Dr. Davis, now a fellowship-trained orthopedic spine surgeon with Paradigm Health System, thought dentistry was his destiny until the allure of oral surgery evolved into an interest in wider surgical options. During his fourth year of medical-school residency rotations, he had his first exposure to spinal surgery. The similarities between oral and spinal surgical techniques felt instantly familiar and comfortable to him.

He had natural skill too. He was in the top 10 percent in his class, and he was awarded a fellowship under the legendary Dr. Henry Bohlman at the renowned Case Western Reserve Affiliated Hospitals. “If you signed on under Dr. Bohlman you had to promise to take an academic job,” he says. “It was his legacy to teach surgeons who shared and spread their skills to other surgeons across the nation.”