The 2024 Rising Star Award was presented to Dr. Byron F. Stephens II. This Campbell Award honors young surgeons with fewer than 10 years of practice who have demonstrated exceptional society engagement, clinical excellence, research activities, and leadership potential, along with high moral standing.

Dr. Stephens is an Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Neurological Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. He serves as Division Chief of Vanderbilt’s Orthopaedic Spine Division, Residency Program Director and Orthopaedic Spine Surgery Fellowship Co-Director. He has been teaching since 2016, alongside clinical practice at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. Dr. Stephens’ academic and clinical excellence are coupled with a warmth and genuine concern for his patients and staff.

A 2015 graduate of the Campbell Clinic residency program, Dr. Stephens was elected by his peers to serve as Administrative Chief Resident in his final year. He is a member of 17 professional associations including AAOS, AOA, and is an active fellow in the Scoliosis Research Society. His excellence as a teacher and mentor is coupled with impressive scholarship and research that is advancing the field. He is a contributing editor to multiple publications and a sought-after presenter at scientific meetings.

His publications are consistently at the top of the field, with three NASS Best Paper Award nominations, a POSNA Award Nominated paper, an honorable mention for being in the top 20% of abstracts in 2023 alone. Dr. Stephens received a faculty invitation to the 57th Annual Scoliosis Research Society Meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2022.

He received his medical degree at UTHSC College of Medicine, and also holds a Master of Science in Clinical Investigation from Vanderbilt. After his residency, Dr. Stephens completed a fellowship in Orthopaedic Spine Surgery at Emory University School of Medicine.