John H. Shin, MD, MBA
Neurosurgery
Accepting new patients
Sees patients age 18 and up
Penn Spine Center Pennsylvania Hospital
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Make an appointmentCall 800-789-7366
Headshot of John H. Shin, MD, MBA
Penn Medicine Provider

About me

  • Director, Penn Spine Center
  • Division Head, Spine and Peripheral Nerve
  • Guggenheim Family Thomas W. Langfitt, M.D. Professor

I am a neurosurgeon specializing in spinal reconstruction surgery for scoliosis deformities and spinal tumors such as chordoma, sarcoma, schwannoma, meningioma, and metastatic cancer. I have a particular interest in cervical kyphosis and complex cervical spine surgery. Throughout my career, I have advocated for patient-centered multidisciplinary clinical collaborations. I am passionate about providing personalized and empathic surgical spine care.

Prior to Penn Medicine, I was chief of spine neurosurgery at Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor of neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School, where I also served as director of spine oncology and spinal deformity surgery and founder of the Mass General Brigham Neurosurgery Complex Spine Fellowship training program. In 2022, I was honored as the inaugural Kingdon-Saylor Family Endowed Chair in Neurosurgery for exemplary contributions to Massachusetts General Hospital. I also earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

In addition to performing complex spine surgery, I have leadership positions with many spine organizations. I am currently co-chair of the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine Editorial Board and am often invited to lecture internationally at meetings and universities. I have directed surgeon education courses for the North American Spine Society, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, AO Spine, American Association of Neurological Surgeons, and the AANS/CNS Division of Spine and Peripheral Nerves. I currently serve on the Executive and Scientific Planning Committees for the AANS/CNS Spine Section and am the 2025 Scientific Program Co-Chair for the upcoming North American Spine Society Annual Meeting.

Education and training

  • Medical School: Chicago Medical School
  • Residency: University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago
  • Fellowship: Cleveland Clinic Foundation

Insurance accepted

My Locations

Penn Medicine hospital privileges

  • Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
  • Pennsylvania Hospital: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
  • Penn Presbyterian Medical Center: Has privileges to treat patients in the hospital.
Dr. Shin is a Penn Medicine physician.

Qualifications and experience

Treatments and Conditions

My research

Khalid SI, Wang R, Abou-Mrad T, Tiefenbach J, Massaad E, Elsamadicy AA, Arena JD, Ghenbot Y, Golubovsky JL, Ozturk AK, Shin JH. Opioid use and complications following short-segment fusions in patients with psychiatric disorders , J Neurosurg Spine: 2026

Sollenberger C, Wu AQ, Hoglund Z, Kathawate VG, Welch W, Ozturk A, Shin J, Judy BF. Comparative Outcomes of Single-Level Lumbar Laminectomy versus Hemilaminectomy: A Retrospective TriNetX Analysis , Global Spine J: 2026

Golubovsky JL, Gu BJ, Massaad E, Dagli MM, Crabill GA, Ghenbot Y, Arena J, Shost M, Welch WC, Ali Z, Judy B, Malhotra NR, Shin JH, Ozturk AK. Radiographic predictors of lumbar disc re-herniation requiring repeat discectomy or fusion: a matched retrospective cohort analysis , Spine J: 2026

Bartlett AM, Robertson FC, Shaker E, Than KD, Godzik J, Hofstetter CP, Pollina J, Shin JH, Urakov T, Fessler RG, Abd-El-Barr MM. Disruptive technologies in spine surgery: current trends, outcomes, and ethical implications , J Neurosurg Spine: 2026

Zaldivar-Jolissaint JF, Chu Kwan W, Fisher CG, Rhines LD, Boriani S, Gasbarrini A, Luzzati A, Wei F, Gokaslan ZL, Bettegowda C, Sciubba DM, Lazary A, Kawahara N, Clarke MJ, Barzilai O, Rampersaud YR, Disch AC, Chou D, Shin JH, Hornicek FJ, Laufer I, Sahgal A, Verlaan JJ, Reynolds J, Dea N. Cervical spine chordomas: surgical outcome assessment in a multicenter cohort from the Primary Tumor Research and Outcomes Network , J Neurosurg Spine: 2026

Cecchinato R, Tobert DG, Barzilai O, Bettegowda C, Boriani S, Chou D, Clarke MJ, Dea N, Disch AC, Gasbarrini A, Gokaslan ZL, Lazary A, Luzzati A, Rampersaud YR, Reynolds J, Rhines LD, Sahgal A, Sciubba DM, Shin JH, Wei F, Netzer C, Verlaan JJ, Laufer I, Fisher CG, On Behalf Of The Ao Spine Knowledge Forum Tumor. Insights From the AO Spine Knowledge Forum Tumor Registries: Advancing the Understanding and Management of Primary Spine Tumors Through International Multicentric Collaboration. A Narrative Review , Global Spine J: 2026

O'Callaghan E, Andrade K, Rivera N, Rowe D, Blasingame M, Reitz K, Dalton T, Crowell KA, Herndon J, Kaplan S, Applegate KL, Garcia ME, De la Garza Ramos R, Shin JH, Erickson M, Goodwin CR. Perioperative Depressive Symptoms in Surgical Cancer Patients: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis , Ann Surg Oncol: 2026

Barbanti Brodano G, Griffoni C, Salamanna F, Noli LE, Monetta A, Luzzati A, Disch AC, Lazary A, Barzilai O, Laufer I, Gokaslan ZL, Fehlings MG, Verlaan JJ, Chou D, Rhines LD, Shin JH, Teixeira WGJ, Sciubba DM, Bettegowda C, Charest-Morin R, Boriani S, Goldschlager T, Weber MH, Clarke MJ, O'Toole JE, Netzer C, Goodwin CR, Mesfin A, Mummaneni PV, Dea N, Reynolds JJ, Sahgal A, Fisher CG, Gasbarrini A; AO Spine Knowledge Forum Tumor. Evaluation of Adverse Events and the Impact on Health-Related Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Surgery for Metastatic Spine Tumors: Analysis of the Metastatic Tumor Research and Outcomes Network (MTRON) Registry Dataset , Global Spine J: 2026

Versteeg AL, Charest-Morin R, De La Garza Ramos R, Laufer I, Teixeira WGJ, Barzilai O, Gasbarrini A, Fehlings MG, Chou D, Gokaslan ZL, Netzer C, Luzatti A, Verlaan JJ, Goldschlager T, Shin JH, O'Toole JE, Sciubba DM, Bettegowda C, Clarke MJ, Weber MH, Mesfin A, Kawahara N, Patel SS, Goodwin CR, Disch AC, Reynolds JJ, Lazary A, Boriani S, Dea N, Sahgal A, Rhines LD, Fisher CG; AO Spine Knowledge Forum Tumor. Association Between Nutritional Status and Survival in Patients Requiring Treatment for Spinal Metastases , Neurosurgery: 2025

Siraj L, Duvall JB, Massaad E, Fourman MS, Shin JH Preoperative Function, Previous SERM Treatment, and Triple-Negative Tumor Status are Independently Associated With 3-Month Postoperative Function After Surgical Decompression of Metastatic Breast Cancer , HSS J: 2025

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