Speakers

Dario J. Englot, MD PhD Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery

Dr. Englot is a tenured Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery, Neurology, Radiology, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University. He is also the Director of Functional Neurosurgery and the Surgical Director of Epilepsy at the Vanderbilt. Dr. Englot leads the Brain Imaging and Electrophysiology Network (BIEN) lab at Vanderbilt, which studies brain network dysfunction in epilepsy and other disorders in functional neurosurgery using neuroimaging and electrophysiology techniques. He also serves as Chair of the Surgical Therapies Commission of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), and on the board of the American Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery (ASSFN).

Steven M. Falowski, MD Functional Neurosurgeon

Board Certified Functional NeurosurgeonBoard of Directors, International Neuromodulation SocietySenior Advisor Board, North American Neuromodulation SocietySecretary/Treasurer-Executive Pain Committee, Congress Neurological Surgeons/American Association Neurological Surgeons

Megan A. Filoramo, MSN RN-BC, APRN-BC, PGMT-BC, AP-PMN, IHWNC-BC Nurse Practitioner

Megan Filoramo, APN has been part of the pain team at New Jersey Pain Consultants/Altair Health for the last 23 years. She specializes in the care and maintenance of the chronic pain patient through medication management, complementary modalities, referral for interventional procedures, and neuromodulation selection and education. In addition, she serves as Master Faculty for the American Society for Pain Management Nursing, as Co-Chair for the Pain Management Specialty Practice Group for the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, and as the Membership Chair for the NANS Advanced Practice Provider group. Megan is also a board certified Integrative Health and Wellness Nurse Coach. In addition to using this certification in her pain management practice, she has a private coaching practice focusing on wellness promotion and burnout prevention for nurses in the workforce. As a dedicated educator, she actively seeks out opportunities to add to the pain management knowledge base and the overall health of her peers and her patients.

Glenn Franken, PhD Postdoctoral researcher

Dr. Glenn Franken is a postdoctoral researcher at the Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC+), with over 6 years of experience in the field of neuromodulation and pain research. During his PhD, he investigated the efficacy and GABAergic mechanisms of action of Dorsal Root Ganglion Stimulation (DRGS) in experimental models of chronic neuropathic pain. He was recently awarded a prestigious Rubicon grant (NWO, The Netherlands) to study the effects of neuromodulatory therapies such as DRGS and Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) on electrophysiological responses of identified neuronal cell populations in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord at King’s College London.

Damean W. Freas, DO CEO

Damean Freas, DO, FAAPMR is the Chief Executive Officer for Clearway Pain Solutions LLC. He is Board Certified and Fellowship trained in Pain Medicine. In 2016, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan appointed Dr. Freas as the Chairman, Maryland Board of Physicians. The Maryland Board of Medicine is the third largest in the country in terms of the number of licensed professionals that they oversee. Dr. Freas is the youngest Chairman in the Board’s history. He further serves as the AMA’s multispecialty Relative Value Update Committee (RUC) Advisor for North American Neuromodulation Society. Dr. Freas is listed as one of the “150 Pain Management Physicians to Know” by Becker’s ASC Review. He was also rated one of the “Rising Stars of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation” for Washington DC-Baltimore-Northern Virginia by Washington Post Magazine. Dr. Freas was voted What’s Up Annapolis and What’s Up Eastern Shore magazine TOP DOC by his peers.

Patrick D. Ganzer, PhD Assistant Professor

Patrick D. Ganzer, Ph.D. is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Miami (jointly appointed at The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis and the Department of Biomedical Engineering). He received his undergraduate degree in 2008 from King’s College in Neuroscience. In 2013, he received his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering and Science from Drexel University, conducting research in preclinical models of spinal cord injury. Dr. Ganzer then completed his postdoctoral fellowship in 2017 at the University of Texas at Dallas and the Texas Biomedical Device Center with Drs. Robert Rennaker and Michael Kilgard (research focused on enhancing neuroplasticity after sensorimotor injury using targeted vagus nerve stimulation). Dr. Ganzer also has significant experience researching and developing neurotechnology in industry, working at Battelle Memorial Institute from 2017-2021 in the Medical Devices and Neuromodulation division. At Battelle, Dr. Ganzer was PI for both the internally funded Bioelectronic Medicine program and the N3 program funded by DARPA. Dr. Ganzer’s neurotechnology teams have received multiple awards for their impact on the field of translational neurotechnology. Their research has been published in several high impact journals (e.g., Cell, Nature Communications, Science Advances, and eLife), highlighted in the popular press (e.g., US News, Wired Magazine, Reuters, and MATLAB), and importantly translated to multiple clinical trials to help people with disease and dysfunction.

Christopher Gilligan, MD MBA Chief, Division of Pain Medicine

10 years of interventional pain practice preceded by 1 year ACGME Pain Medicine Fellowship. Chief, Division of Pain Medicine; Vice Chair of Strategy, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine; Director, Spine CenterBrigham and Women's Hospital / Harvard Medical School.

Christopher A. Gilmore, MD Attending Physician

Dr. Christopher A. Gilmore, a magna cum laude graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA, received his medical degree from the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis. He then completed a residency in anesthesiology at the University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville, obtaining Board Certification in Anesthesiology in April of 2006. He followed that with a Pain Medicine Fellowship at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, gaining subspecialty certification in Pain Medicine in 2007.Dr. Gilmore is a partner at the Carolinas Pain Institute in Winston-Salem. He is well versed in medication management, interventional techniques, spinal cord and peripheral nerve stimulation, and intrathecal drug delivery.y.

Christy A. Gomez Hupe, APRN Advanced Practice Provider

Christy Gomez Hupe is an advanced practice nurse at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She specializes in neurosurgery with a focus on functional neurosurgery. Christy has over 16 years of experience in this field and participates in the care and management of patients with a variety of neurological conditions including pain, movement disorders, epilepsy and brain tumors. Her areas of interest include surgical treatment of pain and movement disorders.

Johnathan H. Goree, MD Assistant Professor/ Director of Chronic Pain Division

Dr. Johnathan Goree is the Director of the Chronic Pain Division, Program Director of the Chronic Pain Fellowship, Chief of Staff-Elect, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Dr. Goree is board certified in both anesthesiology and pain medicine. He completed both his medical degree and a residency in anesthesiology at the Weill College of Medicine at Cornell University and his pain fellowship at Emory University in Atlanta.

Jay S. Grider, DO PhD MBA Professor

Intrathecal Drug DeliverySpinal cord stimulation.

Warren M. Grill, PhD Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Warren M. Grill is the Edmund T. Pratt, Jr. School Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University. He received the B.S. degree in biomedical engineering from Boston University and the Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Case Western Reserve University. His research interests are in neural engineering and neuromodulation, and he has published over 235 peer reviewed journal articles and has been awarded 65 US patents. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, a Fellow of the Biomedical Engineering Society, and was awarded a Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award by NIH-NINDS.

Maged Guirguis, MD System Chair

Maged Guirguis, MD, serves as the System Chair of the pain management department at Ochsner health system. He is an Associate Professor for The University of Queensland Ochsner Clinical School where he also serves as the pain/palliative medicine rotation director as well as serving as a Clinical Assistant Professor in Louisiana State University School of Medicine. After completing a residency in internal medicine in his home country. He joined the Cleveland Clinic Foundation for a research fellowship in pain medicine after which he completed his residency in anesthesiology and clinical fellowship in pain management. Dr. Guirguis is triple board certified in anesthesiology, pain medicine and headache management Dr. Guirguis published numerous papers and book chapters as well as presented various studies and peer reviewed abstracts on pain medicine at national and international meetings. He serves as a faculty and meeting chairman for the American society of regional anesthesia and pain medicine. Also serves as faculty and member of the pain educational committee for the American society of anesthesiology and in both the research and education committees for the international neuromodulation and North American neuromodulation society. He has a special interest in neuromodulation, headaches management and ultrasound guided interventions for acute and chronic pain.

Amitabh Gulati, MD Associate Attending

15 years of practice and am an Interventional Cancer Pain Medicine Specialist

Ashish Gulve, MD Consultant in Pain Management

Dr Gulve is a Consultant in Pain Management at the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough since 2006. He is a lead for the Pain Service. He has worked as an Instructor in Pain Management at the Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis, USA for one year in 2005. He is a President of the Neuromodulation Society of UK & Ireland and Honorary Treasurer of the British Pain Society. He is an active member of the Training and Assessment Committee of the Faculty of Pain Medicine and a National Lead for Pain Medicine in the Medical Training Initiative (MTI) scheme of the Royal College of Anaesthetists. He is a Patient Safety Ambassador across the Neurosciences Collaborative for South Tees Hospitals NHS Trust.He is specialised in interventional pain management and has got more than 15 years experience in Neuromodulation. He is interested in new innovations in the field of Neuromodulation and indeed was first in the UK to use many new innovations. He mentors younger colleagues and teaches and trains pain professionals in the UK and across Europe.He is involved in number of clinical research trials involving neuromodulation and has many national and international presentations and publications to his credit.

Aysegul Gunduz, PhD Associate Professor

I am an Assosciate Professor of Biomedical Engineering, and have over 15 years of experience working with neurosurgical patients. I am the MPI of two NIH DBS studies.

Jonathan M. Hagedorn, MD Physician, Director of Clinical Research

I am a board certified anesthesiologist and pain medicine physician at iSpine Pain Physicians in Burnsville, MN. I currently serve as Director of Clinical Research for our busy practice. Prior to this, I spent three years at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN and led the implantable pain therapies practice as Director of Neuromodulation.

Mayank Gupta, MD MD

Dr. Gupta is President, CEO of Kansas Pain Management, Founder of Neuroscience Research Center, President of Kansas Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (KSIPP), and Adjunct Clinical Professor at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences. Dr. Gupta’s expertise is in neuromodulation therapy for chronic abdominal pain, complex back and neck pain with failed surgery, and a variety of other interventional treatments. His outpatient practice serves four locations with presence in Kansas City metropolitan and surrounding rural areas. Hospital Affiliations include Overland Park Regional Medical Center, Menorah Medical Center, Advent Health Hospital, and St. Luke’s South Surgery Center. His research center conducts multi-center, Phase I-IV pain management focused neuromodulation medical device clinical trials as well as other interventional therapy, drug, and Investigator Initiated studies. He is one of few physicians in the country to perform ultrasound-guided occipital nerve radiofrequency ablation for headaches and radiofrequency of splanchnic nerve for chronic abdominal pain.

Jennifer M. Hah, MD MS Assistant Professor

Dr. Jennifer Hah is triple boarded in anesthesiology, pain medicine, and addiction medicine. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine at Stanford University. She has practiced pain medicine over a decade educating trainees and clinicians in ultrasound-guided interventions, neuromodulation, and evidence-based treatments at the cutting edge. As a clinical epidemiologist and physician-scientist, she leads NIH-funded research at the intersection between mood, pain and medication use. She is the director of the Stanford Pelvic Pain program with a clinical focus on treating both men and women suffering from a wide range of conditions including endometriosis, pelvic floor myalgias, vulvodynia and painful bladder syndrome.

Lee F. Hartley, PhD CTO

I am an Electrical Engineer by formal training that loves life on the boundary between medicine and engineering. I have been developing implantable medical devices and interdisciplinary systems for ~30 years. I participated in the founding of Nalu Medical in 2014 after 15 years of advancing cochlear implant technology at Advanced Bionics. My EE PhD research involved hybrid microfluidic systems for oncology related lab on chip applications and related industrialization methods. In my early career, before transitioning to med tech, I spent ~10 years designing commercial wireless optical communication chips and systems.

Salim M. Hayek, MD PhD Professor, Dept. of Anesthesiology, Case Western Reserve University

20 years of experience Fellowship trained Pain Medicine Fellowship Program Director Chief, Division of Pain Medicine University Hospitals Case Medical Center.

Mary M. Heinricher, PhD Professor

Dr. Mary Heinricher studies brainstem mechanisms of pain modulation. After receiving her PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience at Northwestern University, she went to UCSF for post-doctoral work with Dr. Howard Fields, and stayed there as faculty until her recruitment to Oregon Health & Science University in 1995 where she is a Professor of Neurological Surgery and Behavioral Neuroscience. Her work focuses on the properties of brainstem neurons that modulate pain by enhancing or suppressing transmission of nociceptive information from the spinal cord up to the brain. Using a combination of electrophysiology, optogenetics, behavioral testing, and pharmacological manipulation, her group has shown that the neural basis for bi-directional control of pain from the brainstem is two physiologically and pharmacologically distinct classes of neurons: 'off-cells,' which exert a net inhibitory effect on nociception, and “on-cells', which have a facilitating action. These neurons become sensitized in pathological pain states, such as following nerve injury or in chronic inflammation. She is now starting to ask how these brainstem pain-modulating systems interact with other sensory systems, and how they are engaged by higher centers to enhance or suppress pain, e.g., during stress or by non-somatic sensory stimuli.

Shawn Hochman, PhD Professor

My research has spanned several decades primarily focusing on neuromodulation-based spinal plasticity involving the biogenic amine modulators serotonin, nor-epinephrine and dopamine. These transmitters have been linked to network reconfiguration of the spinal cord locomotor, autonomic and sensory systems. Recently, we use adult ex vivo isolated mammalian spinal cord, paravertebral sympathetic chain and truncal skin-nerve models as accessible systems for higher throughput studies. We also use of electric field sensors for continuous characterization of rodent physio-behavioral variables in their home-cage.

Bryan C. Hoelzer, MD Pain Management Physician

Bryan Hoelzer completed his medical degree at Tulane University in New Orleans. Following medical school he completed his internship, residency and fellowship training at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. After completing his training, Dr. Hoelzer was honored to stay on Staff at the Mayo Clinic where worked in the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine. While at Mayo he served as the Director for the Pain Medicine Fellowship, the Director of Neuromodulation, and was the recipient of the Karis Award. Nationally, Dr. Hoelzer has served as the President of the Association of Pain Program Directors and the Co-chair of the North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS) Cadaver Workshops. Currently, he is on the Board of Directors for NANS. Dr. Hoelzer has authored over 36 peer reviewed medical articles and book chapters.Dr. Hoelzer has a special interest in utilization of spinal cord and peripheral nerve stimulation to treat chronic pain. He also serves as a national instructor in minimally invasive surgical techniques to treat spinal stenosis.In 2017 Dr. Hoelzer relocated from Minnesota to Provo Utah where he works at Southwest Spine and Pain Center.

Chelsey Hoffmann, PA-C, MS, RD Academic Co-Director

Chelsey is currently Academic Co-Director of the Mayo Clinic Physician Assistant Program in Rochester, Minnesota. Prior to her full-time appointment in education, she was a PA for nearly 8 years with the Mayo Clinic Department of Anesthesiology, Division of Pain Medicine, practicing pain management in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. She is Chair of the NANS APP Subcommittee and Co-Director for the annual Mayo Clinic Physician Assistant Board Review Course. Her current research interests include: student wellness in PA education, PA educator and pain medicine provider burnout, spinal cord stimulation for chronic pain, and management of temporary peripheral nerve stimulators..

Andreas Horn, MD PhD Associate Professor

Andreas is interested in connectivity and causality in the brain, the human connectome and its structure-function relationship. As a clinical case of connectomics, he studies effects of deep brain stimulation on aberrant circuitries that lead to movement disorders. Both interests are often realized by furthering development of an openly available processing toolbox (www.lead-dbs.org / www.leadsuite.io). Academic home at www.netstim.org.

Eric Hudak, PhD Program Director

Eric Hudak, Ph.D. is a Program Director in the Division of Translational Research at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Dr. Hudak manages a portfolio of NINDS, HEAL Initiative, and BRAIN Initiative translational device awards in the areas of brain-computer interfaces (for prosthesis control, sensory perception, and communication), sensory prostheses, peripheral and spinal devices for pain, and neural-controlled prosthetic limbs. Additionally, Dr. Hudak is the program lead for the HEAL Initiative Translational Devices program and the HEAL Diversity Supplement program, and is a co-lead for the SPARC HORNET program. Dr. Hudak received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Chemistry from The University of Toledo (2004 – Toledo, OH) and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University (2011 – Cleveland, OH). As a graduate student, Dr. Hudak examined the electrochemistry of platinum and conductive-diamond electrodes to uncover potential causes of tissue damage from electrical stimulation and to point to ways of improving the use of these materials in neural stimulation applications. Before joining the NIH in 2019, Dr. Hudak was a Principal Research Scientist in the Department of Research & Technology at Advanced Bionics, a leading producer of cochlear implants. At Advanced Bionics, Dr. Hudak led research projects to enhance the properties, safety, and reliability of cochlear implant device materials and components, including electrodes, electrode arrays, feedthroughs, insulation materials, connectors, and medical batteries.

Christine Hunt, DO Assistant Professor

Dr. Hunt is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pain Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL. She completed residency in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation prior to completing a Pain Medicine fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Although she treats a wide variety of pain conditions, she has particular clinical and research interests in regenerative medicine, neuromodulation, and treatment of neuropathic pain in spinal cord injury, brachial plexus avulsion injury and complex regional pain syndrome.

Corey W. Hunter, MD Executive Director

Corey W. Hunter, M.D. is an interventional pain management physician practicing in New York City, holding board certifications in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation as well as Pain Medicine. Dr. Hunter is the Executive Director of the Ainsworth Institute of Pain Management in New York City and also holds an appointment as Assistant Clinical Professor in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation at the Icahn School of Medicine at the Mount Sinai Medical Center. Dr. Hunter continues to be active in clinical research, serving as the principle investigator on a number of clinical trials on emerging neuromodulation technologies and regenerative medicine. Dr. Hunter also has keen interest in teaching and writing; he is well-published with his work appearing in a number peer-reviewed journals and textbooks on a wide variety of topics that includes DRG Stimulation, pelvic pain, regenerative medicine, amputee pain, advanced spinal cord stimulation techniques, and targeted drug delivery to name a few.

Jaleesa Jackson, MD Assistant Professor, Director of DEI, UAMS Anesthesia

Dr. Jaleesa Jackson is a native of Jacksonville, Florida. She attended medical school at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She then moved to Boston to train in Anesthesiology and Interventional Pain Medicine at the Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital program for both residency and fellowship. She now practices as an Interventional Pain physician at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Her main clinical interests include the treatment of cancer pain and sickle cell disease related pain. She also serves as the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Department of Anesthesia at UAMS.

Frank J.P.M. Huygen, MD PhD Professor

Frank Huygen is working as an anesthesiologist pain specialist in the University Hospital Erasmusmc in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. He is head of the center of pain medicine, a multidisciplinary pain clinic specialized in acute, chronic benign and oncologic pain and palliative care. In 2009 he is appointed as full Professor in Anesthesiology especially Pain Medicine. In 2020, he is also part-time appointed as full Professor in Pain Medicine at the University Medical Center Utrecht. In 2007 he graduated as fellow of interventional pain practice (World Institute of Pain). He is especially interested in the Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). In 2004, he received a PhD on writing a thesis entitled “Neuroimmune alterations in the Complex Regional Pain Syndrome”. He is principal investigator in several research lines especially focusing on CRPS and neuromodulation. He is member of the Board of Directors of the International Research Consortium for CRPS (40 collaborating research sites worldwide). Since 2004 he supervised and finished successfully 5 PhD co-promotor ships and 19 promotor ships. He authored over more than 200 peer reviewed articles (H index 47) and chapters in books and journals. He is member of the editorial boards of the journal of Pain Practice and the journal of Neuromodulation. Frank Huygen has a basic qualification for education (BKO April 2020). He is involved in the education of students at the faculty of Medicine at Erasmusmc and the UMC Utrecht and the faculty of Clinical Technology at the Technical University of Delft. He participates in the training of anesthesia residents and fellows in Pain Medicine. Frank Huygen is chair of the Education Committee of the European Pain Federation (EFIC) from 2020 till 2023.In 2019 he chaired the scientific committee of the 11th EFIC World congress of pain in Valencia. He is member of the scientific committees of the 12th EFIC World congress of pain in Dublin 2022, the 15th INS World congress of pain in Barcelona and the IASP 2022 World congress of pain in Toronto. In 2011 he received the IASP research international collaboration grant. In January 2016 he received an honorary fellowship in the faculty of pain medicine in the college of anesthetists of Ireland. Frank Huygen is member of the scientific advisory boards of the patient association in the Netherlands (Patiëntvereniging CRPS) and the United States (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association). In January 2013 he is appointed as member professional for Anesthesiology Pain medicine at the Dutch central disciplinary tribunal for healthcare in The Hague.

Michael J. Joyner, MD Professor of Anesthesiology

Michael J. Joyner, M.D., is a consultant and vice chair for research in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, with joint appointments in the Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, and the Department of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Joyner joined the staff of Mayo Clinic in 1992 and holds the academic rank of professor of anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. He is recognized with the distinction of the Frank R. and Shari Caywood Professorship in Anesthesiology.

Focus area:

• Convalescent plasma. Dr. Joyner is leading a national program sponsored by the U.S. Government to coordinate the collection and distribution of COVID-19 convalescent plasma for the treatment of individuals with severe or life-threatening disease.
• Blood flow during exercise. Blood flow to exercising skeletal muscle can increase 50 to 100 times above resting values. Dr. Joyner's group is interested in the mechanisms that drive this increase in flow.              
• Blood pressure regulation. Blood pressure is regulated by complex interactions among the nervous system, heart and blood vessels. Dr. Joyner's group is interested in how these interactions are affected by the sex and age of the subject.          
• Blood glucose regulation. Glucose levels in the blood are tightly regulated to guard against hypoglycemia. Dr. Joyner and his collaborators are studying the novel idea that sensors in the body that respond to hypoxia also control blood glucose.  
• Breathing in heart failure. In heart failure, breathing during exercise can be excessive. Dr. Joyner and his collaborators have novel data suggesting that signals from the exercising muscle are driving ventilation in heart failure.     
• Physiology of elite athletes. Elite athletic performances are experiments in nature on the limits of human physiology. Dr. Joyner uses data from real-world competitions to understand the limits of human physiology.               
• Cognitive impairment and heart disease. Cognitive impairment is associated with risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Dr. Joyner and his collaborators are studying how aging and fitness influence brain blood vessels in humans.