American Pain Society Presents 2013 Achievement Awards

NEW ORLEANS, May 9, 2013 — The American Pain Society (APS), www.americanpainsociety.org, today announced the recipients of its prestigious achievement awards during the organization’s annual scientific meeting. APS rewards excellence in pain management with awards for career achievement, pain scholarship, education and public service, advocacy on behalf of children, outstanding service to APS, early career achievements and journalism.

2013 American Pain Society Achievement Award Recipients

Wilbert E. Fordyce Clinical Investigator Award

This APS award recognizes career achievement in clinical research and was presented to William E. Maixner, PhD, DDS. Dr. Maixner is director, Regional Center for Neurosensory Disorders and co-director, Orofacial Pain Management Program, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. His translational pain research program explores the pathophysiological processes underlying pain perception and the genetic, environmental, and biopsychosocial risk factors and markers contributing to the onset and maintenance of temporomandibular disorders and related chronic pain conditions. He has authored more than 160 peer-reviewed articles, presented internationally, and is well-funded to study persistent pain states.

Frederick W.L. Kerr Basic Science Research Award

Honors individual excellence and achievements in clinical pain scholarship and is named in honor of an APS founder, Frederick W.L. Kerr. It is awarded this year to Jeffrey S. Mogil, PhD, E. P. Taylor Professor of Pain Studies, McGill University and the Canada Research Chair in the Genetics of Pain. Dr. Mogil has made seminal contributions to the field of pain genetics and is the author of many major reviews of the subject, including an edited book, The Genetics of Pain (IASP Press, 2004). He is also a recognized authority in the fields of sex differences in pain and analgesia and pain testing methods in laboratory mice.

Jeffrey Lawson Award

In recognition of the longstanding APS interest in promoting improved pain management in pediatric health care settings, the 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 Carlton Dampier, MD, professor of pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, and a practicing physician at the AFLAC Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, which has the largest sickle cell program in the United States. Dr. Dampier’s activities with APS include co-authoring Guideline for the Management of Acute and Chronic Pain in Sickle Cell Diseasein 1999. In 2011 at the APS Annual Scientific Meeting he became the inaugural chair of the Pain in Sickle Cell Disease Special Interest Group, which he founded the previous year to foster clinical and scientific collaborations between the pain and hematology communities.

Elizabeth Narcessian Award

Recognizes outstanding educational achievements in pain management. Dr. Narcessian was an educator known for her lifelong interests in the appropriate use of opioids, patient assessment and approaches to rehabilitating patients with chronic pain. The awardee is Penney Cowen, founder and chief executive officer of the American Chronic Pain Association (ACPA). As a patient who lives with chronic pain, she established the ACPA in 1980 to help others living with the condition. The ACPA provides peer support and pain management education skills to people with pain and their families.

Distinguished Service Award

This award honors outstanding and dedicated service to APS. The 2013 recipient is awarded to Charles E. Inturrisi, PhD, is professor of pharmacology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University; professor, Programs in Pharmacology and Neuroscience, Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences of Cornell University; and visiting investigator, Pain and Palliative Care Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. and consumer representative for pain issues. Dr. Inturrisi, who was APS president between 2008 and 2010.

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 recipient is Phillip A. Pizzo, dean, Stanford University Medical School. Pizzo’s clinical research examined a wide range of issues involving infection and fevers in children whose immune systems were compromised by cancer and helped identify the best ways to treat the infections. At Stanford, Pizzo created the school’s five Institutes of Medicine and implemented programs to ensure that the integrity of the medical school and its employees remain above reproach. This included prohibiting faculty members from accepting industry gifts of any size, including drug samples.

John C. Liebeskind Early Career Scholar Award

This award recognizes early career achievement in pain scholarship. It is awarded to Laura Simons, PhD. Dr. Simons is currently assistant professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and staff psychologist in the Pain Treatment Service at Boston Children’s Hospital. Dr. Simons’ program of research focuses on pain-related fear. She conceptualizes this construct as an underlying mechanism that maintains persistent disability in youth with chronic pain. Pain-related fear leads to avoidance of activities and situations that might be painful. As avoidance becomes more prevalent, patients experience more functional disability and lower quality of life. Working with patients to gradually overcome avoidance of fear activities and return to a fuller, productive life inspired her current line of research. Dr. Simons developed the Fear of Pain Questionnaire to assess pain-related fear in youth.

The Kathleen M. Foley Journalist Award

This 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. Michelle Andrews is this year’s recipient for her article published Sept. 5, 2012 in U.S. News and World Report, titled “Advances Against Chronic Pain.” In the article, Andrews looks at some of the most promising neurobiological discoveries and possible treatments that may ensue from better understanding of brain mechanisms that govern pain pathways. She simplified descriptions of complex science for a consumer readership.

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. The Board of Directors includes physicians, nurses, psychologists, basic scientists, pharmacists, policy analysts and others. For more information on APS, visitwww.americanpainsociety.org.