Professor Wong has been focusing on spine surgery for nearly 30 years and is an honorary clinical professor at the University of Hong Kong. As a senior consultant, Professor Wong often handles referrals of complex and difficult spine cases. In addition to spine surgery, he also emphasizes on the importance of a thorough patient assessment and leads a specialist/paramedical team in providing intensive spinal rehabilitation services when necessary. He used to be the co-leader of the outstanding teams of Hong Kong Hospital Authority. They are the Paediatric Orthopaedics and Spine Surgery team at the Duchess of Kent Children’s Hospital, and Spine Cord Injury Rehabilitation team at the MacLehose Medical Rehabilitation Centre.

In terms of academic pursuits, Professor Wong has published approximately 50 papers in indexed journals, and contributed to over 50 scientific oral presentations. He is also a frequent speaker at academic conferences held globally and locally. Professor Wong is actively involved in professional associations.

He used to be the president of the Spine Chapter of the Hong Kong Orthopaedic Association, Fellowship and Reference Centre officer of AOSpine (Asia Pacific), and Council member of the Hong Kong College of Orthopaedic Surgeons and Osteoporosis Society of Hong Kong. Before becoming president-elect, he served as Honorary Treasurer of APSS. In terms of administrative experience, he was once the chief of service of the Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, and deputy hospital chief executive of Queen Mary Hospital.

Dr Gabriel Liu is a renowned orthopaedic spine surgeon known for his exceptional contributions to the field. His journey began with a strong educational foundation, including studies at Fettes College in Edinburgh, St Joseph’s College in Hong Kong, and St Joseph’s Primary School in Hong Kong. With a profound passion for orthopaedic surgery, Dr Liu pursued extensive qualifications, becoming a Fellow of the Academy of Medicine in Singapore (FAMS) in 2004 and earning the prestigious FRCSEd (Ortho) from the Royal College of Surgeon in Edinburgh in 2003. He also achieved FRCSI from the Royal College of Surgeon in Ireland in 2000 and a Master of Medical Science in Anatomy from University College Dublin in 1996.

Dr Liu's illustrious career includes roles as Deputy Head in Spine Surgery at the National University Hospital, Singapore, since 2013 and as an Associate Professor at the National University Health System (NUHS) since 2013. He has garnered numerous awards, including the Orthopaedic Teaching Excellence Award and Best Poster Award at the Asia Pacific Medical Education Conference. As a member of esteemed medical societies and with over 20 publications to his name, Dr Gabriel Liu continues to shape the future of orthopaedic spine surgery through his dedication to education, research, and patient care.

Dr. Yoshiharu Kawaguchi is Professor and Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Toyama in Japan. Born in Toyama in 1962, he completed his medical training and Ph.D. at Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University and later pursued research fellowship training at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Kawaguchi has become widely recognized for his expertise in spine surgery, with a particular focus on spinal disorders such as ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, lumbar disc disease, and spinal stenosis. His work bridges clinical practice and basic science, encompassing areas such as muscle pathology, electrophysiology, and molecular biology. He has published extensively, contributed to the advancement of spine surgery research in Japan and internationally, and currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Spine Surgery & Related Research.

In addition to his academic and editorial roles, Dr. Kawaguchi is an active member of numerous national and international orthopedic and spine societies, where he has held key leadership positions.

Dr. Ronald Tangente has been the President of the Philippine Spine Society since 2022. The PSS is the common society for both orthopedic spine surgeons and neurosurgeons. Dr. Tangente is also instrumental in the creation of the Philippine Board of Spine Surgery.

Dr. Tangente completed his residency in the Department of Orthopedics at the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital. He pursued a Clinical Fellowship in Spine Surgery at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center. He also underwent a Clinical Fellowship in Scoliosis Surgery at the Hospital for Sick Children. Both institutions are affiliated with the University of Toronto in Canada. In addition, he was awarded the Cleveland Clinic International Physician Observership Program for Spine Surgery. He also trained at the Spinal Injuries Center at Iizuka, Fukuoka, Japan.

His practice has dealt with complex spine conditions, deformities, and metastatic spine disease for the last 25 years. Dr. Tangente is the Program Director of the Davao Doctors Hospital Clinical Fellowship in Spine Surgery. This unique program is open to both orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons. Likewise, he is the Head of the Brain, Spine, and Scoliosis Center of Davao Doctors Hospital. Besides clinical practice, Dr. Tangente has been invited as a faculty member in national and international spine meetings.

Dr. Tangente had a Master’s In Business Administration at the University of Mindanao, Philippines. He used to be the Chief Medical Officer of Davao Doctors Hospital, who handled both the clinical, financial, and administrative affairs

Dato’ Dr. Mun Keong Kwan serves as a Professor and Senior Orthopaedic Consultant in the Spine Research Unit, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Currently, he is the Immediate Past President of Malaysia Spine Society (MSS) and, serves as the President-Elect of the Asia Pacific Spine Society (APSS) at the international level. His clinical practice, as well as research interests, are mainly devoted to spinal deformity surgery, i.e., Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS), Minimally Invasive Stabilization (MISt) using Percutaneous Pedicle Screws (PPS), as well as the Safety of the Use of the Pedicle Screw in Spinal Surgery.

Dato’ Dr. Kwan has organised and chaired many international spine conferences and he has been invited as a speaker in numerous international meetings. He is a member of the editorial board and/or reviewer for several international spine and orthopaedic journals.

Dr S Rajasekaran is the Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedics, Trauma & Spine Surgery, Ganga Hospital, Coimbatore, India. He is currently the President, Asia Pacific Spine Society. He was previously the Chair of AOSpine International Board; Chair of AOSpine International Research Commission; President of SICOT; President- CSRS-AP; President of the Indian Orthopaedic Association; President of the Association of Spine Surgeons of India; President of International Society for the Study of Lumbar Spine, Canada and President of the World Orthopaedic Concern.

His academic distinctions include being the Hunterian Professor for the year 2011-12 by the Royal College of Surgeons of England; ‘Distinguished Visitor’ to Harvard Medical International, Boston, USA; Grand Rounds Lecturer of Dartmouth University, USA and Mayo Hospital, USA; Adjunct Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Tamilnadu Dr MGR Medical University; Deputy Editor of the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery; Journal of SPINE, USA; Global Spine Journal, USA and Editorial board of European Spine Journal.