SNS 2025 Featured Speakers

Learn more about our honored guests at the 75th Annual Meeting

Downing Lecturer

William "Bill" McArthur
NASA Astronaut

William Surles McArthur Jr. is a retired United States Army colonel and NASA astronaut and a veteran of three Space Shuttle missions and one expedition to the International Space Station. Bill was born July 26, 1951, in North Carolina. He is married to his high school sweetheart, the former Cynthia Lovin. They have two daughters and four grandchildren. His interests include cycling, photography, and spending time at the beach with his family.

Colonel McArthur received a Bachelor of Science in applied science and engineering from the United States Military Academy, West Point, NY in 1973 and a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1983. He holds honorary doctorates from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, and the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. His Army career included assignments with the 82nd Airborne, 2nd Infantry, and 24th Infantry Divisions. Subsequently he was an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanics at West Point. After graduating from the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School, he was designated an experimental test pilot.

Colonel McArthur was selected for the Astronaut Program in 1990. A veteran of four space flights, he has logged 224 days, 22 hours, 28 minutes and 10 seconds in space, including 24 hours and 21 minutes on four space walks.

Following his last flight, a six-month mission as Commander of the International Space Station, McArthur served in senior management positions with NASA. Bill retired from NASA in 2017. When not cycling or providing taxi service for his grandchildren, he is a consultant and frequent public speaker.

Hudson Lecturer

Eric W. Nottmeier, MD

Eric Nottmeier, MD is a Professor of Neurosurgery at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL with special interests in complex spinal surgery and image-guided spinal surgery. He has published extensively on image-guided and computer-assisted spinal surgery and serves as Co-Chairman of the North American Spine Society Section on Robotics and Navigation. He is also Past-President of the Southern Neurosurgical Society.

He focuses on treating degenerative cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine diseases, maximizing non-surgical treatment options for spinal conditions, and educating patients on preventative measures and treatment options, while utilizing the most advanced technology in surgical treatment of spinal disorders. Dr. Nottmeier graduated Summa Cum Laude from both Truman State University and University of Missouri School of Medicine receiving his biology degree and medical degree, respectively. He completed his neurosurgical residency at University of Missouri and his complex spine fellowship at the Barrow Neurological Institute.

Semmes Lecturer

Christopher Shaffrey, MD

Dr. Christopher Shaffrey is the chief of Duke Health's Spine Division, a joint effort between the Neurosurgery and Orthopaedic Surgery departments. Shaffrey is board-certified in the fields of neurosurgery and orthopaedic surgery.  He is a world-renowned physician-scientist who has an active research interest in spinal surgery, particularly in multicenter research studies of pediatric and adult scoliosis, spinal cord injury, spinal trauma, spinal degenerative conditions, and tumors involving the spinal column.

He is currently a deputy editor for both the journals Spine and Spine Deformity.  He has over 800 publications and over 1250 national and international presentations, and he has served as editor for several textbooks on spinal surgery.  Dr. Shaffrey has served as the chair of the Joint Spine Section, chair of the International Meeting of Advanced Spine Techniques (IMAST), president of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, president of the Scoliosis Research Society, president-elect of Cervical Spine Research Society (CSRS), former director and chair for the American Board of Neurological Surgery and is currently vice chair of the ACGME Neurosurgery Residency Review Committee.  

Dr. Shaffrey received his medical degree from the University of Virginia in 1986 and completed his general surgical internship at Naval Hospital San Diego.  He completed his neurosurgery and orthopaedic surgery residencies, followed by a spine fellowship in pediatric and adult reconstructive spine surgery at the University of Virginia.

Distinguished Practitioner

John A. Wilson, MD, FAANS, FACS

Dr. John Wilson is the Vice-Chair of Neurosurgery at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and David L. and Sally Kelly Professor at Wake Forest University, and a Past-President of the SNS. Dr. Wilson grew up in Sharon, Pennsylvania, and attended Penn State/Jefferson Medical College. He completed a Neurosurgery residency at NYU at then transitioned to Tufts.

Mentored by Dr. William Shucart at Tufts, Dr. Wilson initially planned to practice as a cerebrovascular neurosurgeon but soon recognized a growing need for neurosurgeons to perform complex spine surgery. Dr. Shucart pointed him to Dr. Andreas Weidner at Paracelsus-Klinik in Osnabruck, Germany. Dr. Wilson spent 6 months with Dr. Weidner learning complex cervical spine surgery. Dr. Wilson notes that at the time, “Neurosurgical spine was in its infancy, and there was a substantial amount of skepticism about neurosurgeons performing instrumentation.” Once back in the States, he partnered with orthopedic surgeon Dr. Charles Stillerman, whose experience in complex thoracolumbar surgery provided Dr. Wilson an opportunity to hone his own spine surgical skills. This experience shaped his future practice and heightened Dr. Wilson’s commitment to train the future generations of neurosurgeons in complex spinal procedures.

After three years at Allegheny, he accepted an opportunity to teach and to perform both cerebrovascular surgery and spine surgery at Wake Forest University, where he has practiced to this day.