Felipe Albuquerque, MD

Francisco Ponce, MD, grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and earned his undergraduate degree in physics at Harvard University in Boston. After attending graduate school at Oxford University in the United Kingdom, he went on to complete medical school at the University of Chicago. He completed his residency in neurological surgery at Barrow Neurological Institute at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, and received subspecialty training in stereotactic and functional neurosurgery at the University of Toronto in Ontario under Dr. Andres Lozano. In 2011, Dr. Ponce was named the director of the new Barrow Center for Neuromodulation. Neuromodulation therapy aims to eliminate or improve symptoms of neurological disorders by negating abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is the most common form of this treatment. DBS delivers minute electrical stimulation to specific areas of the brain via a surgical implant similar to a heart pacemaker. This stimulation can relieve the tremors and rigidity that are hallmarks of movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, and dystonia. Over the past two decades, DBS has revolutionized the management of Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders. Dr. Ponce has published extensively on DBS and other neurosurgical procedures in peer-reviewed medical journals. He also has given presentations at national and international conferences. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and three sons. He also enjoys reading, hiking, and endurance sports, and has completed an Ironman triathlon.

Juan Uribe, MD, is Chief of the Division of Spinal Disorders, Volker K. H. Sonntag Chair of Spine Research, and Vice Chairman of Neurosurgery at Barrow Neurological Institute. He is board certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery. He was named President and Chair of the AANS/CNS Section on Disorders of Spine and the Peripheral Nerves in 2024. Dr. Uribe’s expertise includes the surgical treatment of scoliosis, spinal trauma, herniated thoracic disc, and spinal tumors, particularly with minimally invasive spine surgery. He is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, North American Spine Society, Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Society of Lateral Access Surgery, and Scoliosis Research Society. Dr. Uribe earned his medical degree from Instituto Superior de Ciencias de la Salud in Colombia, where he also completed a residency in neurosurgery at Hospital San Vicente de Paul. He also completed a neurosurgery residency at the University of South Florida and a spine surgery fellowship at the University of Miami. His research interests include anatomical, biomechanical, and clinical studies of applying minimally invasive spine surgery to complex degenerative disease, traumatic injuries, and tumors.

Jay Turner, MD, PhD, received his BS in biology at The College of New Jersey in Ewing, and doctorate of medicine and PhD in physiology at Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey. Dr. Turner joined Barrow Neurological Institute at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix as a neurosurgeon after completing his neurosurgery residency at Barrow. During his training, he developed an interest in spinal deformities and complex spinal reconstructions. He completed fellowships in complex spine surgery in San Diego, California, and Zurich, Switzerland. His fellowship training specifically focused on scoliosis, spinal deformity, spinal tumors, and minimally invasive surgical techniques. Dr. Turner is a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, the AANS/CNS Joint Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves, the Scoliosis Research Society, the North American Spine Society, and the Society of Lateral Access Surgery.