USF Department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery

Dr. Murray graduated from Loyola University Chicago with a bachelors degree in Biochemistry. He obtained his medical degree from Florida State University College of Medicine and Family Medicine Residency at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, Florida. He completed a Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship at USF Morsani College of Medicine and has a Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ) in Sports Medicine. Dr. Murray serves as Team Physician for the Department of Athletics at the University of South Florida and cares for concussion patients at the USF Concussion Center. He also enjoys working as a primary care physician within USF Family Medicine department, seeing athletes ranging from young rookies to seniors with silver sneakers.

Dr. Kevin Hughes II is a board-certified Family Medicine physician and Core Faculty member in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine. His professional mission is to advance patient-centered primary care by combining excellence in clinical practice, medical education, physician leadership, and healthcare innovation.

Prior to joining USF Health, Dr. Hughes served as Vice Chair of Clinical Operations and Medical Director for UBMD Primary Care at the University at Buffalo, where he led operational initiatives across academic primary care practices focused on quality improvement, population health, interdisciplinary collaboration, and value-based care.

At USF, Dr. Hughes is dedicated to educating and mentoring medical students and family medicine residents while continuing to develop innovative clinical systems that improve patient outcomes, physician well-being, and organizational performance. His long-term academic interests include healthcare operations, implementation science, practice transformation, preventive medicine, and collaborative research that bridges clinical care, education, and health systems leadership.

Endoscopy enables spine surgeries with quarter-inch incisions, resulting in less trauma to muscles and ligaments. As a result, patients benefit from quicker recovery in outpatient settings. Most disc herniations can now be treated without the need for drilling into the bony elements.

My path to becoming a spine surgeon started during a time marked by complications like infections and spinal instability, even for minor procedures. I concentrated on refining minimally invasive techniques, employing tools like tubular retractors and microscopes, which are currently gaining recognition.

During my residency, I suffered from an L5/S1 herniated disc, which led me to explore even less invasive approaches, such as endoscopy. Learning from pioneers around the world, I subsequently dedicated my fellowship to mastering these techniques.

To the best of my knowledge, I am the sole fellowship-trained endoscopic spine surgeon in the region and am thrilled to introduce this cutting-edge technology to the Tampa area.

An accomplished physician and medical administrator in Tampa, Florida, Dr. Paul C. Kuo holds an MD from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and an MBA from the Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School. He went on to complete high-tech studies to secure MS degrees in medical informatics at Northwestern University and predictive analytics at DePaul University. Paul C. Kuo, MD, is also a dedicated member of the U.S. military who formerly supported Afghanistan's Operation Freedom as a member of the 697th FST/GHOST Team and currently serves as a general surgeon with the United States Army Reserve Medical Corps.

Dr. Paul C. Kuo's principal employer since 2017 has been the University of South Florida (USF). Dr. Kuo instrucuts students as a professor of both Department of Surgery, Morsani College of Medicine, and Information Systems and Decision Sciences, Muma College of Business. Dr. Kuo also treats patients and oversees perioperative services at Tampa General Hospital, a teaching hospital affiliated with the USF Morsani College of Medicine.