About Dr. Ali A. Baaj, Professor of Neurological Surgery

Dr. Ali A. Baaj is a Professor of Neurological Surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and serves as Vice-Chair for International Outreach, as well as Director of Spine Technology, Innovation, and Fellowship Programs with the Department of Neurosurgery at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. A board certified, spine fellowship-trained neurosurgeon, he specializes in innovative and minimally invasive surgical techniques for the treatment of degenerative spinal disease, tumors, and scoliosis in adults and adolescents.

Dr. Baaj earned his MD from Boston University, completed residency at the University of South Florida, and advanced fellowships in complex spine surgery at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and Necker’s Children’s Hospital in Paris. He has authored numerous publications, co-edited multiple textbooks including the Handbook of Spine Surgery, and served on editorial boards for leading neurosurgical and spine journals.

An active member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, AO Spine, and the Scoliosis Research Society, Dr. Baaj is internationally recognized for advancing spine surgery education and training globally. He has delivered 100+ national and international lectures on spine surgery and is a frequently invited faculty for workshops and courses on spine surgery worldwide.