Biography

Dr. Nicholas A. Shepard is a fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon specializing in spine surgery. His clinical interests include degenerative disorders of the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine, as well as treatment of spinal tumors and adult spinal deformities. He specializes in minimally invasive techniques in spine surgery.

He completed his undergraduate degree in Human Science at Georgetown University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. He subsequently received his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society. Dr. Shepard completed his orthopedic surgery residency at New York University (NYU) Langone Orthopedic Hospital, formerly NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases. He completed a spine surgery fellowship at the internationally renowned Midwest Orthopedics at Rush University Medical Center, where he underwent extensive training in minimally invasive spine surgery and cutting-edge techniques including the use of robotics, computer navigation, and 3D augmented reality in spine surgery.

Dr. Shepard remains active in the academic community having authored over 35 peer reviewed publications, presentations and abstracts, as well as multiple book chapters. His work has been presented at both national and international meetings and he currently holds membership with AO Spine, the North American Spine Society (NASS), American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS), and International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS).

In his free time, Dr. Shepard enjoys staying active, fishing, hiking, golf, and traveling.

Education

Undergraduate:
- Georgetown University, B.S. (2011, Human Science) 2007-2011, Washington, DC

Medical School:
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine M.D. (2015) 2011-2015, Bronx, New York

Residency:
- New York Langone Orthopedic Hospital (Hospital for Joint Diseases), 2015-2020, Orthopedic Surgery, New York, New York

Fellowship:
- Orthopedic Spine Surgery Fellowship, 2020-2021, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL

Research

PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

• Rush A III, Shepard N, Nolte M, Siemionow K, Phillips F. Augmented Reality in Spine Surgery: Current State of the Art. Int J Spine Surg. (Accepted)
• Baker JD, Baig Y, Siyaji ZK, Hornung AL, Zavras AG, Mallow M, Zbeidi S, Shepard NA, Sayari AJ. Assessing the Quality and Credibility of Publicly Available Videos on Cervical Fusion: Is YouTube a Reliable Educational Tool?.. Int J Spine Surg. 2021; 15(4): 669-675.
• Shepard NA, Rush AJ, Scarborough NL, Carter AJ, Phillips FM. Demineralized Bone Matrix in Spine Surgery: A review of Current Applications and Future Trends. 2021; 15(S1): 113-119.
• Shepard NA, Protopsaltis TS, Kim Y. Endoscopic Spine Surgery: A Comprehensive Review. Bull Hosp Jt Dis. 2021; 79(1): 35-42.
• Mallow GM, Siyaji ZK, Galbusera F, Espinoza-Orias AA, Giers M, Lundberg H, Ames C, Karppinen J, Louie PK, Phillips FM, Pourzal R, Schwab J, Sciubba DM, Wang JC, Wilke HJ, Williams FMK, Mohiuddin SA, Makhnii M, Shepard NA, An HS, Samartzis D. Intelligence Based Spine Care: A New Era of Research and Clinical Decision-Making. Global Spine J. 2021;11(2): 135-145.
• Howard EP, Morris JN, Schachter E, Schwarzkopf R, Shepard N, Buchanan ER. Machine-Learning Modeling to Predict Hospital Readmission Following Discharge to Post-Acute Care. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2021;S1525-8610
• Horn SR, Segreto FA, Bortz C, Vasquez-Montes D, Egers MI, Line BG, Oh C, Moon J, Ramos RDG, Vira S, Diebo BG, Frangella NJ, Stekas N, Liu TC, Shepard NA, Horowitz JA, Hassanzadeh H, Bendo JA, Lafage R, Lafage V, Passias PG, ISSG. Hospital-Acquired Conditions Occur More Frequently in Elective Spine Surgery than for Other Common Elective Surgical Procedures. J Clinc Neurosci. 2020; 76: 36-40.
• Shepard N, Samim M, Kim Y, Razi A. A Practical Approach to Spine Magnetic Resonance Imaging. JBJS Rev. 2020;8(3):e0099
• Lall A, Shepard N, Greenbaum S, Doerre T, Wilson S, Kulick RG. Isolated Carpal Dislocation of the Pisiform with Distal Radius Fracture in Two Adults: A Rare Entity. J Hand Microsurg. 2020;12(3):215-218.
• Shepard N, Pham H, Natarajan V, Errico T, Rieger M. Use of a Novel Computerized Drill for Pedicle Screw Insertion in the Thoracic and Lumbar spine: A Cadaveric Study. Int J Spine Surg. 2019;13(4):329-335.
• Horn SR, Pierce KE, Oh C, Segreto FA, Egers M, Bortz C, Vasquez-Montes D, Lafage R, Lafage V, Vira S, Steinmetz L, Ge DH, Buza JA, Moon J, Diebo BG, Alas H, Brown AE, Shepard NA, Hassanzadeh H, Passias PG. Predictors of Hospital-Acquired Conditions are Predominately Similar for Spine Surgery and Other Common Elective Surgical Procedures, With Some Key Exceptions. Global Spine J. 2019;9(7):717-723.
• Shepard N, Mundluru S, Deshmukh A. Implant fracture of the Emperion modular femoral stem at the stem-sleeve interface. Int J of Orth. 2019; 28; 6(2):1066-1069.
• Chan J, Shepard N, Cho W. Biomechanics and Clinical Application of Translaminar Screw Fixation in Spine: A Review of the Literature. Global Spine J. 2019; 9(2):210-218.
  
• Shepard N, Cho W. Recurrent Lumbar Disc Herniation: A review. Global Spine J. 2019;9(2):202-209.
• Amaro E, Shepard N, Moss L, Karamitopoulos M, Lajam C. Vaping and Orthopedic Surgery: Review of Current Knowledge. JBJS Rev. 2019; 7(1):e5.
• Passias P, Bortz CA, Pierce KE, Segreto FA, Horn SR, Vasquez-Montes D, Lafage V, Brown AE, Ihejirika Y, Alas H, Varlotta C, Ge DH, Shepard N, Oh C, Delsole EM, Jankowski PP, Hockley A, Diebo BG, Vira S, Sciubba DM, Raad M, Neuman BJ, Gerling MC. Decreased Rates of 30-Day Perioperative Complications Following ASD-Corrective Surgery: A Modified Clavien Analysis of 3,300 Patients from 2010-2014. J Clin Neurosci. 2019; 61:147-152.
• Eftekhary N, Shepard N, Wiznia D, Iorio R, Long W, Vigdorchik J. Metal Hypersensitivity in Total Joint Arthroplasty.JBJS Rev. 2018; 6(12):e1.
• Passias PG, Horn SR, Vasquez-Montes D, Shepard N, Segreto FA, Bortz CA, Poorman GW, Jalai CM, Wang C, Stekas ND, Frangella NJ, Deflorimonte C, Diebo BG, Raad M, Vira S, Horowitz JA, Sciubba DM, Hassanzadeh H, Lafage R, Afthinos J, Lafage V. Prior Bariatric Surgery Lowers Complication Rates following Spine Surgery in Obese Patients. Acta Neurochir. 2018;160(12):2459-2465.
• Passias PG, Segreto FA, Bortz C, Horn S, Frangella N, Diebo B, Hockley A, Wang C, Shepard N, Lafage R, Lafage V. Fatty Infiltration of Cervical Spine Extensor Musculature: Is there a Relationship with Cervical Sagittal Balance?. Clin Spine Surg. 2018; 31(10):428-434
  
• Horn SA, Shepard N, Vasquez-Montes D, Bortz CA, Segreto FA, De La Garza Ramos R, Goodwin CR, Passias PG. Chiari Malformation Clusters Describe Differing Presence of Concurrent Anomalies Based on Chiari Type. J Clin Neurosci. 2018. 58:165-171.
  
• Horn S, Shepard N, Poorman G, Bortz C, Segreto F, Janjua M, Diebo B, Vira S, Passias P. National Trends in the Prevalence, Treatment and Associated Spinal Diagnoses Among Pediatric Spondylolysis Patients. Bull Hosp Jt Dis. 2018;76(4):246-251.
  
• Horn SA, Dhillon ES, Poorman GW, Tishelman JC, Segreto FA, Bortz CA, Moon JY, Behery O, Shepard N, Diebo BG, Vira S, Passias PG. Epidemiology and National Trends in Prevalence and Surgical Management of Metastatic Spinal Disease. J Clin Neurosci. 2018; 53:183-187.
  
• Cho W, Shepard N, Arlet V. The Etiology of Congenital Scoliosis: Genetic vs. Environmental – A report of Three Monozygotic Twin Cases. Eur Spine J. 2018; 27(Suppl 3):553-557.
  
• Shepard NA, Shenoy K, Cho W, Sharan A. Extensive Ossification of the Ligamentum Flavum Treated with Triple Stage Decompression: A Case Report. The Spine Journal. 2015; 15(4):e9-14
  
• Umesh M, Shepard N, Cho W, Sharan A. Conservative management of spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis. Seminars in Spine Surgery. 2014; 26(4):225-229

BOOK CHAPTERS

• Shepard NA, Colman M. (2021). Multidisciplinary Planning for Treatment of Chordoma in Chordoma of the Spine: A Comprehensive Review, ed. Sciubba DM and Schwab J. Springer, Cham.
• Shepard N, Tejwani N. (2020). Sacral Insufficiency Fractures in Vertebral Compression Fractures in Osteoporotic and Pathologic Bone, ed. Razi AE and Hershman SH. Springer, Cham.

RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS

• Shepard NA, Siyaji ZK, Sullivan TB, Rush A, Phillips FP, An HS. Risk Factors for Index Level Fusion Following Lumbar Microdiscectomy. Poster Presentation, NASS Annual Meeting. Boston, MA, 2021.
• Shepard NA, Siyaji ZK, Sullivan TB, Rush A, Bhattaram R, Goldberg E, Phillips FP, An HS. AO Spine North America Fellows Forum. Virtual Presentation. 2021.
• Rush A III, Siyaji Z, Shepard N, Sullivan TB, Sayari A, Baker J, Zavras A, Basques B, Phillips F. Comparison of Clinical Outcomes in Patients Undergoing One- and Two-Level Minimally invasive Lumbar Discectomy. O Spine North America Fellows Forum. Virtual Presentation. 2021.
• Shepard N, Schachter E, Morris J, Schwarzkopf R. Post-acute Care Analysis after Total Joint Arthroplasty: Characteristics, Readmission, and Alternatives for Patients that Receive Home Health Services. Poster Presentation, AAOS Annual Meeting. Las Vegas, NV, 2019.
  
• Passias P, Horn S, Segreto F, Bortz C, Vasuqez-Montes D, Shepard N, Lafage R, Lafage V. Preoperative Planning and Patient-Specific Rods Improve Radiographic Outcomes Following Spine Surgery. Poster Presentation, AAOS Annual Meeting. Las Vegas, NV, 2019.
  
• Passias PG, Horn SR, Segreto FA, Bortz C, Shepard N, Vira S, Diebo B, Lafage R, Lafage V. Hospital-Acquired Conditions Occur More Frequently in Elective Spine Surgery than for other Common Elective Surgical Procedures. Podium Presentation, AAOS Annual Meeting, Las Vegas, NV, 2019.
  
• Passias PG, Horn SR, Bortz C, Segreto FA, Vasuqez-Montes D, Line B, Oh C, De la Garza Ramos R, Moon JY, Arnold PM, Vira SN, Diebo BG, Stekas N, Frangella NJ, Liu TC, Shepard N, Horowitz JA, Lafage R, Hassanzadeh H, Bendo JA, Lafage V. Hospital-Acquired Conditions Occur More Frequently in Elective Spine Surgery than for other Common Elective Surgical Procedures. Poster Presentation, NASS Annual Meeting, Las Angeles, Ca, 2018.
  
• Chao E, Reddy SH, Stone ME, Nafday A, Shepard N, Teperman S. Massive Transfusion Protocol Decreases Length of Stay and Facilitates Closure of Open Abdomens in Damage Control Surgery. Poster Presentation, Naasau Surgical Society and Brooklyn and Long Island Chapter of the American College of Surgeons Annual Clinic Day. Uniondale, NY, 2012.
  
• Diener PS, Hurd WG, May T, Shepard N, Williford K, Dai H, Carpenter S, Sheng D, Ewing M, Karli S, Worku B, Ysambart N. Determining Best Practice for Treating Motor Symptoms in Rett Syndrome. Poster Presentation, International Rett Syndrome Scientific Symposium. Leesburg, VA, 2011.

Awards

• Alpha Omega Alpha
• 1^st Place Poster Presentation Competition - Nassau Surgical Society and Brooklyn and Long Island Chapter of the American College of Surgeons
• ISASS21 Young Surgeon Grant

Memberships & Associations

• AO Spine
• North American Spine Society (NASS)
• American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS)
• International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS)
• Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Honor Society