For immediate release: June 13, 2012
Contact: Chuck Weber – 262.473.3018

University of Florida Psychologist Roger Fillingim, PhD, Becomes President of the American Pain Society

GLENVIEW, IL, June 13, 2012 – Roger B. Fillingim, PhD, professor, College of Dentistry and director, Pain Research and Intervention Center of Excellence at the University of Florida has begun a two-year term as president of the American Pain Society. He succeeds Seddon Savage, MD, in the organization’s top leadership role.

Fillingim has been an active leader in APS for many years. He has served in several leadership roles including as chair of both the Scientific Program and Education Advisory committees. In 2009, he received the APS Wilbert E. Fordyce Clinical Investigator Award for his clinical pain scholarship and research achievements.

“It is a challenging time for the American Pain Society and the pain care community as a whole, but I am excited about our organization’s vision to translate research into pain relief and our momentum in becoming the preeminent pain organization for research, treatment, education and advocacy,” Fillingim said.

Looking ahead, Fillingim said he wants APS to become more active in its advocacy role. “There are several important issues we must address on behalf of the pain community, such as balancing the benefits and risks associated with pain medications, securing more funding for pain research, and enhancing access to evidence-based interdisciplinary pain care for patients in need,” he said. Fillingim hopes to achieve these goals through collaborations with other organizations, including patient advocacy groups, professional societies, private industry and government agencies.

Fillingim’s current research interests are focused on ethnic and gender differences in pain and response to medications, predictors of risk for development of chronic orofacial pain, and genetic contributions to pain sensitivity, analgesic responses, and chronic pain risk. He has received numerous grants from the NIH, published more than 150 scientific articles and book chapters, and has edited three books on pain and authored another one.

In 1984 Fillingim graduated from Mercer University in Macon, Ga., with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. He earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Fillingim joined the University of Florida College of Dentistry in 2000 and also serves as a Research Health Scientist for the North Florida South Georgia VA Health System.

About the American Pain Society

Based in Glenview, IL, 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.