Dr. Hoover steps into his leadership role at the Neuroscience, Orthopaedic and Wellness Center as the director of Musculoskeletal Imaging and Intervention at VCU Health and director of Clinical Optimization, where he runs a division of radiologists and technicians specializing in musculoskeletal radiology. At VCU Health, his teams perform 7-15 interventional radiology procedures a day, including biopsies, joint aspirations and injections, and spine procedures. As assistant professor of Radiology at VCU School of Medicine, he trains residents and medical students in this highly collaborative specialty.

Since joining VCU Health in 2009, Dr. Hoover has focused on the role of radiology in the interdisciplinary care that puts bodies in motion. He specializes in arthritis, diagnostic and pain procedures, metabolic bone disease, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and bone injuries, and he has been the lead investigator in a series of research programs and clinical trials investigating the diagnosis of osteoporosis and metabolic musculoskeletal disease using CT imaging.

Dr. Hoover earned a PhD in biology from the University of California, Irvine College of Medicine in 2000, followed two years later by an M.D. After a surgical internship at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York, he completed a residency in diagnostic radiology and a clinical fellowship in musculoskeletal imaging at the prestigious Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. After a year in private practice, he was recruited to VCU Health as a staff radiologist and professor, and was named director of our musculoskeletal section in 2011.

With his career-long interest in interdisciplinary musculoskeletal care, Dr. Hoover has been recognized as a leader and mentor in advancing the field of radiology integrated care and in enhancing the training and performance of radiology residents in musculoskeletal imaging and intervention, both key to the mission of the Neuroscience, Orthopaedic and Wellness Center.

Dr. Mathern is professor and vice chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at VCU School of Medicine and the director of Clinical Neuroscience at VCU Health.

With more than 20 years of experience in neurosurgery, Dr. Mathern specializes in the treatment of complex spinal reconstruction, neurotrauma, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injury and neurological critical care. Through his leadership positions, he also brings extensive expertise in health care management and clinical operations to the Neuroscience, Orthopaedic and Wellness Center.

Dr. Mathern earned his medical degree from the University of Cincinnati Medical School in 1989, and he joined VCU that year for his internship, residencies in general surgery and neurosurgery and a fellowship in spinal surgery and reconstruction. He completed his education as chief resident in neurological surgery. While serving as a clinical instructor at VCU, Dr. Mathern became a partner in a successful private practice and chief of staff at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital. He joined VCU Health full time in 2004 as a staff neurosurgeon and professor in neurological surgery at VCU School of Medicine. In 2011, Dr. Mathern was appointed to the VCU Health System Authority Board of Directors, and he was named director of Clinical Neuroscience in 2014.

Neurotrauma research and health care management and clinical operations have long been major areas of focus for Dr. Mathern. He has lead clinical trials and laboratory studies in the areas of head and spinal cord injury, and he helped develop new outpatient clinical care models for neurological diseases based on multidisciplinary, disease-specific care teams, central to the approach to neurological care at the Neuroscience, Orthopaedic and Wellness Center.