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Vice Chair Outpatient Operations Chief Transformation and Business Development Officer Clinical Associate Professor

Dr. Cheerag Upadhyaya is a board-certified neurosurgeon specializing in minimally invasive spine surgery. Dr. Upadhyaya grew up in a small town in Florida and attended college at Emory University. He then attended medical school at the University of Florida. He went on to complete his residency training at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI followed by a fellowship in complex and minimally invasive spine surgery at the University of California in San Francisco, CA.

Dr. Upadhyaya earned a Master of Science with a focus in clinical research after completing a research fellowship with the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars program.  He also completed basic science research fellowships at the Salk Institute and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute/National Institutes of Health.  Most recently, he completed a Master of Business Administration with a focus on analytics and sustainability at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He is passionate about research to improve patient outcomes by determining new, minimally invasive treatments, and conducting research to improve access to patient care.   

Dr. Upadhyaya represents the Congress of Neurological Surgeons as the Alternate AMA CPT Advisor by the American Medical Association Board of Trustees. He also serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Neurosurgery Spine. Dr. Upadhyaya is a member of the Scoliosis Research Society. He was also included on the Castle Connelly Top Doctors list for Kansas City in 2021.  

In his spare time, Dr. Upadhyaya likes to spend time with his wife and two children.

TITLES
Vice Chair Outpatient Operations
Chief Transformation & Business Strategy Officer
Clinical Associate Professor

SPECIALTIES
Minimally invasive spine surgery

EDUCATION
MBA – MIT Sloan School of Management, Boston, MA, 2022
Fellowship – Clinical Fellow, Complex & Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, University of California San Francisco, CA, 2010
Residency – Neurosurgery Residency, University of Michigan Hospitals, Ann Arbor, MI, 2009
MSc – Clinical Research, University of Michigan Rackham, School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, 2009
Research Fellowship – Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, Ann Arbor, MI, 2008
Residency – General Surgery Residency, University of Michigan Hospitals, Ann Arbor, MI, 2004
MD – University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 2001
Research Fellowship – Howard Hughes Medical Institute / National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Research Fellowship – Salk Institute La Jolla, CA, 1997
BS – Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 1996

BOARD CERTIFICATIONS
Neurological Surgery – Board Certified, 2014

AWARDS
Castle Connelly Top Doctors, 2021
Ingram’s Top Physicians, 2018
Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) Edgar Dawson Traveling Fellowship, 2014
Outcomes Committee Award, American Association of Neurological Surgeons & Congress of Neurological Surgeons Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerve, 2011
Nominated for the Whitecloud Award for Best Clinical Paper at the 17th International Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques, 2010
Bronze Beeper Award for Outstanding Medical Student Instruction, University of Michigan, 2002
University of Michigan Health System Recognition for outstanding patient care, 2002, 2005

RECENT PUBLICAITONS
For a complete list of recent publications, please visit Dr, Upadhyaya’s PubMed listing.

NEWS

Scoliosis Research Society Launches L.E.A.D. SRS Program and Dr. Cheerag Upadhyaya is Among the Premier Cohort