Joshua Bakhsheshian, M.D.

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SUMMARY

Mayo Clinic neurosurgeon Joshua Bakhsheshian, M.D., advances the surgical management of cervical, thoracic and lumbar degenerative spine disease through innovative technologies and evidence-based techniques. His work improves intelligence-based spine care by integrating new methodologies. These methods include minimally invasive, endoscopic and robotic spine surgery and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in clinical decision-making. Dr. Bakhsheshian's research is dedicated to developing patient-specific implants and optimizing cervical spine surgery to achieve better clinical and radiographic outcomes.

Focus areas

• Minimally invasive, endoscopic and robotic spine surgery. Dr. Bakhsheshian evaluates the safety, accuracy and clinical outcomes of new techniques. He is particularly focused on expanding their use to address cervical thoracolumbar degenerative pathologies. His research improves workflow optimization and intraoperative accuracy.
• Artificial intelligence in spine care. Dr. Bakhsheshian integrates AI-driven clinical decision support tools into preoperative planning. He investigates predictive analytics for surgical outcomes, complication risks and patient-specific fusion strategies. He actively explores the use of machine learning algorithms to enhance preoperative risk stratification and automate radiographic analysis.
• Patient-specific implants. Dr. Bakhsheshian explores the use of patient-specific implants and spinal hardware through 3D planning and protein technologies. His work in this area is focused on surgery to revise previous corrective operations and to help patients with anatomically constrained pathology. His work connects surgical planning software with implant design for successful intraoperative execution.
• Cervical spine surgery optimization. Dr. Bakhsheshian investigates clinical and radiographic outcomes in multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy, cervical deformity, pseudoarthrosis and adjacent segment disease. He aims to optimize surgical techniques and patient outcomes.
• Health services and outcomes research. Dr. Bakhsheshian uses large databases and prospective registries to assess cost-effectiveness, perioperative outcomes and quality metrics in spine surgery. The goal of this research is to improve both patient care and resource allocation.

Significance to patient care

Dr. Bakhsheshian's research focuses on making neck and lower back surgeries safer and more effective. He works with new robotic and endoscopic tools that help patients heal faster with fewer problems. By creating guidelines and choosing the right patients for each type of surgery, Dr. Bakhsheshian aims to make spine surgery less invasive, more precise and tailored to each person's needs. His work brings together advanced technology and caring for patients.

Professional highlights

• Mayo Clinic:
  • Associate chair for research, Department of Neurosurgery, 2025-present.
  • Site director, Mayo Clinic Neurosurgical Registry, 2024-present.
  • Director, Robotic Spine Surgery and Clinical Spine Research, Department of Neurologic Surgery, 2023-present.
• Douglas Burton Award, Spine Deformity's Best Adult Spinal Deformity paper of 2024, Scoliosis Research Society, 2024.
• Best Paper, North American Spine Society, 2021.
• University of Southern California:
  • National Institutes of Health and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Research Education Grant (R25) resident awardee, 2019.
  • Michael Apuzzo Award for Creativity and Innovation, 2017.
• Best Socio-Economic Abstract Presentation, California Association of Neurological Surgeons, 2018.
• Physicians of Tomorrow Award, American Medical Association, 2014.