each individual patient – whether or not surgery is involved.

Dr. Philip Petrou is a fellowship-trained pain medicine physician who takes a multidisciplinary team-based approach to address the physical, mental, and emotional components of pain. These team-building skills facilitate a collaborative environment to provide holistic, patient-centered care in the pain clinic. His academic pain interests include spinal cord stimulation and peripheral nerve stimulation, as well as ultrasound-based interventional techniques. In addition to his commitment to clinical medicine, he has published numerous peer-reviewed manuscripts.

Dr. Piracha, instructor in anesthesiology, specializes in spinal cord stimulation for the treatment of chronic pain and inpatient pain control outcomes. His areas of expertise include general anesthesiology, acute pain management, chronic pain management, and interventional pain procedures. Dr. Piracha completed his Pain Medicine fellowship at the NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center Tri-Institute Fellowship Program, and completed his Anesthesiology residency at NewYork-Presbyterian/ Weill Cornell Medical Center.

Dr. Dan Riew is an internationally recognized expert in cervical spine disorders, and is one of only 2-3 spine surgeons in the world to limit his practice entirely to the cervical spine. His patient roster includes celebrities, athletes, world leaders, and, most notably, other physicians who seek the very best for disorders of the cervical spine. Dr. Riew has advanced skills in both minimally invasive procedures that can be performed on an outpatient basis and complex revision surgeries and deformity corrections, and he has performed more surgical procedures on the cervical spine than almost any other surgeon in the world. His expertise and experience on such a large number of patients combine to make him the go-to surgeon for cervical spine procedures.

Dr. Jaspal Ricky Singh is the Medical Director of Rehabilitation Medicine and Co-Director of Och Spine at NewYork-Presbyterian at the Center for Comprehensive Spine Care. He is a triple-board certified physician specializing in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Sports Medicine and Pain Medicine. Dr. Singh specializes in a multidisciplinary approach to treat pain by integrating physical therapy and interventional techniques his care, such as minimally invasive, fluoroscopic-guided spine procedures, peripheral nerve blocks, electrodiagnostics, and musculoskeletal ultrasound.

Dr. Ben Shin is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Rehabilitation Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. He specializes in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Pain Medicine. His clinical interest focuses on providing patient-centered care using individualized multidisciplinary team approach to treat a variety of painful musculoskeletal and neurological conditions related to neck, back, joints, nerves, tendons, and muscles. Dr. Shin offers his patients a comprehensive set of potential procedures to alleviate pain using minimally invasive techniques including, but not limited to: fluoroscopically-guided spine/joint procedures, ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve blocks, regenerative medicine treatments, and neuromodulation.

Dr. Robert Snow is a board-certified neurosurgeon who has routinely been named to lists of Castle Connolly Top Doctors and New York magazine’s Best Doctors in New York. He has advanced skills and expertise in all areas of neurosurgery, with specialized training in spine surgery. He is on the faculty of Weill Cornell Medicine and performs surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell. Dr. Snow received his undergraduate degree from Syracuse University, then earned his MA and PhD at the University of Chicago. He received his MD from Stanford University, where he completed his general surgery internship, then completed his neurosurgical residency at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center.

Dr. Sood is a rehabilitation medicine physician who specializes in the nonsurgical treatment of musculoskeletal conditions, spine disorders, and acute sports injuries. She has expertise in image-guided injection techniques using both fluoroscopy and ultrasound to precisely target the spine, peripheral joints, or soft tissue (tendon, bursa, nerve, muscle). This includes specialized treatments such as hyaluronic acid or PRP injections, or nerve ablations to complement the treatment plan when appropriate.

Dr. Michael Virk is an award-winning neurosurgeon specializing in minimally invasive and complex spine surgery. He is committed to a patient-centered, multidisciplinary approach to treat patients with spinal disorders that might include deformity, tumor, trauma, spinal cord injury, and degenerative disease. Dr. Virk uses state-of-the-art minimally invasive techniques with intraoperative, computer-assisted navigation as well as spinal endoscopy. He also employs fundamental, open surgical strategies in patients who will benefit most from these.

Dr. Lisa R. Witkin is a double-board certified physician, in Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, who specializes in interventional pain management. Dr. Witkin is the site director of Pain Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian/Lower Manhattan Hospital and is Site Director at Weill Cornell for the Tri-Institutional Pain Medicine Fellowship. Committed to patient care, Dr. Witkin's clinical interests encompass a wide range of pain conditions and she utilizes a multi-modal approach customized to each patient to alleviate pain and suffering in order to improve functioning as well as overall quality of life. This may include initiating and optimizing medications, physical and occupational therapy, behavioral medicine techniques, and minimally-invasive fluoroscopic and ultrasound-guided interventional therapies. More advanced interventions including spinal cord stimulation and intrathecal pump therapy may also be offered when indicated.