Kevin Ju
Kevin Ju
MD
- Orthopedic Spine Surgery
Practicing Locations: Rockwall | Plano
Specialty: Spine Surgery
Fellowship Training: Spine Surgery
Certification: Certified – American Board of Orthopedic Surgery
Dr. Kevin Ju Quote:
“I want all of my patients to know that I care. I will go above and beyond to make them feel at ease and get them on a treatment path which is right for them.”
Dr. Ju’s academic career includes a Bachelor’s of Science with honors in Neurobiology and the J.E. Wallace Sterling Award for Scholastic Achievement from Stanford University. He received high honors in all coursework and rotations at Harvard Medical School where he earned his M.D. in 2010. He performed a general surgery internship at Massachusetts General Hospital followed by residency in the Harvard Combined Orthopedic Surgery Residency Program at Massachusetts General. He was the Senior Associate in Orthopedics during his spine fellowship at Emory University.
Dr. Ju is a member of many professional organizations dedicated to the promotion and maintenance of high medical standards and continuing education including the Harvard Medical School Orthopedic Trauma Initiative, North American Spine Society, American Medical Association, and American Academy of Orthopedic surgeons. Dr. Ju has authored dozens of scientific articles and medical book chapters and has presented at numerous national medical meetings and conferences.
Dr. Ju enjoys outdoor activities in his spare time including SCUBA diving, skiing, sailing, and archery. Dr. Ju also enjoys technology, gadgets, and is conversational in Mandarin Chinese.
- Stanford University – Bachelor of Science with Honors in Neurobiology 2002-2006
- Harvard Medical School – Medical Degree with High Honors 2006-2010
- Massachusetts General Hospital – General Surgery Internship 2010-2011
- Harvard Residency Program – Orthopedic Surgery Residency 2011-2015
- Emory University – Spine Fellowship 2015-2016
- 2002 National Merit Scholar
- 2002 Awarded International Baccalaureate Diploma– Challenging two year curriculum covering the experimental sciences, social sciences, languages, mathematics, and arts
- 2004 National Rookie of the Year (Archery) – Men’s Compound Bow division
- 2004 ExxonMobil Teagle Scholarship
- 2005 URO Major Grant – Competitive one year grant to fund undergraduate research (Stanford University)
- 2005 National Archery Association Scholarship – National scholarship awarded for leadership and academic achievement
- 2003-2006 Broke seven high-score records in California and the U.S. West Region (Archery) Firestone Medal for Excellence in Research – Awarded to top 10% of all theses in social science, science, and engineering (Stanford University)
- 2006 J.E. Wallace Sterling Award for Scholastic Achievement – Awarded to top 25 individual graduating seniors by GPA (Stanford University)
- 2007 Tylenol Scholarship – Nationwide scholarship awarded for leadership and academic performance
- 2007 Louis W. Gilbert Fellowship – Competitive one year clinical research fellowship (Harvard Medical School)
- 2013 Charles Ray Best Clinical Paper Award (International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery)
- 2014 Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital I CARE Award – Recognizes individuals who go above and beyond regular job responsibilities
- 2014-2015 Selected as Administrative Chief Resident, Massachusetts General Hospital
- 2015 Harvard Orthopaedic Residency Program Executive Committee Award for Excellence on the Orthopaedics In-Training Exam (highest score throughout five-year residency)
- Texas Monthly Super Doctor – Rising Star: 2017, 2018, 2019
- D Magazine Best Doctor : 2020, 2021, 2022
Book Chapters:
- Ian Dunn, Kevin L. Ju, Robert Friedlander. “Middle Cerebral Artery Aneurysms” Fundamentals of Operative Techniques in Neurosurgery. Eds. Connolly, E.S., McKhann, G.M. II, Huang, J., Choudhri, T.F. New York: Thieme, 2010. 114 – 120.
- Kevin L. Ju and Mitchel B. Harris. “Initial Evaluation of the Spine in Trauma Patients” Skeletal Trauma 5th Edition. Eds. Browner, B.D., Jupiter, J.B., Anderson, P.A., Krettek, C. Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier, 2014. 303 – 314.
- Kevin L. Ju and John G. Heller. “Degenerative Disorder of the Cervical Spine / Cervical Stenosis” Spine Injuries in Athletes. Eds. Hecht, A.C., Batjer, H., Ellenbogen, R., Hsu, W., Ludwig, S., Vaccaro, A. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2017
- Kevin L. Ju, Feifei Zhou, and John M. Rhee. “Cervical Laminoplasty” Essentials of Spinal Stabilization. Eds. Holly, L. & Anderson, P. Springer, 2017. 113-124.
Scientific Articles (peer-reviewed journals):
1. Kevin L. Ju, Nathan Manley, and Robert Sapolsky. “Anti-apoptotic therapy with a Tat fusion protein protects against excitotoxic insults in vitro and in vivo.” Experimental Neurology. April 2008. 210(2): 602-7.
2. Teresa Santiago-Sim, Steven R. DePalma, Kevin L. Ju, Barbara McDonough, Christine E. Seidman, J.G. Seidman, Dong H. Kim. “Genomewide Linkage in a Large Caucasian Family Maps a New Locus for Intracranial Aneurysms to Chromosome 13q.” Stroke. March 2009. 40(Suppl 1): S57-60.
3. Kevin L. Ju, David Zurakowski, Mininder S. Kocher. “Differentiating between methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus osteomyelitis in children: an evidence-based clinical prediction algorithm.” Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery American. September 2011. 93(18): 1693-1701.
4. Sang D. Kim, Rojeh Melikian, Kevin L. Ju, David Zurakowski, Kirkham B. Wood, Christopher M. Bono, Mitchel B. Harris. “Independent Predictors of Failure of Nonoperative Management of Spinal Epidural Abscesses.” The Spine Journal. August 2014. 14(8): 1673-9.
5. Kevin L. Ju, Sang D. Kim, Rojeh Melikian, Christopher M. Bono, Mitchel B. Harris. “Predicting Patients with Concurrent Noncontiguous Spinal Epidural Abscess Lesions.” The Spine Journal. January 2015. 15(1): 95-101.
6. Michiel Hageman, Ahmet Kinaci, Kevin L. Ju, Thierry G. Guitton, Chaitanya S. Mudgal, David Ring, and the Science of Variation Group. “Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Assessment of Surgeon and Patient Preferences and Priorities for Decision-Making.” Journal of Hand Surgery. September 2014. 39(9): 1799-1804.
7. Kevin L. Ju, Rachel Deering, Dafang Zhang, Mitchel B. Harris, Christopher M. Bono. “Ensuring Homogenous Study Groups for Randomized Trials in Spine.” Ann Orthop Rheumatol. 2015. 3(1): 1041
8. John M. Rhee and Kevin L. Ju. “Anterior Cervical Decompression and Fusion.” Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery Essential Surgical Techniques. November 2016. 6(4):e37.
9. John Kleimeyer, Kirkham Wood, Greger Lonne, Tyler Herzog, Kevin L. Ju, Lisa Beyer, Christine Park. “Surgery for Refractory Coccygodynia: Operative versus Nonoperative Treatment.” Spine. August 2017. 42(16): 1214-1219
10. Rojeh Melikian, Sang D. Kim, Kevin L. Ju, David Zurakowski, Christopher M. Bono, Mitchel B. Harris. “Medical vs. Surgical Treatment of Spinal Epidural Abscesses in Patients with Normal Neurological Exams or Radicular Deficits.” The Spine Journal. Submitted.
11. Amna Diwan, Kevin L. Ju, Kaj Lambers, Srinivas Susarla, Mark Vrahas, Malcolm Smith. “Immediate Post-Operative Weight Bearing in Ankle Fractures Does Not Lead to Loss of Position.” Injury. Submitted
12. Kevin L. Ju, Feifei Zhou, Yanbin Zhao, Fengshan Zhang, Shengfa Pan, John Heller, Yu Sun. “Progressive Bone Formation After Cervical Disc Replacement: Minimum of 5 Year Follow-Up.” Spine. February 2018. 43(3): E163-E170
13. Ram Haddas, Kevin L. Ju, Theodore Belanger, Isador Lieberman. “The use of gait analysis in the assessment of patients afflicted with spinal disorders.” European Spine Journal. April 2018. 27(8): 1712-1723.
14. Ram Haddas, Sujal Patel, Rajesh Arakal, Akwasi Boah, Theodore Belanger, Kevin L. Ju. “Spine and lower extremity kinematics during gait in cervical spondylotic myelopathy patients.” The Spine Journal. September 2018. 18(9):1645-1652
15. Ram Haddas and Kevin L. Ju. “Gait Alteration in Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Elucidated By Ground Reaction Forces.” Spine. January 2019. 44(1):25-31.
16. Ram Haddas, Isador Lieberman, Akwasi Boah, Rajesh Arakal, Theodore Belanger, Kevin L. Ju. “Functional Balance Testing in Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Patients.” Spine Journal. January 2019. 44(2):103-109.
17. Ram Haddas, Isador Lieberman, Rajesh Arakal, Akwasi Boah, Theodore Belanger, Kevin L. Ju. “Effect of Cervical Decompression Surgery on Gait in Adult Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Patients.” Clinical Spine Surgery. September 2018. 31(10):435-440.
18. Haddas R, Cox J, Belanger T, Ju KL, Derman PB. “Characterizing Gait Abnormalities in Patients with Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy: A Neuromuscular Analysis.” The Spine Journal. November 2019. 16(11): 1803-08.
19. Haddas R, Ju KL, Boah AO, Kosztowski T, Derman PB. “The Effect of Surgical Decompression on Functional Balance Testing in Patients with Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy.” Clinical Spine Surgery. November 2019. 32: 369-76.
20. Zhou F, Li S, Zhao Y, Zhang Y, Ju KL, Zhang F, Pan S, Sun Y. “Quantitative analysis of the correlation between preoperative cervical degeneration and postoperative heterotopic ossification after cervical disc replacement: minimum 10-year follow-up data.” Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine.
21. Zhou F, Li S, Zhang Y, Zhao Y, Ju KL, Zhang F, Pan S, Sun Y. “Japanese Orthopaedic Association
Cervical Myelopathy Evaluation Questionnaire (JOACMEQ) in mainland China: an investigation of
reliability, validity, and responsiveness.” Health Quality Life Outcomes. October 2020. 18(1): 349.
Other Publications & Articles:
1. Kevin L. Ju and Mitchel B. Harris. “Geriatric Spine Fractures.” American Orthopaedic Association
Community of Leaders Newsletter. In Press.
2. Kevin L. Ju. “What’s a Slipped Disc?” Spine-health.com. 16 Dec. 2016.
3. Kevin L. Ju, “Figuring Out the Right Treatment for Your Sciatica Symptoms.” Spine-health.com. 3 Jan. 2017.
4. Kevin L. Ju, “How The Boston Marathon Bombings Changed My Life As A Doctor.”
MDMonthly.com. 3 Jan. 2017.
5. Texas Back Institute. “Dr. Kevin Ju Introduction And ER Call During Boston Bombing.” Spine Talk.
Texas Back Institute. 17 Nov. 2016.
6. Kevin L. Ju In: Vaidya, A. “How 6 spine surgeons managed (and are managing) their debt.”
Becker’s Spine. 19 Jan. 2017.
7. Kevin L. Ju In: Vaidya, A. “Spine care in 2017: 4 spine surgeons make predictions.” Becker’s Spine.
26 Jan. 2017.
8. Kevin L. Ju, “Why Surgery for Sciatica is not One-Size-Fits-All.” In Press.
PRESENTATIONS
Meetings & Conferences:
1. Kevin L. Ju. “Trojan Horse Therapy: Delivery of the BH4 Domain of the Bcl-xL Protein Protects
Neurons Against Excitotoxicity”. Poster Presentation at the 2006 Achauer Honors Symposium. June
2006, Stanford, CA.
2. Kevin L. Ju and Robert Sapolsky. “Anti-apoptotic therapy with a Tat fusion protein protects against
excitotoxic insults in vitro and in vivo.” Poster Presentation at the 37th annual meeting of the Society
for Neuroscience. November 2007, San Diego, CA.
3. Kevin L. Ju. “The Identification of Coding Variants Associated with Cerebral Aneurysms”. Poster
Presentation at the 2008 Soma Weiss Research Day. January 2008, Boston, MA.
4. Kevin L. Ju, David Zurakowski, Mininder S. Kocher. “Differentiating Methicillin-Resistant from
Methicillin-Sensitive Staphylococcus aureus Osteomyelitis.” Podium Presentation at the American
Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2011 Annual Meeting. February 2011, San Diego, CA
5. Kevin L. Ju, David Zurakowski, Mininder S. Kocher. “Evidence-based Clinical Prediction
Algorithm for Differentiating Between MRSA and MSSA Osteomyelitis in Children.” AWARD
Podium Presentation at the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America 2011 Annual Meeting.
May 2011, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
6. Amna Diwan, Kevin L. Ju, Kaj Lambers, Srinivas M. Susarla, Mark Vrahas, R. Malcolm Smith.
“Immediate Post-Operative Weight Bearing in Ankle Fractures Does Not Lead to Loss of Position.”
Poster Presentation at the 2012 Challenges in Fracture Care Across Disciplines Meeting. February
2012, Lake Buena Vista, Florida
7. Sang Kim, Rojeh Melikian, Kevin L. Ju, Christopher M. Bono, Mitchel B. Harris. “Predictors of
Failure of Nonoperative Management of Spinal Epidural Abscesses.” Podium Presentation at the
Kevin L. Ju Page 7 of 8
2013 International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery Annual Meeting. April 2013,
Vancouver, Canada.
8. Sang Kim, Rojeh Melikian, Kevin L. Ju, Mitchel B. Harris. “Predictors of Failure of Nonoperative
Management of Spinal Epidural Abscesses.” Podium Presentation at the 2013 International Society
for the Study of the Lumbar Spine Meeting. May 2013, Scottsdale, Arizona.
9. Kevin L. Ju, Christopher M. Bono, Rachel Deering, Daffang Zhang, John S. Clapp, Mitchel Harris.
“Ensuring Homogenous Study Groups: Is a Power Analysis Enough for Randomized Trials in
Spine?” Podium Presentation at the North American Spine Society 2013 Annual Meeting. October
2013, New Orleans, Louisiana.
10. Sang Do Kim, Rojeh Melikian, Kevin L. Ju, David Zurakowski, Kirkham B. Wood, Christopher M.
Bono, Mitchel B. Harris. “Independent Predictors of Failure of Nonoperative Management of Spinal
Epidural Abscesses.” Podium Presentation at the North American Spine Society 2013 Annual
Meeting. October 2013, New Orleans, Louisiana.
11. Kevin L. Ju, Sang Do Kim, Rojeh Melikian, Christopher M. Bono, Mitchel B. Harris. “Predicting
Patients with Concurrent Noncontiguous Spinal Epidural Abscess Lesions.” Podium Presentation at
the 2013 Cervical Spine Research Society Meeting. December 2013, Los Angeles, California.
12. Rojeh Melikian, Sang Do Kim, Kevin L. Ju, Christopher M. Bono, Mitchel B. Harris. “Medical vs.
Surgical Treatment of Spinal Epidural Abscesses in Patients with Normal Neurology or Radicular
Deficit.” Podium Presentation at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2014 Annual
Meeting. New Orleans, Louisiana.
13. Kevin L. Ju, Sang Do Kim, Rojeh Melikian, Christopher M. Bono, Mitchel B. Harris. “Predicting
Patients with Concurrent Noncontiguous Spinal Epidural Abscess Lesions.” Podium Presentation at
the 2014 International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery. May 2014, Miami, Florida.
14. Rojeh Melikian, Sang Do Kim, Kevin L. Ju, Christopher M. Bono, Mitchel B. Harris. “Medical vs.
Surgical Treatment of Spinal Epidural Abscesses in Patients with Normal Neurology or Radicular
Deficit.” Podium Presentation at the 2014 International Society for the Advancement of Spine
Surgery. May 2014, Miami, Florida.
15. Feifei Zhou, Kevin L. Ju, Yanbin Zhao, Fengshan Zhang, Shengfa Pan, Yu Sun, John Heller.
“Progressive Bone Formation After Cervical Total Disc Replacement: Based on at Least 5-year
Follow-up Results.” Cervical Spine Research Society-AP. April 2016, Seoul, Korea.
16. Kirkham Wood, Greger Lonne, Tyler Herzog, Kevin L. Ju, Lisa Beyer, Christine Park. “Surgery for
Refractory Coccygodynia: Operative versus Nonoperative Treatment.” Podium Presentation at the
North American Spine Society 2016 Annual Meeting. October 2016, Boston, Massachusetts.
17. Ram Haddas, Kevin L. Ju, Raj Arakal, Theodore Belanger. “Effect of Cervical Decompression
Surgery on Gait in Adult Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Patients.” Podium Presentation at the
2017 Gait & Clinical Movement Analysis Society Annual Meeting. May 2017, Salt Lake City, Utah.
18. Ram Haddas, Theodore Belanger, Kevin L. Ju. “Effect of Cervical Decompression Surgery on Gait
in Adult Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Patients.” Podium Presentation at the 2017 International
Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques (IMAST). July 2017, Cape Town, South Africa.
Kevin L. Ju Page 8 of 8
19. Ram Haddas, Theodore Belanger, Kevin L. Ju, Rajesh Arakal. “Effect of Cervical Decompression
Surgery on Gait in Adult Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Patients.” Podium presentation at the
North American Spine Society 2017 Annual Meeting. October 2017, Orlando, Florida.
20. Ram Haddas, Theodore Belanger, Kevin L. Ju, Sujal Patel, Rajesh Arakal. “Altered Ground Reaction
Forces in Adult Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Compared to Controls.” Podium presentation for
the Best Papers session at the North American Spine Society 2017 Annual Meeting. October 2017,
Orlando, Florida.
21. Ram Haddas, Raj Arakal, Akwasi Boah, Theodore Belanger, Kevin L. Ju. “Effect of Cervical
Decompression Surgery on Gait in Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Patients.” Podium presentation
at the Cervical Spine Research Society 2017 Annual Meeting. November 2017, Hollywood, Florida.
22. Ram Haddas, Joseph Cox, Rajesh Arakal, Theodore Belanger, Kevin L. Ju. “Neuromuscular Activity
during Gait in Patients with Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Compared to Controls.” Podium
presentation at the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS) 2018 Annual
Meeting. April 2018, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
23. “Functional Balance Testing in Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Patients.” Podium presentation at
the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery 2018 Annual Meeting. April 2018,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
24. “Spine Kinematics during Gait in of Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Patients Post Cervical
Surgery.” Podium presentation at the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery
(ISASS) 2018 Annual Meeting. April 2018, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
25. “Effect of Cervical Surgery on Neuromuscular Activity during Gait in Patients with Cervical
Spondylotic Myelopathy.” Podium presentation at the International Society for the Advancement of
Spine Surgery (ISASS) 2018 Annual Meeting. April 2018, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
26. Ram Haddas, Kevin L. Ju, Theodore Belanger, Akwasi Boah. “Neuromuscular Activity During Gait
in Patients with Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Post Cervical Surgery.” Podium presentation at the
NASS Spine Across the Sea Meeting. August 2018, Lihue, Hawaii.
27. Haddas R, Lieberman IH, Boah A, Belanger T, Ju K, Arakal R. The Effect of Surgical
Decompression on Functional Balance Tests in Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy Patients. 19th
Annual Meeting of the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS),
Anaheim, California, USA, April 2019