Speakers

Learn about the speakers who will present at the NANS 2023 Annual Meeting.

Parag G. Patil, MD PhD -- Associate Professor

Parag G. Patil, MD PhD Associate Professor

Dr. Patil is currently Associate Professor of Neurosurgery, Neurology, Anesthesiology, and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan. He is Associate Chair for Clinical and Translational Research and leads the Program in Restorative Neuroengineering. His NIH-funded research applies engineering, and imaging techniques to better understand the neurophysiology and clinical efficacy of neuromodulation for movement disorders, depression, and pain. Dr. Patil is a member of the NANS Board and is its Chief Compliance Officer.

Facility
University of Michigan
Location
Ann Arbor, MI
Session(s)

The Multiple Edges of the Conflict of Interest Sword

Jason E. Pope, MD DABPM FIPP -- President and CEO

Jason E. Pope, MD DABPM FIPP President and CEO

Dr. Pope is the President and CEO of Evolve Restorative Center in Northern California, USA with offices across Sonoma County. He is the President of the California Society of Interventional Pain Physicians and serves the North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS) as a ex-officio director-at large, Advocacy and Policy Committee co-chair, and is the Annual Meeting co-chair. He serves as a director at large for the International Neuromodulation Society, is the co-chair for the CME committee, the co-chair for the preconference Training Workshop in the biennial meeting in Sydney, Australia, and the co-chair for the Young Neuromodulation Committee. He also is the co-founder the Special Interest Group in Neuromodulation for the American Society of Regional Anesthesia (ASRA). Dr. Pope has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles, while working with medical device start companied and established industry partners up to provide strategic planning and execution for patient-centric adoption and supportive patient outcomes.

Facility
Evolve Restorative Center
Location
Santa Rosa, CA
Session(s)

Intrathecal Drug Delivery for Chronic Pain - Update

Amy Pearson, MD -- Interventional Pain Physician

Amy Pearson, MD Interventional Pain Physician

Amy Pearson, MD, FASA is a board certified anesthesiologist and interventional pain physician. She completed her Anesthesiology Residency and Pain Fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Dr. Pearson was an Assistant Professor at the University of Iowa for nearly 5 years, during which she published over 30 articles on topics such as interventional cancer pain management, peripheral nerve and spinal cord stimulation, interventional pelvic pain management, integrative medicine, and socioeconomic influences on access to care. She has presented her research nationally and internationally. Dr. Pearson is the past president of Women in Anesthesiology and is the American Society of Regional Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine (ASRA) 2022 Annual Meeting Chair.

Facility
Advocate Aurora Healthcare
Location
Wind Point, WI
Session(s)

Do Real World Outcomes Fall Short of Peer Reviewed Research: A Debate/Discussion

The Value of Education for Optimization of Patient Outcomes

We've All Got Homework To Do: Eliminating Inequalities for Patients and Physicians in Interventional Pain and Neuromodulation

Erika A. Petersen, MD -- Professor

Erika A. Petersen, MD Professor

Dr. Erika A. Petersen directs the Section of Functional and Restorative Neurosurgery at UAMS Medical Center. She is a professor in the Department of Neurosurgery at UAMS. Dr. Petersen is a board certified neurosurgeon whose clinical practice focuses on neuromodulation, treating movement disorders, spasticity, and chronic pain through surgical procedures and stereotactic radiosurgery. Dr. Petersen's research interests focus on developing new devices, indications, and methods for treating chronic pain using neuromodulation. Dr. Petersen completed her undergraduate education at Princeton University and received her medical degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She trained in neurosurgery at the University of Texas Southwestern with a fellowship in deep brain stimulation at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London. Dr. Petersen serves on the Joint Section on Pain of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS)/Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) and the ASSFN Scientific Programming Committee and sits on the Executive Board of the American Society of Pain and Neuroscience where she is President-elect. She is associate editor of stereotactic and functional neurosurgery for Operative Neurosurgery, and is on the editorial board of Neuromodulation and the Journal of Pain Research. Dr. Petersen lectures frequently at national and international meetings on deep brain stimulation, emerging applications of neuromodulation, and chronic pain management. She has authored numerous articles and book chapters in stereotactic and functional neurosurgery, neuromodulation, and neuroscience.

Facility
UAMS
Location
Little Rock, AR
Session(s)

Do Real World Outcomes Fall Short of Peer Reviewed Research: A Debate/Discussion

Spinal Neuromodulation for Pain: Mechanisms of Action

Do Outcomes of Spinal Cord Stimulation Differ By The Etiology of Pain?

Julie G. Pilitsis, MD PhD -- Dean and Vice President for Medical Affairs

Julie G. Pilitsis, MD PhD Dean and Vice President for Medical Affairs

Julie Pilitsis, MD, PhD, MBA, is Dean of the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine and Vice President for Medical Affairs at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). In her role as dean, she oversees the college’s innovative medical student and graduate medical education programs in partnership with a consortium of five regional hospitals. Prior to joining FAU, Dr. Pilitsis served as division chief of functional neurosurgery and chair and professor of the basic neuroscience department at Albany Medical College (AMC) in New York. As chair of the Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics at AMC, Pilitsis oversaw departmental teaching programs, including graduate school, research and outreach programs such as community service, translational research efforts, alumni relations and development. During her tenure, the department’s grant funding increased tenfold; academic productivity, as measured by publications, has increased fourfold; and graduate students who self-identify as underrepresented in medicine have increased by 40 percent. To date, she has served as Chair of the Joint Section on Pain of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS)/Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS) as well as AANS/CNS Chair of Joint Section for Women in Neurosurgery. She is currently President Elect of the American Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery (ASSFN) and the North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS). She began the NANS and INS Women in Neuromodulation Section where she was the first chair and currently serves as senior advisor. Dr. Pilitsis maintains an NIH sponsored research program focused on device optimization for neuromodulation and has published over 200 journal articles, 4 books, and numerous chapters. She serves as specialty editor of Neuromodulatory Interventions for Frontiers in Pain Research, section editor of functional neurosurgery in Operative Neurosurgery, is on the editorial board of Neuromodulation and Journal of Neurosurgery, and sits on NIH and FDA panels.

Facility
FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine
Location
Boca Raton, FL
Session(s)

Plenary Session I: Neural Interfaces for the Brain and Spine

Elvira Pirondini, PhD -- Assistant Professor

Elvira Pirondini, PhD Assistant Professor

Dr. Elvira Pirondini is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh. She obtained her M.Sc. degree in Bioengineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, in 2012. During this time, she was awarded a fellowship from the Bertarelli Program in Translational Neuroscience and Neuroengineering to carry out her M.Sc. thesis at Harvard Medical School. She then earned her PhD in 2017 at the EPFL, Lausanne, where she was honored with the 2017 Outstanding PhD thesis Distinction in Electrical Engineering. Her thesis focused on robotic rehabilitation for stroke patients and brain imaging. During her PhD, she was the recipient of the Brown Institute for Brain Science Scholar fellowship to conduct part of her training in the department of Neuroscience at Brown University. Dr. Pirondini conducted her post-doctoral training at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and at the Defitech Center for Interventional Neurotherapies of the CHUV hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland. She worked in parallel with human patients and animal models of stroke. Specifically, she worked on the development of a new model of subcortical stroke in primates to understand the neural mechanisms of recovery. She completed these explorations using electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in humans to study restoration mechanisms in stroke patients. She is now interested on developing new neuromodulation, and particularly deep brain stimulation, therapies to boost post-stroke recovery of motor and speech functions. In her talk she will present recent data showing the efficacy of stimulation of the motor thalamus to treat muscle weakness and control in post-stroke motor hemiparesis.

Facility
University of Pittsburgh
Location
Pittsburg, PA
Session(s)

Novel Applications of Neuromodulation for Stroke Rehabilitation

Lawrence Poree, MD PhD MPH -- Director of Neuromodulation

Lawrence Poree, MD PhD MPH Director of Neuromodulation

Dr. Poree is director of the neuromodulation service in the department of anesthesia at the University of California at San Francisco. He has been in private and academic practice for over 20 years and has served on both the national and international neuromodulation societies. He is also a consultant for various neuromodulation companies.

Facility
UCSF Medical Center
Location
San Francisco, CA
Session(s)

Plenary Session II: Late Breaking Abstracts

Nader Pouratian, MD PhD -- Professor and Chair of Neurosurgery

Nader Pouratian, MD PhD Professor and Chair of Neurosurgery

Dr. Nader Pouratian specializes in surgeries to restore and preserve brain function, including deep brain stimulation for movement disorders (and other emerging indications) and surgeries that require brain mapping. In addition, he treats peripheral nerve and brachial plexus injuries and tumors. His research focuses on developing novel interventions and technologies for neurological restoration.

Facility
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Location
Dallas, TX
Session(s)

Neuromodulation for Psychiatric Disorders

Steven A. Prescott, MD PhD -- Senior Scientist

Steven A. Prescott, MD PhD Senior Scientist

Steven Prescott received his MD/PhD from McGill University and pursued postdoctoral training at the Salk Institute. He is now a Senior Scientist at the Hospital for Sick Children and Professor in Physiology and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto. His lab combines electrophysiology, imaging, and computational neuroscience to study neural coding in relation to chronic pain. His lab is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Facility
The Hospital For Sick Children
Location
Toronto, ON, Canada
Session(s)

Neuromodulation Fundamentals: Effects on Neurons

David A. Provenzano, MD -- President

David A. Provenzano, MD President

Dr. David Provenzano is the President of Pain Diagnostics and Interventional Care. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Medical Staff, Western PA Surgery Center. He received his undergraduate degree from Colgate University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and became a Phi Beta Kappa member. He received his medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. He completed a surgical internship at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and a residency in anesthesiology at The Western Pennsylvania Hospital. He completed a Pain Management Fellowship at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. Dr. Provenzano has served as a principal investigator on multiple research studies and published numerous scientific articles. His research interests include neuromodulation, monopolar and bipolar radiofrequency lesioning, and healthcare safety studies. He has lectured at numerous international and national meetings on the management of acute and chronic pain. Furthermore, he serves as an external member of the Robert Morris University IRB. He has clinical teaching appointments including Adjunct Associate Professor in the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Department of Anesthesia – Pain Medicine Fellowship and Adjunct Clinical Instructor Department of Physician Assistant Rangos School of Health Sciences, Duquesne University. Currently, he is an ex officio board member Of the North American Neuromodulation Society and previously served as a Secretary. He serves on the Board of Directors of ASRA Pain Medicine as the President-Elect. He serves on the editorial boards of scientific journals including Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (Editor) and Interventional Pain Medicine (Associate Editor, neuromodulation section). In addition, he is the ASRA Pain Medicine American Medical Association House of Delegates Representative. He has extensive interests and expertise in the conservative treatment of pain originating from the cervical and lumbar spine, neuromodulation and in the utilization of ultrasound for interventional pain management procedures. Dr. Provenzano resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Facility
Pain Diagnostics and Interventional Care
Location
Bridgeville, PA
Session(s)

Plenary Session IV - Maintaining Access: The Future Economic Viability of Neuromodulation

Joshua Prager, MD MS DABPM -- Executive Director

Joshua Prager, MD MS DABPM Executive Director

Dr. Prager is a founding member of NANS and has served two terms as President of the Society. He has been the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award (2012) and the Distinguished Service Award (2018) from NANS. A Harvard (MGH), UCLA, and Stanford trained physician, he has been recognized by the International Neuromodulation Society (INS) for outstanding contributions and dedication (2013) and has received three awards (2007) (2018) (2019) from complex regional pain syndrome organizations for his contributions to the field of CRPS and his care of patients. He was the lead author of a for a Best Practices for Intrathecal therapy publication in Neuromodulation summarizing the findings of a blue ribbon inter-disciplinary international panel.

Facility
Center for the Rehabilitation of Pain Syndromes
Location
Santa Monica, CA
Session(s)

Intrathecal Drug Delivery: From Pharmacy to Pumps

Vikram R. Rao, MD PhD -- Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology

Vikram R. Rao, MD PhD Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology

Dr. Rao attended the University of California (UC) Berkeley for undergraduate studies in Neurobiology before earning his M.D. and Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from UC San Francisco. He completed a Neurology residency at the Brigham & Women’s and Massachusetts General Hospitals in Boston, serving as Chief Resident in his final year. He returned to UC San Francisco for fellowship training in epilepsy and joined the faculty in 2014. He is currently an Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology, Ernest Gallo Distinguished Professor, and Chief of the Epilepsy Division in the Department of Neurology. His clinical and research interests involve applications of neurostimulation devices for drug-resistant epilepsy, neuropsychiatric disorders, and seizure forecasting.

Facility
University of California, San Francisco
Location
San Francisco, CA
Session(s)

Biomarkers for Neuromodulation in Epilepsy

Ahmed Raslan, MD -- Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery

Ahmed Raslan, MD Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery

Dr. Raslan is an associate professor of neurological surgery; he manages patients with a broad spectrum of neurosurgical disorders. He is interested in pain surgery, functional and stereotactic neurosurgery, and epilepsy surgery.in 2012 he completed the OHSU neurological surgery residency program (required for practice in the US). Dr. Raslan joined the faculty of neurological surgery in July 2012.The Functional and Stereotactic Neurosurgery Program encompasses a broad spectrum of surgical treatments to manage and restore neurological function. Special programs include surgical management of movement disorders, surgical pain management, epilepsy surgery, peripheral nerve surgery, surgery for spasticity, surgical treatment of psycho-affective disorders and stereotactic computer assisted neurosurgery.Dr. Raslan's research interests are concerned with the physiology of nociception and pain modulation in the brain stem, image guided surgery and functional neurological localization during surgery using neuromonitoring.Visit the Department of Neurological Surgery's website for information about academics, conferences, residency and fellowships.

Facility
OHSU
Location
Portland, OR
Session(s)

Neuromodulation Outcome (Spine/PNS/Brain): My worst Complication

John D. Rolston, MD PhD -- Faculty of Neurosurgery

John D. Rolston, MD PhD Faculty of Neurosurgery

Dr. John Rolston is a neurosurgeon and neuroscientist at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Clinically, he specializes in epilepsy surgery, deep brain stimulation (DBS) for movement disorders (Parkinson’s, dystonia, tremor), and neuromodulation for psychiatric disorders (such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and Tourette’s syndrome). Dr. Rolston’s lab investigates how electrical stimulation can be used to map and ultimately rewire the diseased brain. These neural engineering tools are used to better understand neural information processing and how it is disordered in illnesses like epilepsy, Parkinson’s, and psychiatric disease.

 

Facility
Harvard Medical School
Location
Boston, MA
Session(s)

Automating Functional Neurosurgical Procedures: From Planning to Programming

Joshua M. Rosenow, MD FACS -- Director, Functional Neurosurgery and Epilepsy Surgery

Joshua M. Rosenow, MD FACS Director, Functional Neurosurgery and Epilepsy Surgery

Dr. Rosenow has over 15 years as director of functional neurosurgery at Northwestern University, managing surgical programs in movement disorders, epilepsy, psychiatric disorders, chronic pain, and neurorestoration and neurorehabilitation. He also serves as chair of the Council of State Neurosurgical Societies and lead national functional neurosurgery advisor for neurosurgical RUC and CPT issues.

Facility
Northwestern Medical Faculty Foundation
Location
Chicago, IL
Session(s)

PNS: A Critical Review

Plenary Session V - Contemporary Debates in Neuromodulation

Michael F. Saulino, MD PhD -- Chair of PMR

Michael F. Saulino, MD PhD Chair of PMR

Dr. Michael Saulino is chair of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Cooper University Hospital. He is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spinal Cord Injury Medicine and Pain Management. Dr. Saulino earned his PhD (Biological Chemistry) and MD degrees from the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine in 1993. He has an academic appointment in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. Dr. Saulino’s areas of clinical and research interest include pain management, spasticity management, neuromodulation, peripheral nerve stimulation and intrathecal therapy.

Facility
Cooper University Hospital
Location
Haverton, PA
Session(s)

Spasticity Update

Intrathecal Therapy: Cased-Based Learning

Dawood Sayed, MD -- Associate Professor

Dawood Sayed, MD Associate Professor

Dr. Sayed is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at the University of Kansas Hospital. Dr. Sayed serves as the Chief of Pain medicine at the University. He established and serves as the Program Director of The Multidisciplinary Pain Medicine Fellowship at the University of Kansas. Additionally, Dr. Sayed serves as the Medical Director of Interventional Pain at the University of Kansas Comprehensive Spine Center as well as the Director of the Center of Neuromodulation at University of Kansas Hospital. He completed his Anesthesiology residency at the University of Kansas and Pain Medicine Fellowship from the Tri-Institute at Cornell Medical Center. Dr. Sayed serves on the Advocacy and Policy, Education, and CPT committee’s of the North American Neuromodulation Society. He lectures and serves as teaching faculty for the American Society of Pain Physicians (ASIPP), North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS), and American Society of Regional Anesthesia (ASRA). His clinical interests include spinal cord stimulation, peripheral nerve stimulation, implanted intrathecal drug delivery, vertebral augmentation, cancer related pain, spinal tumor ablation, and minimally invasive spine surgery. He has lectured both nationally and internationally on the subject of cancer related pain, intrathecal drug delivery, and spinal cord stimulation and has published and written textbook chapters on this subject.

Facility
University of Kansas Hospital
Location
Kansas City, KS
Session(s)

Intrathecal Drug Delivery for Chronic Pain - Update

Marc A. Russo, MD -- Pain Specialist Physician

Marc A. Russo, MD Pain Specialist Physician

Dr. Russo is a Specialist Pain Medicine Physician who has treated over 45,000 patients having established Hunter Pain Specialists (formerly Hunter Pain Clinic), Australia's first multidisciplinary private pain clinic in 1999.He is currently Director of Hunter Pain Specialists, and Director of Hamilton Day Surgery, Genesis Research Services, and Co-Director of Innervate Pain Management Services. He is the founding president of the Neuromodulation Society of Australia and New Zealand, a former Secretary of the International Neuromodulation Society, Scientific Convenor of the INS meeting 2019 and current President of the INS. He is on the Faculty of Pain Medicine Research Committee and the Interventional working Group and is an Examiner for FPM. He has published over 60 papers in the field of pain medicine and is a reviewer for National Health and Medical Research Council as well as a number of international journals. He is a Conjoint Associate Professor at Newcastle University and Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Hong Kong. He has conducted a number of world first implants of Spinal Cord Stimulation as well as First in Man pain studies. His passion is furthering the boundaries of pain medicine and teaching colleagues in state of the art pain management.

Facility
Hunter Pain Specialists
Location
Broadmeadow, NSW Australia
Session(s)

The Multiple Edges of the Conflict of Interest Sword

Michael E. Schatman, PhD -- Clinical Instructor

Michael E. Schatman, PhD Clinical Instructor

Dr. Schatman is a clinical psychologist who has spent the past 35 years working in multidisciplinary chronic pain management. He is currently on the faculties of the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, & Pain Medicine and the Division of Medical Ethics in the Department of Population Health, both at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Dr. Schatman is the author of over 150 journal articles and book chapters on various aspects of chronic pain management, and lectures regularly on pain management on local, national and international bases. He is also the editor of Ethical Issues in Chronic Pain Management and Chronic Pain Management: Guidelines for Multidisciplinary Program Development, both of which were released by Informa Healthcare in 2007. Much of his current research is on opioid risk mitigation, with an emphasis on appropriate utilization of state Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs. Dr. Schatman is a member of the Editorial Boards of numerous journals. For the past 8 years, he has served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Pain Research. He is the past-Chairperson of the Ethics Special Interest Group of the American Pain Society, is currently the Chair of the Ethics Committee of the American Academy of Pain Medicine, and is on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Pain Educators – which named him 2011 Clinical Pain Educator of the Year.

Facility
NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Location
Kingston, MA
Session(s)

The Practical Challenges of Neuromodulation Research

Neuromodulation Outcome (Spine/PNS/Brain): My worst Complication

Nathaniel M. Schuster, MD -- Associate Professor and Associate Clinic Director

Nathaniel M. Schuster, MD Associate Professor and Associate Clinic Director

Dr. Nathaniel Schuster is a headache and pain neurologist and is associate professor and associate clinic director at the UC San Diego Center for Pain Medicine. He is executive vice president of the World Headache Society, recipient of the Migraine Research Foundation 2018 Impact Award, and section editor for the Neuropathic Pain section for the journal Pain Medicine. He graduated from University of Michigan Medical School and completed neurology residency at UCLA, headache fellowship at Montefiore Headache Center, and pain fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. His research interests include headache and neuropathic pain and he is currently conducting the first placebo-controlled trial of cannabis for acute migraine.

Facility
UC San Diego Center for Pain Medicine
Location
San Diego, CA
Session(s)

Neuromodulation Interventions for Headache

Anil Sharma, MD -- President

Anil Sharma, MD President

Dr. Sharma finished his Fellowship in interventional pain management at Cleveland clinic foundation in 1996; subsequently, he started private practice in the New Jersey, New York area with multiple locations and offices. Dr. Sharma always had a skill and interest in finance, and he started a hedge fund, Third eye capital management, in 2007, rated as one of the top in its category at Bloomberg. In 2021 he returned all the investor's money with significant profits and converted that into his family office. He still practices international pain part-time in New Jersey and spends time between New York City, New Jersey, and Miami Beach. He's also an alumnus of Wharton's school of business. The Hedge fund allowed him to start and fund the Anil and Pragati Sharma Family Foundation. This organization financially supports health education and treatments worldwide for the underprivileged. He also is a board of trustees of Monmouth Medical Center Foundation.

Facility
Spine and Pain
Location
Colts Neck, FL
Session(s)

Venture Summit

Erik Shaw, DO -- Medical Director, Spine and Pain Institute

Erik Shaw, DO Medical Director, Spine and Pain Institute

Dr. Shaw is an interventional pain management specialist and medical director of the Shepherd Spine and Pain Institute. Dr. Shaw is double board certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation and pain medicine. A Texas native, Dr. Shaw graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in biomedical engineering and earned his medical degree at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth. Dr. Shaw completed his residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation and his anesthesiology fellowship in pain medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.

Facility
Shepherd Center
Location
Atlanta, GA
Session(s)

Spasticity Update

Intrathecal Therapy: Cased-Based Learning

Sameer A. Sheth, MD PhD -- Associate Professor of Neurosurgery

Sameer A. Sheth, MD PhD Associate Professor of Neurosurgery

Dr. Sameer A. Sheth is currently Associate Professor, Vice-Chair of Research, and McNair Scholar in the Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX. He also holds joint appointments in the Department of Neuroscience and Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Baylor, and is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Rice University. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University with a degree in Physics and Astronomy. He then entered the Medical Scientist Training Program at the UCLA School of Medicine, where he received both his M.D. and Ph.D. Dr. Sheth trained in neurological surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Sheth specializes in the treatment of patients with movement disorders, epilepsy, and psychiatric disorders. Dr. Sheth is also a neuroscientist, with a Ph.D. and postdoctoral training in neurophysiology. His research interests are centered on a desire to better understand brain function and develop new therapies for neuropsychiatric conditions. Dr. Sheth runs the Functional and Cognitive Neurophysiology Lab, with funding from the NIH, McNair Foundation, Dana Foundation, and other sources.

Facility
Baylor College of Medicine
Location
Houston, TX
Session(s)

Neuromodulation for Psychiatric Disorders

Prasad Shirvalkar, MD PhD -- Associate Professor

Prasad Shirvalkar, MD PhD Associate Professor

Dr. Shirvalkar is Associate Professor in the Departments of Anesthesiology, Neurology and Neurological Surgery at UCSF, with a focus in Pain Management. He completed his MD, PhD at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, was chief resident of neurology at New York Presbyterian Hospital (Weill Cornell) and completed a pain management fellowship at UCSF. His research focus is on basic neural mechanisms of chronic pain and developing personalized neuromodulation devices for treatment of chronic pain. Dr. Shirvalkar has helped develop central thalamic deep brain stimulation as a paradigm to augment conscious arousal. He has also made significant contributions to the development of personalized brain stimulation for treating chronic pain. He currently sees patients as a Pain Management attending at UCSF, and is a PI on clinical trials relevant to refractory chronic pain disorders.

Facility
UCSF Medical Center
Location
San Francisco, CA
Session(s)

Novel Cerebral Targets for Nociception

Mandeep Singh, MBBS MD MSc FRCPC -- Associate Professor

Mandeep Singh, MBBS MD MSc FRCPC Associate Professor

Dr. Mandeep Singh is an early-career clinician-scientist, uniquely dual-certified in Sleep Medicine and Anesthesiology, having completed the training from University of Toronto (UT) and practices in both the disciplines. He also completed a Masters in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Sciences Research from the Institute of Health and Policy Management and Evaluation, UT. He is Director of the inaugural Sleep, Anesthesiology and Pain medicine (SleAP) program at Women's College Hospital, and University Health Network, UT. He is the recipient of prestigious Canadian Anesthesiologists Society Career Scientist Award, Merit Award program at University of Toronto, and recently, the 2020 SASM Presidential Scholar Award. His current translational research interests include evaluating perioperative outcomes in patients with sleep health disruption, including obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), chronic insomnia and disorders of daytime hypersomnolence such as narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia. Current projects include the impact of optimal sleep health on quality of life and wellness amongst health care workers, perioperative and chronic pain population; evaluation of health technology such as Point-of-Care Ultrasound (PoCUS) and other tools to measure objective sleep-health data in patients with various sleep disorders in these settings.

Facility
University of Toronto
Location
Toronto, ON Canada
Session(s)

Do Outcomes of Spinal Cord Stimulation Differ By The Etiology of Pain?

Vinita Singh, MD -- Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology

Vinita Singh, MD Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology

Vinita Singh is a pain specialist in Anesthesiology, with expertise in interventional, non-opioid medication, and alternative therapy options for pain, especially cancer-related pain. She has been practicing since 2014, and has served in various leadership roles at Emory University School of Medicine including Director of Cancer Pain and the Co-Director of Research in the Pain Division and site director at the Winship Cancer Institute for Multidisciplinary Pain Fellowship at Emory. She has done dozens of invited talks and hands-on workshops in the field of pain management and served on NIH and DoD scientific review committees.

Facility
Emory University
Location
Atlanta, GA
Session(s)

Peripheral Nerve Stimulation for Pelvic Pain

B. Todd Sitzman, MD MPH -- Medical Director

B. Todd Sitzman, MD MPH Medical Director

Dr. Sitzman is medical director of Advanced Pain Therapy, a comprehensive pain clinic located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He is an active member of numerous national and international pain societies: president of North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS); past president of American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM), Southern Pain Society (SPS), Mississippi Pain Society (MPS) and Mississippi Society of Interventional Pain Physicians. He is the recipient of AAPM’s Distinguished Service Award in 2012. He has authored more than 80 scientific publications including abstracts, manuscripts, and book chapters, and serves on the editorial boards of the journals Pain Medicine and Pain Practice. He is actively involved in patient advocacy and postgraduate medical education, and lectures nationally and internationally on topics related to pain pharmacology and interventional pain therapies. Dr. Sitzman received his medical and master of public health degrees from Tulane University in his native city, New Orleans. He completed postgraduate training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (internal medicine) and the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center, Charlottesville, VA (anesthesiology and pain medicine). Dr. Sitzman is board certified in anesthesiology and pain medicine.

Facility
Advanced Pain Therapy, PLLC
Location
Hattiesburg, MS
Session(s)

SCS Guidelines

Eellan Sivanesan, MD -- Assistant Professor and Director of Neuromodulation

Eellan Sivanesan, MD Assistant Professor and Director of Neuromodulation

Dr. Eellan Sivanesan is Director of Neuromodulation and faculty of the Johns Hopkins University-School of Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Division of Pain Medicine. He treats patients with chronic back, joint, abdominal, pelvic, headache, facial, neuropathic, cancer, complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), post-amputation, and other pain conditions at the Blaustein Pain Treatment Center. He performs fluoroscopically and ultrasound guided interventions such as injections of peripheral nerves, spine, muscles, joints, thermal radiofrequency ablation, pulsed radiofrequency ablation, and various chemodenervation procedures.Dr. Sivanesan is an expert in advanced neuromodulation and minimally invasive spine techniques, which he uses to treat a range of chronic pain conditions. He is specialized in all modalities of spinal cord stimulation. He is also an expert in Dorsal Root Ganglion (DRG) stimulation, peripheral nerve stimulation, craniofacial stimulation, and intrathecal drug delivery. He has introduced numerous new pain treatment modalities to The Johns Hopkins Health System, including minimally invasive lumbar decompression, indirect decompression device/interspinous spacers, temporary peripheral nerve stimulation, ‘wireless’ spinal cord and peripheral nerve stimulation, and multiple other neuromodulation and minimally invasive spine advancements.Dr. Sivanesan serves on the editorial boards of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, Pain Medicine (Section-Neuromodulation and Minimally Invasive Spine) and Frontiers of Pain Research. He is also an Ad-Hoc reviewer for Neuromodulation, Anesthesia and Analgesia, Neuromodulation, Physical Therapy, Anesthesia and Analgesia Case Reports, Pain Practice, Pain Reports, and multiple other pain and neuromodulation journals. He also serves on committees of the International Neuromodulation Society (INS), the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA), the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), and the North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS).Funded by the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Dr. Sivanesan’s neuroscience research at Johns Hopkins aligns with his clinical practice as he investigates the effects of spinal cord stimulation. His lab is particularly interested in the use of neuromodulation for cancer pain and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. Work in the Sivanesan Neuromodulation Laboratory (SNL) focuses on developing electrical stimulation therapies for treating neuropathic pain conditions and discovering novel applications for patients suffering from painful conditions. His work has been published in the Lancet, Anesthesiology, Neuromodulation, Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, Journal of Clinical Anesthesia, Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, Journal of Pain & Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy, Pain Reports, Pain Medicine, Anesthesia and Analgesia, Neuroscience Bulletin, Molecular Pain, and on the cover of Anesthesia and Analgesia.Laboratory: https://anesthesiology.hopkinsmedicine.org/research-home/research-programs/sivanesan-lab/Clinic: https://anesthesiology.hopkinsmedicine.org/pain-medicine-and-pain-research/eellan-sivanesan-md/

Facility
Johns Hopkins University - School of Medicine
Location
Baltimore, MD
Session(s)

Neuromodulation for Cancer-Related Pain

Do Outcomes of Spinal Cord Stimulation Differ By The Etiology of Pain?

Konstantin V. Slavin, MD -- Professor

Konstantin V. Slavin, MD Professor

Dr. Konstantin Slavin is a head of section of stereotactic and functional neurosurgery in the University of Illinois at Chicago and director of a fellowship program in stereotactic and functional neurosurgery. Dr. Slavin was born and raised in Baku, Azerbaijan. After graduation from medical school he completed residency in neurosurgery in Moscow, and then moved to Chicago where he completed research fellowship and residency in neurosurgery, and fellowship in stereotactic and functional neurosurgery in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Slavin has been working on staff in UIC since 2001 and went up through the academic ranks to become professor of neurosurgery in 2010.Dr. Slavin has authored and co-authored more than 200 book chapters and peer-reviewed articles. His books on “Peripheral Nerve Stimulation”, “Principles of Neuromodulation” (co-edited with Prof. Eljamel), 'Stimulation of Peripheral Nervous System' and 'Neuromodulation for Facial Pain' were published during the last 10 years. Currently, he is an editor-in-chief of 'Progress in Neurological Surgery', associate editor of “Neurosurgery,” 'Surgical Neurology International' and “Brain Sciences” and editorial board member of several other journals including “Neuromodulation” and “Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery.” Dr. Slavin is the Past President of the American Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery and past Secretary of NANS. He is also a current President-Elect of the International Neuromodulation Society and Vice-President of the World Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery. For many years, he served on the Executive Council of AANS/CNS Joint Section on Pain. Dr. Slavin has taught extensively on more than a hundred professional educational courses sponsored by national and international societies and device manufacturers. As a sign of peer recognition, he is for many years included in the lists of “Best Doctors in America” and “US Top Surgeons” and has received prestigious “Patients’ Choice” and “Most Compassionate Doctor” awards.

Facility
University of Illinois at Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Session(s)

PNS: A Critical Review

Peter S. Staats, MD -- Chief Medical Officer

Peter S. Staats, MD Chief Medical Officer

Dr. Staats was the founder of the division of Pain Medicine in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at Johns Hopkins University, where he was the division chief and director for over a decade. In this capacity he was youngest division chief at Johns Hopkins and the first anesthesiologist to obtain surgical priviliges for neuromodulation therapies at any academic university. In 2003 he became a founding partner in Premier Pain Centers in New Jersey which recently merged with National Spine and Pain Centers (NSPC), the largest pain practice in the United States. He is currently the chief medical officer of NSPC and electroCore.He is boarded by the American Society of Anesthesiology, the American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians (ABIPP) and the World Institute of Pain (FIPP) and has received fellowship status from both the World Institute of Pain and the North American Neuromodulation Society. He has edited or co- authored 13 textbooks on pain medicine and written close to five hundred articles, book chapters and abstracts on the diagnosis and management of complex pain problems. His publications have appeared in prominent journals including JAMA, Lancet, Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine and others. He has chaired hundreds of meetings devoted to pain and neuromodulation around the world. He is listed in Americas Top Doctors, New Jersey Top Doctors and Best Doctors in America. He is the Past President of ASIPP, (The American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians), the North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS), the southern pain society the New Jersey Society of interventional pain physicians (NJSIPP), and was the first chair of the American Society of Anesthesia’s committee on Interventional pain. He is immediate past chairman of the Board of Examination World Institute of Pain (WIP) and is currently President of the WIP. He is also the recipient of the President’s Distinguished Service Award and the Excellence in Pain Management Award from the Southern Pain Society, as well as the Physician of the Year Award from both the West Virginia Society of Interventional Pain and the New York and New Jersey Societies of Interventional Pain. He has received distinguished service awards from AAPM, ASIPP, NANS and NJSIPP, and the Raj award for excellence (2017) and the lifetime achievement award (2018) from the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, the West Virginia New York and New Jersey societies of Interventional Pain Physicians, the North American Neuromodulation Society, and the American Society of Pain and neuroscience His patents and research have led to novel approaches and FDA approvals in pain management and healthcare including novel pharmaceuticals and medical devices (Qutenza, Prialt and Gammacore).

Facility
NSPC
Location
Atlantic Beach, NJ
Session(s)

Plenary Session II: Late Breaking Abstracts