Meet Our Doctors & Clinical Staff

Meet the staff of New Jersey Spine Specialists. We’re dedicated to providing advanced spinal care tailored to the needs of each of our patients. From our physicians’ assistants and nurses to our renowned, board-certified orthopedic surgeons— Drs. Mitchell Reiter, Mark R. Drzala, Dr. Heidi M. Hullinger, and Dr Ilya Kupershtein, our focus is on providing the best treatment regimen possible and on keeping our patients involved with the decision-making process regarding their care.

A Spine Surgeon in Each Northern New Jersey Office

With offices in Montclair and Summit, we’re convenient to communities throughout northern New Jersey and to the New York tri-state region. With a staff of nationally recognized spinal care experts and a top spine surgeon in each office, we also draw patients from across the country and around the world. Many patients from local communities near you such as Livingston, Florham Park, Union, Berkeley Heights, New Providence, Basking Ridge, Morristown, Madison, Bernardsville, and Nutley have benefited from our care. If you would like to learn more about how our staff can help remedy a spinal condition affecting you or a family member, please call or email us to schedule a consultation.

Mitchell Reiter, M.D.

Dr. Mitchell Reiter

Dr. Mitchell Reiter is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with fellowship training in spinal surgery who has been in practice in New Jersey managing patients with spinal disorders for more than 20 years. Dr. Reiter is one of those rare individuals that always knew that he wanted to be a physician. Straight out of high school he entered the prestigious accelerated six-year combined B.S./M.D. Honors Program in Medical Education at the University of Miami. He then underwent five years of residency training in Orthopedic Surgery at The University of Miami – Jackson Memorial Hospital followed by a year of fellowship training in spinal surgery at Emory University in Atlanta which are two of the busiest spine centers in the country.

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Mark R. Drzala, M.D.

Dr. Mark R. Drzala

Dr. Mark Drzala is a board-certified and fellowship trained orthopedic spine surgeon and has been in practice since 1998. He devotes his practice to the treatment of patients with disorders of the spine and specializes in their care. Thorough patient evaluation and a focus on education is the hallmark of Dr. Drzala’s practice. While certain conditions have absolute indications for spinal surgery, Dr. Drzala is conservative by nature and exhausts all non-operative treatment options before considering surgical intervention.

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Heidi Hullinger, M.D.

Dr. Heidi Hullinger

Dr. Heidi Hullinger is a board certified and fellowship trained orthopedic spine surgeon who recently finished her training at the prestigious Texas Medical Center, the largest medical center in the world. While there she trained at multiple institutions, including MD Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Hermann trauma center, Texas Children’s Hospital, and orthopedic specialty hospitals. She has expertise in complex spine cases such as spinal deformity and tumors but welcomes the treatment of patients along the full spectrum of non-operative and operative spine disorders. Dr. Hullinger makes it a priority to give her patients in-depth explanations concerning their spinal problems so they can participate in decisions regarding their care.

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Ilya Kupershtein, M.D.

Dr. Ilya Kupershtein

Dr. Ilya Kupershtein is highly skilled Spine and Scoliosis Surgeon who has over 10 years of extensive experience in treating the full spectrum of spine problems both surgically and non-surgically. He has trained and worked at Cornell/Presbyterian Medical Center and The Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, the world’s #1 hospital for Spine Surgery, prior to moving back to New Jersey where he lives with his family.

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Jay Y. Chun, M.D., PhD.

Dr. Jay Y. Chun

Dr. Jay Chun is a prominent figure in spinal neurosurgery. His approach combines cutting-edge technology with compassionate, personalized patient care. Specializing in minimally invasive and complex spinal surgeries, cervical artificial disc replacement, and evidence-based therapies, Dr. Chun stays updated on the latest advancements in neurosurgery to offer the most effective treatments.

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A Clinical Staff Dedicated to Patient Care and Healing

Brian Peterkin, DMSc, PA-C

Dr. Brian A. Peterkin is a licensed Physician Assistant (PA) with a doctoral degree in medical science and a master’s in clinical medical science. Brian has an extensive background in exercise physiology being both a certified strength and conditioning specialist (C.S.C.S.) and ACSM health fitness instructor during his undergraduate education. Currently, his interests include acute inpatient and outpatient management following orthopedic surgery and the long-term care of patients with chronic pain. Brian has been member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, New Jersey State Society of Physician Assistants, and the North American Spine Society.

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Brook Villa, RN

Brook has been a nurse for close to 25 years and is a dedicated, original member of the NJ Spine Specialist team. Brook’s kindness, empathy and compassion make him a patient favorite. Working closely with the physicians, he creates, implements, and evaluates patient care plans – always making himself available to his patients even outside of office hours.

Sabrina Lijo, MSPAS, PA-C

Sabrina Lijo is a Physician Assistant who received her Master of Science degree in Physician Assistant Studies from King’s College. Sabrina also completed her undergraduate degree in Medical Studies at King’s College. She was a member of King’s accelerated 5-year PA program, to which she completed both degrees during that time. Sabrina has always shared an interest in the management of patients with spinal conditions, as well as the peri-operative care of some of those patients. She is a member of both the American Academy of Physician Assistants and the New Jersey State Society of Physician Assistants.

Sabrina’s hobbies include spending time with her friends and family and traveling. During her course of schooling in the PA program at King’s, she was able combine two of her favorite things – helping people and traveling; she was able to participate in a medical mission trip to Lima, Peru. While there, she medically assisted over 1,000 patients and was able to run medical clinics to inform and assist those in and around the community of different common medical conditions. This experience reaffirmed her love for volunteering, and she is hoping to be able to go on another medical mission trip soon. In her free time, she also is trying to learn a third language, since she is already able to speak English and Spanish.

New Jersey Spine Specialists treat a variety of spine disorders. Through cutting-edge technology, we can help relieve patients of painful symptoms. New Jersey Spine Specialists has offices in Montclair and Summit, convenient to communities throughout northern New Jersey and the New York tri-state region. With a staff of recognized spinal care experts and nationally recognized board certified orthopedic surgeons, we also draw patients from across the country and around the world as well as from local communities from Maplewood and Morristown to Warren, Watchung and Hackensack. If you want to learn more about what our staff can do to help with your back problem, just call or email us to schedule a consultation. NJSS also offers remote telemedicine sessions and phone consultations for a variety of spine-related needs. Virtual appointments are a great option for patients with hectic schedules and cannot visit the office during normal hours.