UAMS’ Samuel Overley, M.D., Among Nation’s Top Young Spine Professionals for 2022

By Linda Haymes
Oct. 17, 2022 | LITTLE ROCK — Samuel Overley, M.D., an orthopaedic surgeon at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), was named one of the nation’s outstanding young spine care providers by the North American Spine Society’s SpineLine magazine in its fifth annual “20 Under 40” list honoring spine professionals under the age of 40.

Overley, 36, was featured in the September/October 2022 issue. The list, selected by the magazine’s review team, included 20 members.

“We are so fortunate to have Dr. Overley as a part of our team,” said C. Lowry Barnes, M.D., chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery in the UAMS College of Medicine. “His expertise, reputation and dedication to patients will be invaluable to our program as we continue to grow and establish ourselves as a national destination for musculoskeletal care at The Orthopaedic & Spine Hospital at UAMS.”

Overley and the 19 others spotlighted this year were recognized during the society’s 37th Annual Meeting in Chicago, Oct. 12-15. More than 3,000 spine professionals from the organization’s 8,000-plus members attended.

Overley explained that the most challenging and rewarding aspects of being an orthopaedic surgeon are the same.

“It’s like overhauling a house which starts with finding any issues with the foundation, structure or bones of the dwelling, formulating a thoughtful blueprint that addresses all of the issues safely and effectively with longevity in mind, and finally executing the plan,” he said in magazine.

In addition to being a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in surgical and nonsurgical treatment for a wide variety of spinal conditions, including cervical, thoracic and lumbar problems as well as spine trauma and tumors, Overley is also an assistant professor in the UAMS College of Medicine’s Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Neurosurgery.

Overley was selected an American Orthopaedic Association Emerging Leader in 2017 and received a Best Paper Award from the Global Spine Journal for his 2017 manuscript “Return to Play in Contact Athletes Following Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion: a Meta-Analysis.”

UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute and Institute for Digital Health & Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,047 students, 873 medical residents and fellows, and six dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 11,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.
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