Meet The 3Spine Team | 3Spine

Samantha Damito

Quality Engineer

Samantha Damito is a product development engineer for 3Spine, holding a BS in Biomedical Engineering with a concentration in Biomechanics.

She assesses and updates design history files and quality management procedures to ensure compliance with regulatory standards and good documentation practices.

Likewise, Samantha assists in the development of implants and instruments for the BalancedBack system, and she looks to optimize the supplier control process to ensure quality product when manufacturing 3Spine devices.

Christian Davis

Lead Product Development Engineer

Christian is a product development engineer with experience driving reusable and disposable medical devices through concept to verification/validation.

With a background in novel lumbar spinal procedures, Christian offers a passion for procedural and device-driven solutions to lower back pain.

Don Duff

Clinical Director, Rehabilitation

Dr. Duff began his spinal health career in private practice as a chiropractor in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1990. While working extensively with orthopedic spine surgeons, Dr. Duff utilized his expertise in conservative spine management to provide appropriate alternatives to surgery when indicated. He also developed postoperative rehabilitation protocols to help patients manage their surgical recoveries and optimize outcomes.

Dr. Duff graduated in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Southern Adventist University, then completed his Doctor of Chiropractic training at Life University. He later completed graduate training at Southern Adventist, earning the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) credential. Dr. Duff currently has a dual practice as part of a group of spine care associates in Tennessee, and at NovoClinic in the Cayman Islands.

An advocate of a multidisciplinary approach to spinal care, Dr. Duff frequently presents at academic meetings and teaches across a variety of specialties, including co-development of a 12-hour CME course on the continuum of care for spinal health.

Donna Duff

Nurse Practitioner

For the past 9 years Donna has served as a certified family nurse practitioner. She has experience in internal medicine, endocrinology, intensive and emergency care, rehabilitation, and acute post-op pain management for orthopaedic patients. Donna’s current focus is to provide quality perioperative care for our spine patients at NovoClinic Cayman.

Donna completed her undergraduate and graduate nursing training at Southern Adventist University, where she also served as an adjunct faculty member for 10 years. She is passionate about health care education, and strongly believes that compassionate care delivery plays a critical role in both short- and long-term outcomes.

Scott Hodges

Medical Director

Dr. Hodges has completed over 15,000 spine surgeries throughout his career, with a special interest in spine motion preservation techniques. Dr. Hodges entered private practice in 1994 with the Center for Sports Medicine and Orthopaedics in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he works alongside a team of medical professionals specializing in orthopedic surgery and sports medicine.

Dr. Hodges is a pioneer in joint replacement and also has an interest in minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for the spine. He was an early adopter of navigationally assisted

MI and has served as a faculty member and chairman of numerous educational programs for over two decades.

Dr. Hodges’ current research focuses on spinal mobility before and after surgical intervention. He is an active innovator with over 50 patents for spine/orthopedic devices, and he currently serves as chairman of the research committee for the American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopedics.

Dr. Hodges is a native of North Carolina. He received his undergraduate degree in biology from Southern Adventist University and graduated cum laude from the University of Health Sciences in Kansas City, Missouri. He also served in the United States Air Force achieving the rank of Major.

Craig Humphreys

Scientific Director

Dr. Humphreys chairs the Medical Advisory Board at 3Spine, guiding technology development. He attended the University Notre Dame and completed medical school at Loyola University in Chicago. Dr. Humphreys is the founder of Kenai Spine in Alaska. He also founded the Carolyn Jane Foundation, which provides advanced spine training to surgeons in Africa. His CURE plate portfolio was just purchased by SpineArt through Meditech, with all proceeds funding the clinic in Africa.

Through a long career as a spine surgeon, Dr. Humphreys has been involved in spinal research and has contributed to more than 70 publications. He has designed spinal implants that maintain motion in the spine and instrumentation related to minimally invasive spine surgery.

Marcus James

Field Manager

Marcus James received his Bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of West Georgia, after which he completed two additional surgical assistant programs, one in Chattanooga, and one in Los Angeles. He has extensive surgical experience, having started his nursing career in an operating room about 20 years ago. He began by working on general orthopedics cases and some neurosurgical procedures; after approximately seven years he moved into spine surgery exclusively.

Marcus currently works as Dr. Scott Hodges’ first assist at Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga. He also works alongside Drs. Hodges and Humphreys on BalancedBack surgeries in the Cayman Islands. As the RN first assistant, he facilitates every procedure, providing direct patient care during surgery as well as in the pre-and post-operative stages.

Marissa Koscielski

Contract Research

Marissa Koscielski graduated from the University of Notre Dame with an undergraduate degree in math and a concentration in neuroscience. She then attended the same university’s ESTEEM program, one of the world’s premier graduate programs in technology and entrepreneurship. Marissa’s theoretical math background combined with her interests in neuroscience, pathophysiology, and the different models of health care delivery led her to the medical space, where she now looks for new ways to innovate.

Recently, Marissa played a key role in the conception, design, and development of two medical devices: a syringe stabilizer created to help administer self-injections, which is currently undergoing the FDA approval process, and new rehabilitation technology for lower limb amputees and stroke patients, a project that is in development. In her clinical administrator role, Marissa works on everything from guiding patients through the surgical process to handling data collection and reporting related to BalancedBack. She also helps the company maintain regulatory compliance for clinical operations.

Kevin McGinnis

Director of Clinical Affairs

Prior to joining 3Spine, Kevin held a variety of clinical and medical affairs roles in both small and large medical device companies such as Tepha, Philips, and Medtronic. He has primarily supported Class II and III devices in multiple therapeutic areas including artificial disc replacements, transcatheter heart valves, deep brain stimulation, and plastic/reconstructive surgery.

Miguel Monteiro

Product Development Engineer

In his work for 3Spine, Miguel’s primary responsibilities center around R&D engineering, patient on-ground logistics, and inventory management. Miguel is also involved in the product development of the future 3Spine technology.

Miguel also leads patient logistics, including everything from renting cars and booking hotels to keeping patients comfortable after surgery, providing a pleasant overall experience for patients traveling for the BalancedBack procedure.

In inventory management, Miguel keeps track of inventory quantity and quality by conducting monthly counts, creating analyses of usage and necessity, and conducting receiving inspections of shipments from manufacturers and suppliers, in accordance with appropriate regulatory standards.

Christopher Nelson

CFO

Chris Nelson has more than 20 years of experience working in finance and operations. Before joining 3Spine, he led finance for 15 years at the Zimmer Biomet division ETEX.

Previously, Chris served as controller at several organizations and has experience in bringing them through acquisition. He received his undergraduate degree in finance from Mercer University. Outside of work Chris enjoys being on the board of his local youth baseball league and is an avid mountain biker, sailor, and snowboarder.

Marc Peterman

CEO

Marc is co-founder and CEO of 3Spine.  He is a prolific innovator responsible for dozens of enduring, commercialized spine technologies.  Prior to founding 3Spine, Marc held a variety of leadership roles at ODC, Medtronic, Abbott, startup Facet Solutions, and the Swiss trauma company Synthes. He played a central role in the $19.7B acquisition and integration of Synthes by Johnson & Johnson, where he served as Worldwide Vice President of R&D and a member of the management board for the merged $1.8B DePuy Synthes Spine division. Marc also co-founded Blue Ivy Ventures, an AVG venture capital fund providing asset class access to alumni investors and capital to the Yale entrepreneurial ecosystem. Marc earned an MBA at Yale University, a PhD in Kinesiology, Biomechanics and Locomotion Studies at Penn State, an MS in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wyoming, and a BS in Physics at Ursinus College where he received the William B. Williamson Prize in Philosophy.

Brady Riesgraf

Associate Director, Clinical Development

Brady Riesgraf graduated from the University of Notre Dame’s Engineering, Science, and Technology Entrepreneurial Masters (ESTEEM) program, after receiving his undergraduate degree in neurobiology. Brady’s graduate capstone thesis focused on medical device analysis—specifically, the study of neuromodulator spinal implants for the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research (FIMR) and their Center for Bioelectronic Medicine. Prior to attending Notre Dame, he also worked with Mayo Clinic Ventures, integrating his background in clinical and biological research to enhance patient care through medical device development within the departments of pediatrics and neurology.

In his role as a Clinical Operations Manager, Brady touches on multiple parts of the BalancedBack operation, primarily focusing his efforts on patient qualification, as well as business development, data collection, and clinical trial refinement. In the latter, Brady’s experience with Mayo Clinic and FIMR will be especially important as we leverage his expertise with trials and grant writing for device approvals.

Nathan Schatzman

Director

Dr. Nathan Schatzman is a specialized cardiac anesthesiologist practicing in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He attended Harvard College in Boston, then went on to earn his medical degree at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, where he graduated in 1989.

Dr. Schatzman has 28 years of diverse experience across the field of anesthesiology, and he is fully licensed and insured to practice medicine in the Cayman Islands at NovoClinic Cayman, with surgical privileges at CTMH Doctors Hospital.

Ron Yarbrough

COO

Prior to joining 3Spine, Ron held a variety of leadership roles for Class I, II, and III medical device manufacturers from Abbott Labs to Zimmer-Biomet. He has led firms to introduce new technologies while improving growth and profitable operations for implantable devices, tissue products, active devices, diagnostics, surgical instruments, and most recently he has focused on preparing start-up organizations for success.