Leadership Immersion Tract

Applications Now Open

Applications for the PSPS Leadership Immersion Tract are being accepted through October 31.

Apply Now

Overview

Pacific Spine & Pain Society was developed to bridge the gap between spine surgery and pain medicine. Societies dedicated to spine care are generally derived from the specialties of their training which may not emphasize cross-disciplinary education and care.

The Leadership Immersion Tract (LIT), as an innovative two-year training initiative, is meticulously designed to cultivate a new breed of healthcare professionals. It is a pivotal step in our unwavering commitment to developing leaders who are thoroughly prepared to steer and reform the dynamic and intricate healthcare landscape.

Mission

The core mission of the Leadership Immersion Tract (LIT) program is to develop and nurture professionals who are poised to make a significant and positive impact on various facets of the healthcare industry.

Our focus is on shaping individuals who will not only influence but also transform the culture within healthcare settings, elevate the standards of patient care, innovate in clinical practice, and drive progressive changes in healthcare business models.

We are committed to fostering leaders equipped with the knowledge, skills, and ethical grounding needed to navigate and lead in the complex and dynamic healthcare landscape.

Vision

The vision of the Leadership Immersion Tract (LIT) program is to empower early and mid-career professionals by equipping them with a comprehensive blend of knowledge, skills, tools, and frameworks. This empowerment is aimed at enhancing their abilities in career planning, development, and business administration, specifically tailored for the healthcare sector and related industries.

Our objective is to open a world of diverse career and academic opportunities, providing substantial exposure to a range of professional pathways. Furthermore, we are dedicated to fostering an environment that promotes collaborative leadership, encouraging our participants to engage in and contribute to dynamic team-based initiatives, thereby cultivating a new generation of innovative and cooperative leaders in healthcare.

Schedule

Each month, a telemeeting is organized, featuring open discussions led by distinguished faculty members, providing an interactive platform for knowledge exchange and professional development. To ensure ongoing engagement and collaboration, regular communication is maintained through various social networks and digital communication tools, fostering a continuous and dynamic exchange of ideas and information.

LIT Completion and Leadership Development Framework

1

Scholarly Leadership

Each participant should develop and lead at least one significant scholarly project during their LIT tenure and bring that project to a defined milestone.

The milestone could include:

  • Submission of a manuscript for publication
  • Submission and/or presentation of an abstract or poster at a PSPS Annual Meeting
  • Development of an educational publication or resource
  • Development of a clinical guideline or position statement
  • Another substantive scholarly product approved by LIT leadership

The emphasis should be on leadership and ownership rather than simply authorship or participation. The LIT participant should serve as the project lead, primary author, or clearly documented principal contributor.

Mentorship from the PSPS Research Committee would be encouraged, but the expectation should be that the participant takes meaningful ownership of the project from development through completion. This would provide firsthand experience in developing, executing, writing, and disseminating scholarly work.

Importantly, the requirement would be completion of a defined milestone rather than publication itself, since journal review and acceptance timelines are outside the participant's control.

2

Committee Leadership and Engagement

Participants should actively engage with at least two PSPS committees during their two-year LIT tenure. Ideally, one would serve as a primary committee with sustained involvement, while the second could provide exposure to another area of the Society or a specific PSPS initiative.

For each committee or initiative, participants should work toward at least one meaningful deliverable or tangible contribution. Examples could include contributing to an educational program, advocacy initiative, Society resource, guideline, position statement, research collaboration, or other committee-specific project.

We appreciate the rationale behind having participants rotate through multiple committees; however, we do not believe a formal rotation model would necessarily be conducive to the effective functioning of the committees. Frequent rotation may make it more difficult for participants to develop continuity, establish meaningful working relationships, and contribute to projects that often extend beyond a single meeting or short period of involvement. It could also be logistically challenging to coordinate across committees.

Instead, allowing participants to identify committees that align with their interests and career goals would provide an opportunity for deeper engagement while still exposing them to different facets of PSPS. The emphasis should be on meaningful participation and tangible contribution rather than simply attending committee meetings.

3

Program Participation and Year-to-Year Advancement

Participants should attend at least 80% of scheduled monthly LIT meetings, with reasonable flexibility for unavoidable clinical, professional, or personal obligations. Attendance should reflect active participation and engagement rather than simply physical presence.

At the beginning of Year 1, each participant should establish a simple Individual Leadership Development Plan with the LIT leadership within the first 60–90 days. This plan would identify:

  • Individual career and leadership goals
  • Areas of PSPS committee interest
  • A proposed scholarly project
  • Intended contributions to PSPS
  • One or two measurable personal leadership objectives

A midpoint review should occur at approximately 12 months to assess progress, provide mentorship and guidance, and identify opportunities for additional engagement or support.

Progression from Year 1 to Year 2 should not be entirely automatic. Participants should demonstrate satisfactory progress toward approximately 80% of their defined first-year milestones, including attendance, committee engagement, scholarly project progress, PSPS participation, professionalism, initiative, and responsiveness.

If a participant does not meet the expected threshold, the LIT leadership could establish an individualized improvement plan, provide additional mentorship, or allow additional time before advancement to Year 2.

4

PSPS Meeting Attendance

Participants should attend at least two PSPS meetings during their two-year LIT tenure, including the Mid-Year Meeting, Annual Meeting, or a combination of both.

Attendance at these meetings provides an important opportunity for participants to engage directly with Society leadership and membership, develop professional relationships, participate in the broader mission of PSPS, and gain greater exposure to the Society's activities.

5

LIT Capstone and Leadership Transition

Near the completion of the second year, each participant should provide a brief presentation to the LIT cohort and/or PSPS leadership addressing three questions:

  • What did I accomplish during my LIT experience?
  • What did I learn about leadership?
  • How do I intend to contribute to PSPS going forward?

This would create a natural graduation milestone while also allowing PSPS leadership to identify participants who may be ready for future roles as committee leaders, educators, researchers, advocates, Board members, or other Society leaders.

In this way, LIT becomes not only a leadership development program but also an intentional leadership pipeline for the future of PSPS.

Flexibility and Exceptions

We recognize that a two-year leadership development program must account for circumstances that may occasionally prevent a participant from meeting a specific requirement exactly as outlined. The framework should therefore allow the LIT leadership to grant reasonable exceptions, extensions, or equivalent substitute activities when appropriate.

Leadership Immersion Tract Co-Chairs

Dr. David W. Lee headshot

David W. Lee, MD

Co-Chair

Dr. Lee is a dual board certified in Pain Medicine and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. Dr. Lee is an active member in both PM&R and Pain societies, where he occupies Chair and Executive Board positions.

He continues to teach and present on a variety of spine and pain-related topics at the local, regional and national level. He reviews interventional spine and pain manuscripts for the journals of Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine, Pain Medicine and PM&R.

Dr. Alan Bingtao Lin headshot

Alan Bingtao Lin, MD

Co-Chair

Dr. Alan Bingtao Lin is a physician specializing in interventional pain management, sports medicine, and regenerative medicine, with over two decades of clinical experience. Since beginning his medical career in 1999, he has dedicated himself to helping patients—from everyday individuals to elite athletes—restore function, recover from injury, and achieve peak performance.

He has worked extensively with world-class athletes across the Olympic, Premier League, UFC, NBA, ATP, and PGA, and collaborates with leading institutions such as the UFC Performance Institute and the Titleist Performance Institute. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Lin serves as Medical Director for several facilities, where he develops advanced treatment protocols and oversees multidisciplinary teams.

Dr. Lin is also a leader in academic and professional development. As co-chair of the Leadership Immersion Tract (LIT) in the Pacific Spine & Pain Society, he mentors physicians in clinical innovation, healthcare leadership, and career development. His work through the Academic Writing Initiative and entrepreneurial ventures in AI-driven healthcare technology further reflects his commitment to advancing medicine and improving patient outcomes.

Current LIT Members

Alex Lopez, MD
Rosa Garcia, MD
Robin Mata, DO
Jonathan Paris, MD
Moshe Spatz, MD
Adelaide Viguri, DO
Roshan Santhosh, DO
Chris Radlicz, DO
Lee Nguyen, MD
Michael Chung, MD
Rahul Gunasekera, DO
Ahish Chitneni, DO
Christopher James, MD
Crystal Joseph, MD
David Gallacher, MD
Fei Cao, MD
Hye-Jin Clark, MD
Jessica West, MD
Brandon Kalasho, DO
Paulina Giacomelli, MD
Timothy Rushmer, MD

LIT Alumni

Vivek Babaria, DO
Harjot Bhandal, MD
Pratik Gandhi, DO
Seth M. Katzen, DO
Jake Measom, MD
Roya Moheimani, MD
Roger Yuh, MD
Lorenzo Diaz, DO
Benjamin Gill, DO, MBA
Johnson Ho, MD
Robert Lugo, DO
Laura Pasternack, MD
Tiffany Russ, DO
Daniel Wang, DO
Siyun (Sisi) Xie, MD

We're proud to announce Boston Scientific as a PSPS LIT Program Sponsor!

Boston Scientific Logo