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Howard Ginsberg

MD, FRCSC, PhD, BASc

Investigator

Email: Howard.Ginsberg@unityhealth.to
Tel: 416-864-5703

Research Programs

Biography

Dr. Howard Ginsberg is a graduate from the University of Toronto Neurosurgery Program. He is trained in cranial surgery as well as both neurosurgical and orthopedic spinal surgery techniques. He completed a fellowship in spinal surgery as well as a degree in Engineering Science from the University of Toronto, and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering. He is the Spine Program Director at St. Michael’s Hospital and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery.  Dr. Ginsberg’s research focuses on engineering applications to neurosurgical procedures with the goal of improving safety and outcome for patients. His current research focus is on the development of a rapid tumour diagnostic system that uses mass spectrometry guided laser ablation for molecular analysis to provide a highly precise cancer diagnosis in 10 seconds.

Please note: Dr. Ginsberg is not taking any summer students.

Recent Publications

  1. Lozano, CS, Karthikeyan, V, Shakil, H, Malhotra, AK, Pedro, KM, Mathieu, F et al.. The Economics of Surgical Decision-Making in Geriatric Type II Odontoid Fractures: Reframing the Role of Frailty. Neurosurgery. 2025; :. doi: 10.1227/neu.0000000000003850. PubMed PMID:41222241 .
  2. Kato, H, Nishimura, Y, Ginsberg, HJ, Wilson, JR, Witiw, CD, Ahn, H et al.. Radiological Improvements and Clinical Outcomes of Occipitocervical Fusion for Traumatic Cranocervical Junction Instability. World Neurosurg. 2025;202 :124393. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2025.124393. PubMed PMID:40840781 .
  3. Fiorante, A, Woolman, M, Munoz, DG, Kiyota, T, Ye, LA, Farahmand, Y et al.. A molecular array for 10-second diagnosis of common spinal tumor types with picosecond infrared laser mass spectrometry. Neuro Oncol. 2025;27 (8):2060-2072. doi: 10.1093/neuonc/noaf047. PubMed PMID:39980445 PubMed Central PMC12448866.
  4. Nguyen, J, Wang, L, Lei, W, Hu, Y, Gulati, N, Chavez-Madero, C et al.. Culture substrate stiffness impacts human myoblast contractility-dependent proliferation and nuclear envelope wrinkling. J Cell Sci. 2024;137 (6):. doi: 10.1242/jcs.261666. PubMed PMID:38345101 PubMed Central PMC11033523.
  5. Woolman, M, Kiyota, T, Belgadi, SA, Fujita, N, Fiorante, A, Ramaswamy, V et al.. Lipidomic-Based Approach to 10 s Classification of Major Pediatric Brain Cancer Types with Picosecond Infrared Laser Mass Spectrometry. Anal Chem. 2024;96 (3):1019-1028. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c03156. PubMed PMID:38190738 PubMed Central PMC10809247.
  6. Schär, RT, Ginsberg, HJ. Disappearing discs after posterior cervical fusion. J Clin Neurosci. 2024;120 :3-4. doi: 10.1016/j.jocn.2023.12.014. PubMed PMID:38159422 .
  7. Malhotra, AK, He, Y, Harrington, EM, Jaja, BNR, Zhu, MP, Shakil, H et al.. Development of the cervical myelopathy severity index: a new patient reported outcome measure to quantify impairments and functional limitations. Spine J. 2024;24 (3):424-434. doi: 10.1016/j.spinee.2023.10.018. PubMed PMID:37918571 .
  8. Katz, L, Kiyota, T, Woolman, M, Wu, M, Pires, L, Fiorante, A et al.. Metabolic Lipids in Melanoma Enable Rapid Determination of Actionable BRAF-V600E Mutation with Picosecond Infrared Laser Mass Spectrometry in 10 s. Anal Chem. 2023;95 (38):14430-14439. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c02901. PubMed PMID:37695851 .
  9. Yoshikawa, S, Nishimura, Y, Nagashima, Y, Ito, H, Oyama, T, Nishii, T et al.. Evaluation of Posterior Ligamentous Complex Injury in Thoracolumbar Burst Fractures: Correlation Analysis of CT and MRI Findings. Neurol Med Chir (Tokyo). 2023;63 (4):158-164. doi: 10.2176/jns-nmc.2021-0390. PubMed PMID:36858635 PubMed Central PMC10166606.
  10. Katz, L, Woolman, M, Kiyota, T, Pires, L, Zaidi, M, Hofer, SOP et al.. Picosecond Infrared Laser Mass Spectrometry Identifies a Metabolite Array for 10 s Diagnosis of Select Skin Cancer Types: A Proof-of-Concept Feasibility Study. Anal Chem. 2022;94 (48):16821-16830. doi: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c03918. PubMed PMID:36395434 .
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Affiliations & Other Activities

  • Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto