Dr. Francis C. Lovecchio is an Assistant Attending Orthopedic Surgeon at HSS specializing in complex spine surgery and spinal deformity correction using a combination of traditional and minimally invasive techniques. He believes in the power of multidisciplinary care for spinal conditions and encourages all his patients to exhaust non-operative treatments before considering surgery. Most importantly, he believes in a shared decision-making approach, ensuring that his patients are educated and comfortable with their health care decisions. Dr. Lovecchio received his undergraduate and medical degrees at Northwestern University through the prestigious Honors Program in Medical Education. During that time, he served as a Fulbright Scholar, where he researched differences in health care delivery between the Spanish and US systems. He graduated summa cum laude from both college and medical school and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha honors societies. He subsequently went on to complete his orthopedic residency at HSS where his clinical and academic excellence were honored with the Academic Achievement Award and Distinguished Housestaff Award. To continue his work with world experts in spinal deformity and minimally invasive spine surgery, he stayed at HSS to complete his spine fellowship training. Dr. Lovecchio is passionate about improving clinical outcomes after spine surgery through research, which he has pursued since medical school. He has been awarded several research grants, from internal funding sources at HSS and external organizations such as the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation. His research has been selected for presentation at numerous national and international meetings, and he has authored over 75 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters. He actively serves as a peer reviewer for Spine, The Spine Journal, and Global Spine Journal.