James Henry Mooney, MD, was born in 1990 in London, UK, and lived abroad in London, Hong Kong and Singapore before moving to the United States in 1998. He graduated from The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey in 2008 where he played basketball, varsity baseball and was captain of the varsity soccer team his senior year. He then moved to Amherst, Massachusetts where he graduated in 2012 with honors in neuroscience. At Amherst, Dr. Mooney was a two-time captain, all-region and All-NESCAC standout for the men’s soccer team, winning the league championship three times while making the NCAA tournament every year including the NCAA Final Four. Dr. Mooney attended the Temple University School of Medicine, where he graduated with multiple honors.
Dr. Mooney completed his neurosurgical training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and is currently further specializing with a fellowship in minimally invasive and complex spine surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Mooney has demonstrated a distinguished academic and professional trajectory in neurosurgery, particularly focusing on spine surgery. He has published or submitted more than 50 manuscripts, six textbook chapters and given more than 50 oral presentations at regional and national neurosurgical meetings. His previous awards and funding include the $15,000 Stewart B. Dunsker Award, the McCravey Clinical Science Award (Southern Neurosurgical Society), the Charles Kuntz Scholar Award (AANS/CNS Joint Spine Section), the Richard B. Morawetz MD Resident Prize for Research and the UAB Department of Neurosurgery Award for Resident Leadership.
Beyond operating and research, Dr. Mooney is an accomplished pianist and enjoys golf, marathon running, skiing and wakeboarding. He serves as an ad hoc reviewer for numerous journals including World Neurosurgery, Global Spine Surgery and the Journal of Spine Surgery. His grandfather, also James Mooney, MD, was a neurosurgeon who practiced in the Pittsburgh and Princeton, New Jersey areas.
Specialized Areas of Interest
Complex spine surgery; minimally invasive spine surgery; spinal robotics; traumatic brain injury; concussion.
Hospital Privileges
Pittsburgh VA Hospital
UPMC Presbyterian
UPMC Shadyside
Professional Organization Membership
American Association of Neurological Surgeons
American Medical Association
AO Spine
Congress of Neurological Surgeons
Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
North American Spine Society
Education & Training
- BA, Neuroscience, Amherst College, 2012
- MD, Temple University, 2017
- Residency, Neurosurgery, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2024
Honors & Awards
- Award for Resident Leadership, University of Alabama, Birmingham, 2024
- McCravey Clinical Science Award, Southern Neurosurgical Society Meeting, 2024
- Charles Kuntz Scholar Award, AANS/CNS Spine Section, 2023
- Hands on Surgical Techniques Course Scholarship, Cervical Spine Research Society, 2022
- Institutional Award, Interfacet Fusion Biomechanics
- Stewart B. Dunsker Award, 2022
- Richard B. Morawetz, MD Resident Prize for Research, 2021
- First Place, Trauma and Critical Care Eposter Award, AANS Annual Scientific Meeting, 2019
- Friends of Amherst Athletics Award, Amherst College, 2013
- The Manstein Family Award, Amherst, 2013
- Cum Laude, Amherst College, 2012
- Amherst College Men’s Soccer Team Captain, 2011, 2012
- New England Small College Athletic Conference Soccer All-Academic All-Region Team, 2008-12