2012 John C. Liebeskind Early Career Scholar Award

David Seminowicz, PhD

David A. Seminowicz received his PhD at the University of Toronto under the mentorship of Dr. Karen Davis, and then completed postdoctoral studies at McGill University in the lab of Dr. M. Catherine Bushnell. He is currently assistant professor in the Department of Neural and Pain Sciences at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry.

Dr. Seminowicz’s work has focused on the cognitive aspects of pain, individual differences in the response to pain, and the consequence of chronic pain on brain structure and function. His studies have clarified how pain- and cognitive-related brain activity interact and how passive and active pain-coping strategies affect these types of activities. His work further suggested a brain mechanism through which chronic pain might affect cognitive ability, and he later tested this hypothesis in a longitudinal study in people with chronic pain. At McGill he turned to rodent magnetic resonance imaging to ask a question that could not easily be addressed in humans: How does the brain change over time, from before the onset of injury that led to chronic pain to the time when the disease affects cognitive and affective behaviors? Ongoing studies in Dr. Seminowicz’s lab employ longitudinal designs to assess how various treatments affect brain function in human disease and rodent models of chronic pain.

The John C. Liebeskind Early Career Scholar Award was named in 1998 to honor the memory of John C. Liebeskind, PhD, a past president of APS who was a noted pain researcher, scientist, and teacher. The Early Career Scholar Award recognizes early career achievements that have made outstanding contributions to pain scholarship.