Advisory Board

Nicholas Theodore, MD is the Donlin M. Long Professor and Professor of Neurosurgery & Orthopaedic Surgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He serves as the Director of the Neurological Spine Program, Director of the Complex Spine Fellowship Program, and Co-Director of the Carnegie Center for Surgical Innovation for Johns Hopkins University.

He completed his neurosurgical residency and a fellowship in spinal surgery under the direction of Drs. Robert Spetzler and Volker Sonntag at the Barrow Neurological Institute (BNI). He is the author of over 200 scientific publications and the recipient of many research awards, including the Tasker, Mayfield and NASS Awards. Dr. Theodore has been the recipient of two RO-1 grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health as well as a major award from the Department of Defense for a multi-center study examining the effects of cerebrospinal fluid drainage in acute spinal cord injury. In 2010 with Neil Crawford, PhD he founded Excelsius Surgical an image-guided robotics company which was sold to Globus Medical in 2013. He is active in injury prevention and advocacy and was elected as National President of the Board of Directors of ThinkFirst from 2013-15.

Dr. Ross has been recognized by the American Pain Society for top quality clinical care in pain management and has been named by US News and World Report as a top 1% of physicians in the United States. Additionally, he has been recognized as a 2022 Boston Magazine Top Doctor as well as Castle Connolly America’s Top Doctors.

Dr. Ross currently serves as the Director of the Pain Management Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and as an Associate Professor of Anaesthesia at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Ross has published more than 100 manuscripts on pain management, participated in numerous pain-related clinical trials for some of the world’s top pharmaceutical companies, and served as Chairman of Pfizer’s medical and academic partnership on pain. Dr. Ross is considered one of the leading pain management physicians in the world and is recognized for his contributions to the field of pain management across the globe.

Kent Spafford served as CEO at One Call, the nation’s leader in specialty network management services for the workers’ compensation industry, where he helped grow the company from a small diagnostic imaging provider to an industry leader and consolidator offering a full range of network services for injured workers, their employers, and insurers.

Under his leadership, the company enjoyed over 4000% growth. From 2013 to 2021, he served on the Board of Directors for One Call, including serving as Vice Chairman of the Board. He currently still has an advisory role with One Call. Spafford is currently on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Payers Administrators and Networks (AAPAN) where he is a past co-chair and on the Workers Compensation Research Institute’s (WCRI) Disability and Medical Management Program Advisory Board. He is a senior advisor for Brown Brothers Harriman Capital Partners Private Equity funds and former Board member of KabaFusion. In addition, Spafford sits on the Board of Healix, an infusion company, and is on the Board of Akeso, an occupational medicine corporation.

Dr. DiFranco has been active within managed care for the past 23 years, having joined the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan Heath System early in his career. There, he led the university’s Managed Behavioral Health Care Division at M-CARE while also teaching psychiatry residents and providing clinical care to patients.

He left the university in 2007 to join Blue Care Network as Medical Director for Behavioral Health. Dr. DiFranco is a past President of the Michigan Psychiatric Society. His professional accomplishments include the design and implementation of a web-based patient portal—the M-STRIDES system—at the University of Michigan Depression Center and the implementation of a smoking cessation campaign at Blue Care Network that resulted in the largest decrease in tobacco use among Michigan health plans in 2016. Dr. DiFranco serves on the Board of Directors for Emmaus Health Partners and Board of Trustees for Catholic Charities of Southeast Michigan.

Dr. Fisher has served as Medical Advisor to the CEO at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Company since 2014.

Previously, he was in practice treating injuries and disorders of the hand and upper extremities. Dr. Fisher has a Doctor of Medicine degree with a PhD in Pathology focused on the interaction of immune factors with the brain. He completed a residency in orthopedic surgery and a fellowship in hand surgery. Dr. Fisher has given numerous talks to regional and national audiences on topics ranging from opioid dependence in work-related injuries to medical management and utilization in workers’ compensation claims.

Dr. Seidner has served as Chief Medical Officer at The Hartford since 2017. Previously, Dr. Seidner was the Global Medical Director for Travelers Insurance, where he was responsible for medical policy development, quality assurance and improvement, and worksite health promotion.

Prior to joining Travelers, he was the owner and Chief Health Advisor at Medical Meetinghouse. Dr. Seidner earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from SUNY Health Science Center, a master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Connecticut and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Hamilton College. He is board certified by the American Board of Family Practice and the Board of Preventative Medicine: Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Additionally, Dr. Seidner is the 2021 recipient of the Comp Laud award for his invaluable service and contributions to the workers’ compensation industry.

Dr. Grover is the founder and owner of the Allegiant Institute and Smoke Ranch Surgery Center in Las Vegas, NV. He is a board-certified orthopedic and spine surgeon with more than 25 years of experience in the medical field.

Dr. Grover received his medical degree from the UCLA School of Medicine. He was accepted early after only three years of college as a special early acceptance for gifted students at UCLA Medical School. Following his residency in Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles County Medical Center, Dr. Grover completed fellowships in Spinal Surgery at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Nottingham Center for Spinal Studies, in England, and the Royal Victoria Medical Center at McGill University in Montreal. He is a member of the American Medical Association, UCLA Aesculapian Society, Nevada Orthopedic Association, and Clark County Medical Society.

Dr. McGirt is a is a board-certified neurosurgeon practicing in Charlotte, North Carolina with over 24 years of experience in the medical field. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Duke University (BS) and completed medical school at Duke University and surgical residency and fellowship at Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. McGirt serves as a founder and analyst at Mammoth with particular expertise in medical devices, healthcare software analytics, and radiologic and pharmaceutical surgical adjuncts. Dr. McGirt works with founders and portfolio company managers to optimize their value in the ever-evolving value-based healthcare market. Dr. McGirt is also known internationally in health economics in musculoskeletal care, value-based healthcare delivery models, and use of big data, predictive analytics, and integrated software solutions that drive the current healthcare reform era. Dr. McGirt works with both private and public biotech companies to help develop surgical technologies and holds several patents himself. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles and textbooks.

Dr. Saito is President and Chief Medical and Science Officer of LiveWell, WorkWell, a MedLaw company and President of the New England College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and President-elect of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

As Assistant Clinical Professor at Dartmouth College, University of New England, Adjunct Faculty at the University of Pennsylvania and Instructor at Harvard University, Dr. Saito enjoys training the next generation of leaders in occupational health, well-being, leadership and organizational development, digital health, innovations, data analytics, entrepreneurship, medico-legal consultation and bioethics. He is also a consultant, and advisor for employee health and wellness to several national and global companies in the consumer products, marketing, transportation, manufacturing, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical industries, and works with various government and regulatory agencies. As a physician, he continues to practice clinical occupational health, seeing pilots as a Senior Medical Examiner for the FAA and as an attorney, he is barred in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. During his spare time, he enjoys serving as one of the founding board members for Kids’ Chance of Maine, Maine Medical Association and House of Delegate to the American Medical Association.

David Lupinsky is an industry leader in using technology to improve patient care and safety. Lupinsky has over 18 years of managed care experience. Prior to joining Paradigm as Vice President of Clinical Product Solutions, he held various management positions at Corvel Corp, including Vice President, Digital Health and Innovation and Senior Vice President of Product. He has earned top honors from Business Insurance including the 2021 Innovator Award for the Virtual Functional Restoration Program, and 2020 Innovator Award for the Virtual Occupational Clinic.