OPLL (PDF)

Atsushi Okawa, MD and PhD, is a Professor and Chairman of Orthopaedic and Spinal Surgery at Tokyo Medical and Dental University. He also serves as a director of the university. He has previously served as Vice-president of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association, and as chief researcher in a study group on the ossification of the spinal ligaments, supported by a Japanese Health Labor Sciences Research Grant for six years until 2019. His chief areas of expertise are anterior corpectomy and fusion for OPLL and research into spinal cord monitoring. He has published over 100 papers in these areas.

Morio Matsumoto, MD and PhD, is a Professor and Chairman of Orthopedic Surgery at Keio University. He also serves as President of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association. His research interests include genetic studies on ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament and idiopathic and congenital scoliosis, as well as clinical studies on various spinal disorders. He has published over 400peer-reviewed articles in the field of orthopedics.

Motoki Iwasaki is Vice-President of Osaka Rosai Hospital and a Clinical Professor at Osaka University's Graduate School of Medicine. He has previously served as a visiting assistant professor at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, UCSF (1995-1997). His main research interests are in OPLL and spinal deformities. He has published over 250 papers and over 60 books. He also serves as an editor for Spine Surgery and Related Research, and for Journal of Orthopaedic Science. He has been honored e.g. with an Academic Encouragement Award (JOA, 1994), New Investigators Recognition Award (ORS, 1997), and Clinical Research Award (CSRS, 2001 & 2003).

Yoshiharu Kawaguchi is a Professor and Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Toyama. He also serves as Educational Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery, AOSpine Asia Pacific region and has previously chaired the International Committee of the Japanese