Born and raised in Tel-Aviv, Israel, Dr. Rafael Levin completed three years of compulsory military service as a distinguished soldier in the Israeli Airforce. Upon his honorary discharge from service, Dr. Rafael Levin attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA from 1990 to 1994 and received his MD degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD in 1998.

During his four years at M.I.T, Dr. Levin completed both an undergraduate and graduate degrees in Material Science and Engineering with emphasis on polymer physics and chemistry for various Bio-materials applications. Dr. Levin participated in basic research projects some involving collaborations with the Harvard School of Medicine as part of the HST program. He spent his last academic year at M.I.T writing his Engineering Master’s thesis in collaboration with ATT Bell-Laboratories in NJ on the optimization of a photo-polymerization system used for fiber optic applications. While at M.I.T, Dr. Levin also minored in Economics, and in 1991 was honored as a Burchard scholar, a highly selective award given for excellence in the Humanities and Social sciences. Based on his academic performance and community service, Dr. Levin was awarded membership in Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honor Society in 1992. In 1994 Dr. Levin graduated M.I.T at the top of his undergraduate and graduate classes.

Pursuing both academic and clinical careers in the fields of bio-technology and medicine, Dr. Levin was accepted to the prestigious combined MD / Ph.D program at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Bio-engineering department in Baltimore, MD. While continuing to be involved in basic and applied bio-engineering research as a medical student, Dr. Levin decided to focus his future career on direct patient care as an orthopaedic surgeon. His passion for practicing clinical medicine and delivering care to his own patients forced him to give up on the opportunity to complete his Ph.D. Having achieved recognition for academic and clinical performance, Dr. Levin received his MD degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1998.

Dr. Levin returned to Boston in 1998 to complete his surgical internship at Boston University Medical Center. He continued his residency training in Orhopaedic surgery for the following four years at the program affiliated with Boston University School of Medicine. Hospitals included in his training were Boston Medical Center, the VA hospitals in the Boston area, the Lahey Clinic, and Shriner’s Hospital in Springfield, MA. Throughout his residency, Dr. Levin continued to take active rolls in clinical research projects. He presented his work at research conferences, authored several research publications in general orthopaedics and spine surgery, and wrote a chapter in a comprehensive spine surgery textbook. Dr. Levin completed his Orthopaedic surgery training in 2003 with excellent reviews and recommendations that prompted his acceptance to the prestigious spine fellowship training program at NYU / HJD in Manhattan, NY.

Seeking to sub-specialize in the surgical treatment of spinal disorders, Dr. Levin trained under some of the most nationally renowned orthopaedic spine surgeons at the NYU / HJD spine fellowship program in Manhattan, NY. During his fellowship training program Dr. Levin continued to devote some of his time to clinical research projects, academic presentations, and publications. More importantly, Dr. Levin was trained in the most advanced spinal surgical techniques including minimally invasive procedures, motion preserving surgery, and contemporary approaches to the surgical treatment of spinal deformity, degenerative, and traumatic conditions.

After completing his spine surgery training in 2004, Dr. Levin joined the practice of Dr. Ben Yishay, the founder of Comprehensive Spine Care. Ever since, Dr. Levin has been focused on conservative minimally invasive surgical and non-surgical treatment of patients with traumatic and degenerative spine disorders. Dr. Levin is seeing patients in all office locations of Comprehensive Spine Care. In addition, he evaluates patients with work related spine injuries at Concentra Clinic locations in Jersey City and Edison, NJ. He is on staff at Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, NJ, and Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack and in Westwood (HckensackUMC at Pasckack Valley,) NJ. Dr. Levin has operative privelages also at Chilton Memorial Hospital in Pompton Plains, NJ, and Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck, NJ. Dr. Levin performs outpatient minimally invasive spinal procedures at Hudson Crossing Surgical Center in Fort-Lee, NJ, where he serves as the acting chief of the spine service.

Dr. Levin is currently a full Partner at Comprehensive Spine Care. He is board certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons (ABOS), and is an active member of the North American Spine Society (NASS) and the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS). Dr. Levin’s professional goals and career aspirations are to continue to advance the surgical treatment of patients with spinal disorders. He believes in clinical progress by using modern and minimally invasive surgical techniques on appropriately selected patients to achieve better outcomes in terms of pain reduction and improved function.

Practice website: www.compspinecare.com