Dr. Sethi will serve as Co-Director of the UCSF Spine Center, and UCSF System Medical Director of Value Based Musculoskeletal Initiatives
San Francisco (April 1, 2026) — The UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery is proud to welcome Rajiv Sethi, MD, PhD, who today assumes the roles of Chief of Orthopaedic Spine Surgery, Co-Director of the UCSF Spine Center, and UCSF System Medical Director of Value Based Musculoskeletal Initiatives.
Dr. Sethi is an internationally recognized expert in complex spinal surgery with extensive experience in clinical care, research, and health system leadership. In his new role, he will lead the orthopaedic spine surgery division and help guide the continued growth of the UCSF Spine Center, advancing excellence in patient care, education, and research. His UCSF system role will draw on his 15 years of experience leading an integrated spine program to grow UCSF system-based musculoskeletal initiatives and expand access to patients from around the globe.
“Dr. Sethi’s clinical expertise, research leadership, and commitment to mentorship make him exceptionally well-suited to lead our orthopaedic spine surgery program,” said C. Benjamin Ma, MD , chair of the UCSF Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. “Under his leadership, the UCSF Spine Center will continue its tradition of excellence while advancing innovative care and research that will shape the future of spinal health.”
Bobby Tay MD , orthopaedic spine surgeon and former interim Chief of Orthopaedic Spine Surgery, added, “Dr. Sethi is a thoughtful leader and accomplished surgeon whose vision for multidisciplinary spine care will benefit patients, trainees, and faculty alike. We are excited to welcome him to UCSF.”
Dr. Sethi joins UCSF from the University of Washington, where he served as a Clinical Professor, and from Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, where he was Executive Medical Director of the Center for Neurosciences & Spine. He also directed the Complex Spine Clinical and Research Fellowship and led the Neuroscience Institute at Virginia Mason Medical Center for the past 12 years. Dr. Sethi has operated on patients from all 50 states during his Seattle tenure and holds senior leadership and board positions in several distinguished national and international academic spine societies.
A specialist in complex spinal surgery, including scoliosis and adult spinal deformity, Dr. Sethi completed his medical school and residency at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. He then came to UCSF for a fellowship in Complex Spinal Surgery/Scoliosis and Deformity at the UCSF Spine Center. He holds a Ph.D. in Health Economics from Radboud University in the Netherlands and was a Fulbright Scholar in Public Health.
Dr. Sethi has authored many peer-reviewed publications and invited presentations focused on patient safety, value-based spine care, and healthcare economics. He is widely recognized for advancing multidisciplinary collaboration, quality improvement, and health system innovation in spine care with the Seattle Spine Team Approach which has been adopted by many centers around the world and led to centers of excellence contracts with private payors. Dr. Sethi’s first author publications in JBJS, Spine, JNS Spine, and Spine Deformity are highly cited and recognized. He has been the keynote speaker for the spine societies of Brazil, Australia, the United Kingdom, India, Japan, Germany, and Canada and has been visiting professor and grand rounds speaker at major American institutions including Hospital for Special Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, UNC Chapel Hill, Cedars-Sinai Los Angeles, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Columbia University New York, Brown University, and Vanderbilt University.
As Chief of Orthopaedic Spine Surgery, Co-Director of the UCSF Spine Center, and UCSF System Medical Director of Value Based Musculoskeletal Initiatives, Dr. Sethi will help lead one of the nation’s premier spine programs, building on its legacy of clinical excellence and research leadership and expanding its impact locally and globally.
