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Jefferson Wilson

MD, PhD, FRCSC

Scientist

Email: Jefferson.Wilson@unityhealth.to
Tel: 416-864-5920

Biography

Dr. Jefferson Wilson is a surgeon-scientist at St. Michael’s Hospital and Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto. He currently holds the Labatt Endowed Chair in Neurosurgery at Unity Health. Dr Wilson’s clinical practice is focused on the surgical management of complex disorders of the spine and spinal cord. He also leads a clinical research program investigating both traumatic and non-traumatic spinal cord injury, with a specific interest in the development of predictive models and algorithms to help guide treatment and forecast outcomes. His research has been supported through several grants from organizations including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, AOSpine, Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation and the Cervical Spine Research Society. Dr. Wilson currently chairs a national evidence based spine surgery course for residents and fellows and serves on the editorial boards of Journal of Neurosurgery Spine and Clinical Spine Surgery.

Recent Publications

  1. Malhotra, AK, Shakil, H, Smith, CW, Huang, YQ, Kwong, JCC, Thorpe, KE et al.. Predicting outcomes after moderate and severe traumatic brain injury using artificial intelligence: a systematic review. NPJ Digit Med. 2025;8 (1):373. doi: 10.1038/s41746-025-01714-y. PubMed PMID:40533523 PubMed Central PMC12177046.
  2. Essa, A, Malhotra, AK, Shakil, H, Nathens, AB, Yuan, EY, He, Y et al.. Timing of Gastrostomy Relative to Tracheostomy After Complete Cervical Spinal Cord Injury: Impact on Hospitalization Outcomes and Complication Rates. Neurosurgery. 2025; :. doi: 10.1227/neu.0000000000003485. PubMed PMID:40326770 .
  3. Agrawal, V, Ali, MF, Yasin, F, Ashraf, D, Brannigan, JF, Yurac, R et al.. A Systematic Review of Current Terminology for Conditions Preceding Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy: Evidence Synthesis to Inform an AO Spine Expert Opinion Statement. Global Spine J. 2025; :21925682251339480. doi: 10.1177/21925682251339480. PubMed PMID:40304598 PubMed Central PMC12043630.
  4. Fehlings, MG, Evaniew, N, Ter Wengel, PV, Vedantam, A, Guha, D, Margetis, K et al.. AO Spine Clinical Practice Recommendations for Diagnosis and Management of Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy: Evidence Based Decision Making - A Review of Cutting Edge Recent Literature Related to Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy. Global Spine J. 2025;15 (5):2585-2593. doi: 10.1177/21925682251331050. PubMed PMID:40257837 PubMed Central PMC12012498.
  5. Essa, A, Shakil, H, Malhotra, AK, Nathens, AB, Badhiwala, J, Yuan, EY et al.. Optimal Tracheostomy Timing After Traumatic Complete Spinal Cord Injury: A Comparative Analysis of Ultraearly, Early, and Delayed Practice. Neurosurgery. 2025; :. doi: 10.1227/neu.0000000000003430. PubMed PMID:40183561 .
  6. Kögl, N, Evaniew, N, Dea, N, Jacobs, B, Paquet, J, Wilson, JR et al.. Severe neck pain among patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy: an observational study from the Canadian Spine Outcomes and Research Network. Spine J. 2025; :. doi: 10.1016/j.spinee.2025.03.001. PubMed PMID:40154627 .
  7. Shakil, H, Malhotra, AK, Essa, A, Karthikeyan, V, Lozano, CS, He, Y et al.. Days at home after treatment of spinal metastases: measurement and validation of a novel patient centered outcome. J Neurooncol. 2025;173 (3):739-749. doi: 10.1007/s11060-025-05014-z. PubMed PMID:40111577 .
  8. Al-Shawwa, A, Craig, M, Ost, K, Anderson, D, Casha, S, Jacobs, WB et al.. Spinal cord demyelination predicts neurological deterioration in patients with mild degenerative cervical myelopathy. BMJ Neurol Open. 2025;7 (1):e000940. doi: 10.1136/bmjno-2024-000940. PubMed PMID:39906543 PubMed Central PMC11792293.
  9. Chen, YA, Hu, Z, Shek, KD, Wilson, J, Alotaibi, FSS, Witiw, CD et al.. Machine Learning to Detect Cervical Spine Fractures Missed by Radiologists on CT: Analysis Using Seven Award-Winning Models From the 2022 RSNA Cervical Spine Fracture AI Challenge. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2025;224 (3):e2432076. doi: 10.2214/AJR.24.32076. PubMed PMID:39772578 .
  10. Shakil, H, Essa, A, Malhotra, AK, Kiss, A, Witiw, CD, Redelmeier, DA et al.. Perioperative outcomes after minimally invasive and open surgery for treatment of spine metastases: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Neurosurg Spine. 2025;42 (2):215-229. doi: 10.3171/2024.7.SPINE24518. PubMed PMID:39612501 .
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Affiliations & Other Activities

  • Staff Surgeon, Division of Neurosurgery, St. Michael’s Hospital
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto