James D. Kang, MD

Dr. James Kang is an internationally recognized spine surgeon and surgeon-scientist who chaired the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital from 2015 to 2025 and now serves as Chair Emeritus. As chair he recruited faculty, developed programs, and strengthened the department’s clinical and academic standing. A high-volume cervical and lumbar spine surgeon, he holds the Thomas S. Thornhill, MD and Karen N. Thornhill Distinguished Professorship at Harvard Medical School and has helped shape system-wide musculoskeletal strategy as Executive Director and Co-Chair of the MGB Sports Medicine Governance Committee.

His research has advanced the basic biology of intervertebral disc degeneration and gene-therapy and regenerative approaches to spinal disorders, work he led for many years as Director of the Ferguson Laboratory within the University of Pittsburgh’s Musculoskeletal Research Center, where he also held a tenured professorship, an endowed chair in spine surgery, and the role of Vice Chair. He has trained a generation of spine surgeons and remained active in the field’s leading societies, including the Cervical Spine Research Society and the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine, and has completed executive education in hospital leadership and clinical service governance. Dr. Kang brings experience in building and leading academic departments, translating research into clinical practice, and governing complex service lines.