American Pain Society Presents 2009 Achievement Awards

Newswise — The American Pain Society (APS), www.ampainsoc.org, today announced the winners of its prestigious annual achievement awards at a gala held during the organization's annual scientific meeting.

Every year, APS rewards excellence in the field of pain management by presenting six separate awards for career achievement, pain scholarship, education and public service, advocacy on behalf of children, outstanding service to APS, and early career achievements.

"Through its achievement awards, the American Pain Society recognizes excellence in improving the understanding of pain management among health care professionals and the general public," said APS President Charles E. Inturrisi, PhD, professor of pharmacology, Weill Cornell Medical Center. "We congratulate these individuals and pay tribute to their dedication and service on behalf of those with chronic and acute pain."

The Wilbert E. Fordyce Clinical Investigator Award recognizes career achievement in clinical research and is awarded to Roger Fillingim, PhD, professor, College of Dentistry, University of Florida, and staff psychologist, North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System. Dr. Fillingim's research interests are devoted to exploring individual differences in pain and analgesia. He has received numerous grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), published more than 100 scientific articles and book chapters, edited and authored books about pain, and serves on multiple NIH review panels and editorial boards of four journals

The Frederick W.L. Kerr Basic Science Research Award honors individual excellence and achievements in clinical pain scholarship and is named in honor of the founder of the APS, Frederick W.L. Kerr. It is awarded this year to Joyce DeLeo, PhD, professor and chair of pharmacology and toxicology at Dartmouth University Medical School, where she has been instrumental in developing and directing the Neuroscience Center. Dr. DeLeo also is co-director of a translational neuroscience postdoctoral training program and worked to develop an interdisciplinary graduate program. She serves on numerous NIH study sections, international grant review boards, editorial boards, has mentored many students, post doctoral fellows and faculty, and has published more than 140 peer-reviewed manuscripts, reviews and book chapters.

In recognition of the longstanding APS interest in promoting improved pain management in pediatric health care settings, the Jeffrey Lawson Award recognizes advocacy efforts to improve pain management in children. It was established in 1996 in memory of Jeffrey Lawson and in recognition of his mother, Jill, for her efforts to end the practice of performing surgery and other procedures on children without anesthesia. This year's recipient is Patrick McGrath, PhD, vice president-research, IWK Health Center, Halifax, and Canada Research Chair and professor of psychology, pediatrics and psychiatry at Dalhousie University. Dr. McGrath serves on the Governing Council of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and is the principal investigator of the CIHR Strategic Training Program on Pain in Child Health.

The Elizabeth Narcessian Award recognizes outstanding educational achievements in pain management. Dr. Narcessian was an educator known for her lifelong interests in appropriate use of opioids, patient assessment and approaches to rehabilitating patients with chronic pain. The awardee is Carmen R. Green, MD, associate professor of anesthesiology, University of Michigan and a faculty associate at the Institute of Social Research at Michigan. Dr. Green also serves as director, health disparities research program, Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research. Her research interests are devoted to pain management outcomes, physician decision making and access to care. She has spoken widely on disparities, structural barriers to health care, physician variability in pain management decision making and health policy.

The Distinguished Service Award for outstanding and dedicated service to APS is awarded to Sandra E. Ward, PhD, RN, professor of nursing, University of Wisconsin School of Nursing. Her research and teaching interests focus on psychosocial oncology and patient-centered interventions in cancer. Dr. Ward's service activities include numerous NIH grant review panels, a term on the APS Board Directors and chairing the APS Small Grants Program. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and received the 2008 Midwest Nursing Research Society Distinguished Contribution to Research Award. The John and Emma Bonica Public Service Award pays tribute to this couple for their leadership in the pain-treatment movement. It recognizes contributions by an individual or organization through public education, public service or other vehicles to communicate information about pain. The 2009 recipient is Ada Rogers, RN, a former US Cadet Nurse who has spent most of her 45 years in the profession in analgesic research and pain management at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Known affectionately as the 'Pain Lady', she serves on the Board of Directors for the Eastern Pain Association and won the organization's John J. Bonica Award in 1990.

To recognize early career achievement in pain scholarship, APS created the John C. Liebeskind Early Career Scholar Award. It is awarded to Steven Z. George, PhD, PT, assistant professor of physical therapy, University of Florida. Dr. George's primary research interests are devoted to the utilization of biopsychosocial models for prevention and treatment of musculoskeletal pain. His current research projects include developing and testing behavioral interventions for patients with low back pain, developing low back pain prevention programs for U.S. Army soldiers, investigating mechanisms of manual therapy, and developing models for predicting chronic shoulder pain.

The Kathleen M. Foley Journalist Award recognizes excellence in reporting pain-related topics. The award is designed to honor the work of journalists whose coverage of events, scientific discoveries, patient care, issues and policies contribute to furthering public awareness and understanding of pain and pain-related issues. Atul Gawande, MD is the recipient for his article published June 30, 2008 in The New Yorker titled "The Itch." He wrote a compelling and fascinating account describing severe, unimaginable cases of chronic itch and the devastation that occurred for its victims. Dr. Gawande has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1998 and is a general and endocrine surgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. In 2006, he received a MacArthur Award for his research and writing.

About the American Pain SocietyBased in Glenview, Ill., the American Pain Society (APS) is a multidisciplinary community that brings together a diverse group of scientists, clinicians and other professionals to increase the knowledge of pain and transform public policy and clinical practice to reduce pain-related suffering. APS was founded in 1978 with 510 charter members. From the outset, the group was conceived as a multidisciplinary organization. APS has enjoyed solid growth since its early days and today has approximately 3,200 members. The Board of Directors includes physicians, nurses, psychologists, basic scientists, pharmacists, policy analysts and more.