Parth Thakkar, MD

Larry Latson, M.D., M.S. attended graduate school at Case Western Reserve University, earning an M.S. in biomedical engineering in August 2001, and attended medical school at Case Western Reserve University from 2003 through 2007. He then completed a preliminary year of internal medicine training at Morristown Memorial Hospital, from 2007 through 2008, where he was voted the Outstanding Preliminary Resident by the faculty, before his residency in diagnostic radiology and fellowship in Cardiothoracic Imaging at Albert Einstein/Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, NY, from 2008 through 2013. He was voted the Milton Elkin Outstanding Graduating Resident by the faculty in his final year of radiology training.After fellowship, Dr. Latson joined the faculty at the NYU School of Medicine in the Department of Radiology in 2013, where he was a member of both the cardiac and thoracic imaging services through August 2021, serving as a Clinical Associate Professor of Radiology and the Associate Section Chief of the Cardiac Imaging Section. He was voted as the Emil J. Balthazar Teacher of the Year in 2017 and 2021.In September 2021, he joined the Division of Cardiothoracic Imaging at Weill Cornell Medicine. His clinical areas of interest include CT and MR imaging of adults and children with congenital heart disease.

Roger Härtl, M.D., is the Hansen-MacDonald Professor of Neurological Surgery and Director of Spinal Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine, as well as Neurosurgical Director, Och Spine at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. He is also the founder and director of Och Spine at NewYork-Presbyterian at the Weill Cornell Medicine Center for Comprehensive Spine Care as well as Weill Cornell Medicine's Global Neurosurgery Initiative in Tanzania (for which he was named AANS Humanitarian of the Year for 2022). He also serves as the official neurosurgeon for the New York Giants Football Team. IN THE NEWS:Dr. Härtl Named One of America's Top Spine SurgeonsDr. Härtl Selected to New York SuperDoctors 2024Dr. Härtl Named to Castle Connolly's 2024 List of Top DoctorsDr. Härtl's clinical interest focuses on simple and complex spine surgery for degenerative conditions, tumors and trauma as well as biological approaches for disc repair and regeneration. He is a world-renowned pioneer and leader in minimally invasive spinal surgery and computer-assisted spinal navigation surgery. He is actively involved in improving neurosurgical care in developing countries as the leader of Weill Cornell Medicine's Global Health Neurosurgery Initiative in Tanzania.In order to achieve the very best in patient outcomes, Dr. Härtl's practice emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach to disease processes and he works very closely with other specialists such as neurologists, pain specialists, sports medicine doctors and physical therapists. His patients come from all over the globe and include many physicians, surgeons and even other neurological and spine surgeons. He has been repeatedly named to the lists of New York Super Doctors, America's Top Surgeons, and America's Best Doctors, and has been included on the list of New York’s Best Doctors in New York magazine. He has authored more than 200 scholarly articles in peer-reviewed journals and is the editor of two books on minimally invasive spinal surgery and biological disc repair and regeneration.Dr. Härtl has provided commentary for numerous television shows on ABC, NBC, and CBS in addition to national radio shows. His expertise has been sought through interviews in the New York Times, The New York Post, The New York Daily News, and other media outlets. One of his patients, boxer Danny Jacobs, was recently featured in a TV ad from NewYork-Presbyterian.TRAINING Dr. Härtl received his M.D. from the Ludwig-Maximillians University in Munich, Germany. In 1994 Dr. Härtl came to the Weill Cornell Medical College as a post-doctoral research fellow in the Department of Surgery and the Brain Trauma Foundation to pursue research in traumatic brain and spinal cord injury. He completed another fellowship in neurocritical care at the Charite Hospital of the Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany, followed by a surgical internship and residency at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He completed his neurosurgery residency at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, after which he pursued specialized training in complex spine surgery at the Barrow's Neurological Institute in Phoenix under Dr. Volker Sonntag. In 2004 Dr. Härtl returned to re-join the Department of Neurosurgery at Weill Cornell Medical College.RESEARCHDr. Härtl's scientific interest focuses on clinical and basic science research surrounding innovative and less invasive surgical and biological treatment strategies for degenerative diseases of the spine. Together with the Biomedical Engineering Department at Cornell he is working on tissue-engineering techniques for the repair and regeneration of degenerated spinal discs, the most common cause of back and neck pain. Dr. Härtl has lectured and published extensively on the surgical treatment of spinal disorders, and neurotrauma. He is a leader in the application of evidence-based medicine to neurosurgery and worked with the Brain Trauma Foundation in New York on the development of treatment guidelines for the medical and surgical management of head injury that are now used worldwide.Dr. Härtl sees patients at the Och Spine at NewYork-Presbyterian at the Weill Cornell Medicine Center for Comprehensive Spine Care, at 240 East 59th Street, 2nd Floor.FOR MORE INFORMATION:Please visit comprehensivespine.weillcornell.org for more information about conditions we treat and procedures we perform.

Joseph Lombardi, MD, is an orthopedic spine surgeon specializing in the operative management of spinal disorders in adult and adolescent patients. His practice is focused on minimally invasive surgical treatments for both common and complex spinal conditions, including disc herniation, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, and spinal deformity. Dr. Lombardi leverages the latest surgical technology robotics, guided navigation, and advanced instrumentation to provide patients with tailored surgical procedures, accelerated recovery times, and superior outcomes.After receiving his undergraduate and medical degrees from The George Washington University in Washington, DC, Dr. Lombardi went on to complete his post-doctoral residency training in orthopedic surgery at Columbia University Irving Medical Center where he served as chief resident. Dr. Lombardi remained at Columbia and the NewYork-Presbyterian Och Spine Hospital for fellowship training in advanced adult and pediatric spine surgery.In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Lombardi is involved in training future surgeons as an Assistant Professor and Vice Chair of Clinical Research for Columbia University's Department of Orthopedic Surgery. As Vice Chair, Dr. Lombardi works closely with the orthopedic surgery research leadership team, as well as all faculty, residents and administration to further clinical research. His research interests focus on the application of new technologies to complex spinal conditions with the goal of improving patient outcomes. To date, Dr. Lombardi has published over 20 book chapters, authored over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, and has received numerous academic awards, including: the Alpha Omega Alpha honors society, Julius S. Neviaser Award in Orthopedic Surgery, Harold M. Dick Award for Excellence in Orthopedic Surgery, and the Alexander Garcia Award for Excellence in Clinical Orthopedic Surgery. In his free time, Dr. Lombardi enjoys hiking, jogging, fishing and traveling.