The Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Center for Neurosciences & Spine is a trusted leader in clinical care and outcomes. Our commitment to excellence also includes advancing the field through research, academics and quality initiatives.

Our multidisciplinary research team includes neurologists, physiatrists, neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons, analysts, visiting scholars and various trainees in the medical field. We also partner with the Benaroya Research Institute (BRI) on bench research exploring the basic science behind neurologic and spine conditions. 

In addition, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health is affiliated with CommonSpirit Health®. We often draw upon their vast resources, knowledge and best practices to enhance our research efforts and the quality of care we provide. Working together with BRI and CommonSpirit, we are uncovering new information to improve patient outcomes. 

Our research focuses on innovative treatments, medical appropriateness and care efficiencies related to:

• Back and neck problems     
• Deep brain stimulation
• Multiple sclerosis
• Neurosurgery
• Neurovascular disease
• Spine care

Experts frequently share their findings through publications in prestigious academic journals. View a list of our publications.

We share clinical insights through lectures and education programs:

Virginia Mason Franciscan Health is honored to host prominent neurosciences and neurosurgery thought leaders. Lecturers present information about best practices, novel research and quality improvement. 

Find out more about the: 

• Center for Neurosciences & Spine Visiting Professor Lectureship
• T. Evans Wyckoff Lecture in Neuroscience

Medical education opportunities we offer include: 

• Visiting Scholar Program: Participants undergo educational activities that advance their knowledge of clinical care and research. As an observership, scholars do not provide direct patient care.
• Complex Spine Fellowship: Emerging leaders hone clinical skills related to advanced and high-acuity conditions, such as severe trauma, spinal oncology and degenerative disease.
• Pain Medicine Fellowship: This opportunity (from the Department of Anesthesiology) focuses on appropriate, patient-centered care, including interventional pain procedures.

Clinical teams continuously seek opportunities to optimize the quality of services we provide to the community. We lead numerous internal quality efforts to make care safer, more efficient and patient-focused. 

Virginia Mason Franciscan Health also participates in prestigious national quality initiatives. These efforts often provide opportunities to benchmark our performance against other top programs nationwide. 

We are members of or participate in initiatives sponsored by:

• American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM)
• American Heart Association (Get With The Guidelines® initiative for stroke care)
• American Spine Registry (ASR)
• Det Norske Veritas (DNV) (stroke care)
• Foundation for Health Care Quality’s Surgical Care Outcomes Assessment Program (neurosurgery)
• National MS Society
• The Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers
• The Joint Commission (stroke care)

Keep up to date with our ongoing Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Spine Research Newsletter. These newsletters will update you on the following:

• Recent publications
• Progress of ongoing studies
• Future research ideas that we are planning
• Introductions to various team members and students
• Informing you on opportunities to support our research, mentorship programs, and academic events
• Giving us feedback on our efforts and various studies 
• Providing you opportunities to ask us questions and learn more about specific areas of our work

We still have so much to learn as we tackle some of the biggest obstacles in spine care and improve how we care for our future patients. Thank you for your ongoing support!