Chris Shaffrey, M.D.

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Administrative Assistant Becky Ellwood

Bio:   Christopher Ignatius Shaffrey was born in Milwaukee Wisconsin. He graduated magna cum laude from The Citadel in 1982 with B.S. degree in Biology. He played varsity basketball and was the co-captain his senior year. In 1986, Dr. Shaffrey received his medical degree from the University of Virginia. He completed his general surgical internship at Naval Hospital San Diego in 1987 where he was named the surgical intern of the year. He completed both neurosurgical and orthopaedics residencies at the University of Virginia. A spine fellowship in pediatric and adult reconstructive spine surgery was completed in 1995.

Following his postgraduate training, Dr. Shaffrey completed a scholarship obligation to the United States Navy at Portsmouth Navy Medical Center. In 1997, he was appointed to the senior staff in the Departments of Neurological Surgery and Orthopaedic Surgery at Henry Ford Hospital where he was actively involved in treating members of Detroit’s college and professional athletic teams. In 1999, Dr. Shaffrey was appointed Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery and Adjunct Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle. In 2003, he returned to the University of Virginia as Professor of Neurological Surgery and Director of the Neurosurgery Spine Division. Dr. Shaffrey is board certified in the fields of Neurological Surgery and Orthopaedic Surgery.

Dr. Shaffrey has an active research interest in spinal surgery, particularly in numerous multicenter outcome research studies of pediatric and adult scoliosis, spinal trauma and tumors involving the spinal column. He has been a funded principal investigator in numerous grants and clinical trials. He serves on the Editorial Boards of Journal of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery and Journal of Spinal Disorders. He is an active reviewer for the Spine, The Spine Journal, Surgical Neurology and Journal of Trauma. Dr. Shaffrey has greater than 100 publications, greater than 500 national and international presentations and served as editor for several textbooks on spinal surgery.

During his career in medicine, Dr. Shaffrey has won numerous awards for clinical medicine. He as won the Counsel of State Neurosurgical Societies Young Neurosurgeons Award. He has been named to Best Doctors and Top Doctors numerous times. He has an active role in organized neurosurgery and spinal surgery. He has been the Chair for the AANS/CNS Joint Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves, and previously both the Scientific Program Chair and Annual Meeting Chair for the AANS/CNS Joint Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves. He is on the Scientific Program Committee for the Congress of Neurological Surgeons Annual Meeting. He serves as the Morbidity and Mortality Committee Chair for the Scoliosis Research Society. He has been named to numerous honorary academic societies including the American Orthopaedic Association and the American Academy of Neurological Surgery.