Scott Zuckerman, MD, MPH

Dr. Zuckerman is a Board-Certified Neurosurgeon and Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery and Orthopaedic Surgery. He serves as the Assistant Program Director of the Neurosurgery Residency. He is also the Co-Director of the Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center and Vanderbilt Spine Outcomes Lab. His clinical interests include the surgical treatment of all spinal disorders, including and adult spinal deformity, scoliosis, degenerative spine disease, primary and metastatic spinal tumors, spinal trauma and sport-related spine injuries. His practice also includes the treatment of sport-related concussion, traumatic brain injury, and peripheral nerve pathology. 

Research
Dr. Zuckerman’s research focuses on clinical spine outcomes, sport-related concussion, traumatic brain injury, global neurosurgery, and neurosurgical education. Dr. Zuckerman has authored over 370 peer-reviewed publications and given over 100 national podium presentations. He has published in the Journal of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery, American Journal of Sports Medicine, and the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Some of his invited presentations include: Alignment Goals for the Fused Spine, Craniovertebral Junction Disease in Athletes, Coronal Alignment: The Unsung Hero of Adult Spinal Deformity Surgery, and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and Sport-Related Concussions. 

Memberships, Awards and Honors

Dr. Zuckerman is a member of the AOSpine Tumor Knowledge Forum and the Spinopelvic Study Group. He serves as an Unaffiliated Neurotrauma Consultant for the National Football League (NFL) and a member of the NFL Head, Neck and Spine Committee. He has received several awards including the Charles Kuntz Scholar Award, ThinkFirst Injury Prevention Award, Depuy Synthes Award for Research on Brain and Craniofacial Injury, Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society, Vanderbilt Neurosurgery Resident Teaching Award, and the Vanderbilt Credo Award. Dr. Zuckerman currently serves in the U.S. Navy Reserves and received the 2020 Alfred Award for Military Distinction from Officer Training Command in Newport, RI. 

Education
Dr. Zuckerman earned his BS degree from Cornell University, Ithaca NY, graduating magna cum laude. He received his MD from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, where he served as Class President for four years and was awarded the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Award of Distinction. He completed his Neurological Surgery residency training at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, during which he also obtained an MPH in Epidemiology from the T.H. Chan Harvard School of Public Health and completed enfolded rotations in Spinal Oncology at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX and Peripheral Nerve Surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Following residency, he served as the Cornell University Global Neurosurgery Fellow at the Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, where he spent 6-months implementing a Spine Trauma Protocol to decrease the time from hospital admission to surgery. To finish his training in complex spinal disorders, he completed a Comprehensive Adult/Pediatric Spinal Deformity Fellowship at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, NY.

Academic Office
Vanderbilt Neurological Surgery
Village at Vanderbilt
1500 21st Avenue South, Suite 4340
Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: (615) 322-1883
Fax: (615) 343-6948