William Maixner, DDS, PhD Elected American Pain Society President
CHICAGO, May 23, 2018 – Dentist and pain researcher William Maixner, DDS, PhD, now serves as president of the American Pain Society.
Dr. Maixner is professor of anesthesiology and director of the Center for Translational Pain Medicine at Duke University Medical Center. He previously served on the APS Board of Directors and on the APS Scientific Program Committee. In 2013, Maixner received the William Fordyce Clinical Research Award from APS and in 2018 earned the American Association for Dental Research Distinguished Scientist Award.
“The American Pain Society is uniquely positioned as a professional organization to spearhead initiatives in research, education, patient care and advocacy to address the dauting challenges we face in confronting the interwoven epidemics of chronic pain and opioid misuse in our society,” said Maixner. “Our best hope to stem the tide of the dual epidemic is through expanded translational pain research, practitioner education and improved patient management, for which APS will take a leadership role to help achieve.”
After earning his DDS and PhD degrees at the University of Iowa, Maixner was a research fellow at the National Institute of Dental Research, and from 1985-2015 served on dental school faculty at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and was co-director of the Oral and Maxillofacial Pain Program, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the School of Dentistry, and Director of the Center for Pain Research and Innovation.
Dr. Maixner’s primary research focus is on biological, environmental, and genetic factors involved in pain transmission and modulation. He has published more than 200 manuscripts and book chapters and has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) since 1986.
In 2005, Dr. Maixner was the program director for the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research’s (NIDCR) $19 million, seven-year OPPERA study to examine pain produced by temporomandibular joint and muscle disorders. In 2012, the NIDCR awarded Dr. Maixner’s team $16 million in additional funding.
Maixner is an active member of the American Dental Association, International Association for Dental Research, International Association for the Study of Pain and Society for Neuroscience.
About the American Pain Society
Based in Chicago, 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 is the professional home for investigators involved in all aspects of pain research including basic, translational, clinical and health services research to obtain the support and inspiration they need to flourish professionally. APS strongly advocates expansion of high quality pain research to help advance science to achieve effective and responsible pain relief. For more information on APS, visit www.americanpainsociety.org.
