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ABOUT DR. THOMAS KREMEN

Thomas J. Kremen, MD is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with advanced subspecialty training in Sports Medicine and Shoulder Surgery. He cares for patients of all activity levels—from professional athletes to individuals simply looking to stay active and pain-free.

Dr. Kremen has extensive experience as a team physician at the highest levels of sport. He has worked with organizations across the country and internationally, including Duke University Athletics, U.S. Men’s National Team Soccer, LA Galaxy, USA Basketball, and the U.S. Olympic Swimming Team. He currently serves as a team physician for UCLA Athletics, the South Bay Lakers, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Los Angeles Chargers.

While he has helped elite athletes perform at their peak, Dr. Kremen brings that same level of care and attention to every patient he treats. His focus is simple: help you recover efficiently, restore function, and get back to the activities that matter most to you.

Dr. Kremen specializes in treating shoulder and knee injuries, as well as a wide range of sports-related and overuse conditions. He combines advanced surgical techniques with the latest evidence-based, non-surgical treatments to create individualized care plans. Just as importantly, he emphasizes injury prevention—helping patients reduce the risk of future problems.

In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Kremen is a federally funded clinician-scientist actively involved in research aimed at improving how soft tissues—such as tendons, ligaments, and cartilage—heal after injury. This work allows him to deliver elite care today while building the therapies of tomorrow—helping patients recover faster, perform better, and stay active longer.

Dr. Kremen earned his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was captain of the NCAA Division I men’s swimming team. He received his medical degree from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and completed his orthopedic surgery residency at UCLA. He then pursued advanced fellowship training in Sports Medicine and Shoulder Surgery at Duke University.

After several years helping build the orthopedic program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Dr. Kremen returned to UCLA, where he is now a full-time faculty member.

He remains actively involved in advancing the field through research, publications, and national presentations, and maintains memberships in leading professional organizations, including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the Arthroscopy Association of North America, and the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine.

Dr. Kremen’s approach is straightforward: combine leading-edge expertise with thoughtful, individualized care to help every patient move better, feel better, and return to the life they enjoy.

Kushagra Verma, MD, MS, FAAOS, is a board-certified orthopedic spine surgeon at Advanced Spine Care in Los Alamitos and Marina Del Rey, California. He is fellowship-trained in complex spine surgery and has many years of experience. He offers surgery when it’s the best option to ensure the highest quality of life for his patients.

Dr. Verma earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Cornell University School of Engineering in Ithaca, New York, and a master’s degree in molecular biology from the NYU Graduate School of Arts & Sciences in New York City. He completed medical school at NYU School of Medicine in New York City.

Dr. Verma also completed an orthopedic surgery residency at Thomas Jefferson University’s Rothman Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and an adult and pediatric spine fellowship (with a focus on spinal deformities) at the University of California at San Francisco. 

Dr. Verma has been recognized many times for his expertise. He was selected by The Leading Physicians as a Top Orthopedic Surgeon of the Spine. He also received the Top Doctor Award in Los Alamitos and numerous other professional recognitions for his excellence. 

Dr. Verma is an experienced college educator with experience at the University of Washington in Seattle, Long Beach Memorial in Long Beach, California, and the Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California. 

He specializes in treating spinal anomalies, including spinal stenosis, scoliosis, spondylolisthesis, disc herniation, and flatback syndrome. Dr. Verma is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS). He has contributed to nearly 50 peer-reviewed publications. 

Dr. Verma spends as much time as patients need to ensure they feel heard with all of their questions addressed. He fully explains their diagnoses, thoroughly reviews all imaging results, and discusses detailed treatment options — always giving patients a voice in their treatments. He uses the latest technological advances and procedures to ensure long-lasting outcomes.

Dr. Verma welcomes new and existing patients to Advanced Spine Care and looks forward to optimizing their spinal health and overall quality of life.

Handpicked by Dr. Robert S. Bray Jr. to join DISC Sports & Spine Center, fellowship-trained orthopedic spinal surgeon, Grant D. Shifflett, MD, takes a patient-centered approach to care at his offices in Marina del Rey and Newport Beach, California. With vast experience in minimally invasive and complex reconstructive spinal surgeries, Dr. Shifflett strives to restore each patient's functionality and quality of life.

Using cutting-edge techniques, he takes an evidence-based approach to treat patients with a variety of spinal conditions, including scoliosis, stenosis, disc herniation, and degenerative disc disease. Whether Dr. Shifflett provides non-operative care such as stem cell injections or performs innovative procedures such as artificial disc replacement, he does so with compassionate care and understanding.

Dr. Shifflett received a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from the University of Virginia before graduating with the highest distinction from the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. He completed an internship and residency at the Hospital for Special Surgery, affiliated with New York - Presbyterian Healthcare System and Weill Cornell Medical College.

After venturing on a traveling fellowship to Japan, Dr. Shifflett returned to the United States and completed a minimally invasive and complex spinal surgery fellowship at Rush University. There, he learned microsurgical techniques, focusing on outpatient, fusion, and non-fusion procedures for the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine.

Highly recognized in the field of spinal surgery, Dr. Shifflett has presented at numerous conferences, written multiple medical journal articles, and received a variety of grants and awards for cutting-edge research and clinical studies.

Mehul Taylor, MD, is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon at Valley Orthopedic Institute in Palmdale and Ridgecrest, California. In addition to treating male and female patients of all ages who have general orthopedic issues, Dr. Taylor specializes in diagnosing and treating athletic injuries and arthroscopic surgeries.

Dr. Taylor has firm roots in Southern California, having grown up in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County and graduated from Calabasas High School in Calabasas. Dr. Taylor earned his Bachelor of Science in physiological sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). 

Dr. Taylor then earned his medical degree at Chicago Medical School in North Chicago, where he graduated with honors in 2002. He was also elected to the noted Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society.

Next came an orthopedic residency at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, before Dr. Taylor traveled to Minnesota for the University of Minnesota’s sports medicine fellowship program. There, he received advanced training in arthroscopic surgery and served as an assistant team physician for the university’s football team.

Dr. Taylor is affiliated with two hospitals where he also treats patients: Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster and Palmdale Regional Medical Center in Palmdale.

Anand Shah, MD, is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and board-certified orthopedic hand surgeon and the owner of Valley Orthopedic Institute in Palmdale and Ridgecrest, California. In addition to treating patients of all ages with general orthopedic problems, Dr. Shah specializes in hand and upper extremity trauma and reconstruction.

Opening the doors to Valley Orthopedic Institute marked a homecoming for Dr. Shah, who went to Quartz Hill High School in Lancaster, California, which is just a few minutes away from Palmdale in the Antelope Valley. 

Dr. Shah graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a Bachelor of Science in physiology and neuroscience. He excelled in earning his medical degree at Chicago Medical School in North Chicago in 2002, graduating first in his class and gaining election to the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society.

Next came an orthopedic residency at the University of Miami, Florida, and then Dr. Shah returned to UC San Diego for a fellowship program for hand, upper extremity, and microsurgery. 

During his fellowship, Dr. Shah also contributed two chapters in a medical textbook, “Master’s Techniques in Orthopaedic Surgery – The Wrist,” one on hamate hook fractures and the other on radial styloidectomy.

Dr. Shah is affiliated with two hospitals where he also treats patients: Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster and Palmdale Regional Medical Center in Palmdale.

Board-certified orthopedic surgeon Ramin Ganjianpour, MD, is the founder of North Valley Orthopedic Institute in Mission Hills and Tarzana, California. He treats the full range of orthopedic injuries and diseases, with special expertise in minimally invasive total joint replacement of the knee, shoulder, and hip.

Dr. Ganjianpour graduated magna cum laude from the Ohio State University College of Medicine in Columbus, Ohio, where he was a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.

After an internship at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles County Medical Center, he finished his residency training in orthopedic surgery at the Albany Medical College, Albany Med Center, in Albany, New York. Then he completed a fellowship in total joint replacement and adult reconstruction at the Arthritis Institute in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles. 

With a dedication to providing the best possible care, Dr. Ganjianpour is devoted to learning, keeping up with the latest orthopedic advances, and using them to improve his patients’ health. Dr. Ganjianpour is the chief of orthopedic surgery at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, California. 

STEPAN KASIMIAN, M.D.

Stepan Kasimian, M.D., is an orthopaedic surgeon with specialty training in complex spinal reconstruction and minimally invasive spine surgery. His primary interests include degenerative spine disease and spinal deformity. He has extensive experience in treating multiple spine disorders including disc herniations, spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, kyphosis, scoliosis, tumors, and spinal trauma in the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine.

EDUCATION

Dr. Kasimian received his undergraduate degrees in Microbiology & Molecular Genetics and History from the University of California, Los Angeles. He completed his internship and residency in orthopaedic surgery at the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. After residency, Dr. Kasimian obtained further training in complex spinal reconstruction surgery at Cedars-Spinal Medical Center, Institute for Spinal Disorders.

RESEARCH

Dr. Kasimian has presented his research at the International Meeting on Advanced Spine Techniques and has written a chapter on endoscopic thoracic disc herniations in a prominent spine textbook.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS/AFFILIATIONS

He is a member of the American Medical Association, Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society, North American Spine Society, and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. In order to better serve his patients, his practice is located in Beverly Hills, Glendale, and Rancho Cucamonga and he maintains privileges in numerous hospitals including Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Glendale Adventist Medical Center.