Director's Message

Thank you for your interest in the University Hospitals Musculoskeletal and Spine Medicine Fellowship. As Co-Fellowship Director, I’m proud to present our program for your consideration. The fellowship was first established in 2021 as a joint effort with Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) and Orthopaedics of UH Cleveland Medical Center. We also plan to obtain accreditation through the North American Spine Society. Our fellowship is a comprehensive one-year program working primarily with PM&R and Orthopaedic faculty. We strive to recruit top MD and DO candidates from multiple specialties including PM&R, Rheumatology, Sports Medicine, Occupational Medicine, or Orthopaedic Surgery, but training in PM&R is preferred.

Over the last few years, the UH Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation program has expanded exponentially as a division under Orthopaedics. This exciting change has led to a significant increase in learning opportunities for our fellows. Our outpatient spine and musculoskeletal (MSK) faculty continue to expand with the growing need in our community. Our UH Cleveland Medical Center has become the major trauma site for our region, and it continues to be a hub for complex spine surgery. This allows our fellows to gain exposure to an outstanding depth and breadth of spine and MSK patients.

Our fellows will perform a wide variety of fluoroscopic guided spine procedures for cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and joint pain. With Michael Schaefer, MD as Division Chief of PM&R and Co-Director of the fellowship, we offer extensive training in diagnostic and interventional MSK ultrasound as part of our core curriculum. We also offer training in orthobiologics/regenerative medicine procedures.

Fellows also have the opportunity to rotate with our sports medicine faculty and participate in sports coverage. University Hospitals is the official healthcare partner of the Cleveland Browns and Kent State University, an NCAA Division 1 college. If interested, fellows have exposure to covering high school events and have extensive opportunities for caring for athletes at ALL levels of NCAA athletics include national-level tournaments. There are also opportunities in the greater Cleveland area for fellows to provide care at mass participation events such as the Cleveland Rite-Aid Marathon, the Cleveland Triathlon, and multiple youth soccer tournaments.

Our faculty has gained a national reputation through their involvement in the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, American Academy of Physiatry, North American Spine Society, and the Spine Intervention Society. As a result of our national organization involvement, we can provide our fellows with opportunities for peer-reviewed publishing and presenting at national meetings.

We thank you for taking the time to learn about the UH Musculoskeletal and Spine Medicine Fellowship. We are proud of our faculty and the educational opportunities that our program provides. Please visit How to Apply for further information on the application process. Feel free to contact me at Antimo.Gazzillo@UHhospitals.org for further information.

Sincerely,

Antimo Paul Gazzillo, MD
Co-Program Director, University Hospitals Musculoskeletal and Spine Medicine Fellowship