​Paul C. McCormick

Dr. McCormick is the Gallen Professor of Neurological Surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He is also the Director of The Spine Hospital at The Neurological Institute of New York and an attending physician at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. His clinical and research interests focus exclusively on the evaluation, surgical management, and outcomes assessment of patients with disorders of the spine and spinal cord. He is a world-renowned spinal neurosurgeon and recognized expert in the surgical management of spinal disorders including spinal cord tumors, vascular malformations, herniated cervical and lumbar discs, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, microsurgery, arthroplasty, and spinal stabilization and fusion for traumatic and degenerative spinal instability and deformity.
Dr. McCormick graduated from Columbia University and received his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He performed research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and trained in Neurological Surgery at the prestigious Neurological Institute of New York. He performed a one-year complex spine surgery fellowship at Medical College of Wisconsin and returned to the Neurological Institute of New York to join the neurosurgical staff as the first neurosurgeon to dedicate his practice entirely to the treatment of patients with spinal disorders. In the 25 years of practice, Dr. McCormick has performed nearly 7000 spinal procedures on patients from around the world but with special emphasis on patients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
Dr. McCormick has published over 200 peer reviewed scientific papers and book chapters, authored or edited 11 books and supplements, presented as an invited speaker or program director/faculty at over 220 scientific meetings, and been selected as an honored lecturer at 33 institutions throughout North America, South America, Europe, and the Middle East. He recently edited and contributed 7 chapters to a comprehensive video supplement on spinal microsurgery in the Neurosurgical Focus. Dr. McCormick has served on the editorial board of numerous scientific journals, including Deputy Editor of Spine, Chair of Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine, and Advisory Board of Neurosurgery.
Dr. McCormick has held numerous leadership positions in organized neurosurgery and spine surgery including the Executive Committee and Vice President of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), Chairman of the AANS/CNS Joint Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves, Director and Vice Chair of the American Board of Neurological Surgery (ABNS), and Executive Committee and President of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS).
Dr. McCormick has received numerous awards including the prestigious Columbia College 2007 John Jay award for professional achievement, the 2009 Joint Spine Section Meritorious Service award, and was an honored lecturer at national, international, and institutional events on numerous occasions. He has consistently been named as one of New York’s best doctors since 2001 and for the last several years has been named as one of Castle Connolly’s America’s Top Doctors, America’s Top Doctors for Cancer, and Top Doctors: New York Metro Area.
To learn more about Dr. McCormick and the path that lead him to be a neurosurgeon, click here.