Pain Interest Group
The University of Minnesota Pain Interest Group is a product of the University of Minnesota Pain Consortium, which brings together researchers, clinicians, students and the broader community towards the shared goal of reducing the burden of pain through increased communication and collaboration in research and education. The lecture series hosts distinguished researchers and clinicians to disseminate pioneering work in pain medicine.
Each presentation takes place on Zoom and lasts about 20 minutes for each presentation with 10 minutes for questions and answers.
If you have speaker suggestion for the upcoming academic year, please contact Ashley Neumann at [email protected].
Speakers Calendar
Speakers Calendar
2025-2026
Tuesday, October 14, 2025
- Clinical research: Engy Y. Hashem, MD, Lecturer, Alexandria University
- Presentation Title: Fluroscopic Guided Injections for Lumbosacral Radicular Pain
- Basic research: Lucy Vulchanova, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Neuroscience
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
- Clinical research: Yuriy Ivanov DO, Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine, Rutgers
- Presentation Title: Empathy, Just What the Doctor Ordered!
- Basic research: Zachary T. Campbell, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Wisconsin
Tuesday, December 16, 2025
- Clinical research: Leah Biessenberger
- Presentation Title:
- Basic research: Laura Stone, PhD, Professor, University of Minnesota
- Presentation Title:
Tuesday, January 20, 2026
- Clinical research: Jay Karri
- Presentation Title:
- Basic research: Jose Moron-Concepcion
- Presentation Title:
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
- Clinical research: Marc Martel
- Presentation Title:
- Basic research: Vesna Jevtovic-Todorovic
- Presentation Title:
Tuesday March 17, 2026
- Clinical research: Jennifer Myunghae Hah, MD
- Presentation Title:
- Basic research: Vijay Samineni
- Presentation Title:
Tuesday, April 21, 2026
- Clinical research: Leena Mathew, MD, Professor, Fellowship Program Director, Division Chief of Pain Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Columbia University
- Presentation Title:
- Basic research: Katherine Martucci, PhD
- Presentation Title:
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
- Clinical research: Ratan Banik, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Minnesota
- Presentation Title:
- Basic research: Bradley Taylor
- Presentation Title:
2024-2025
Tuesday, October 15, 2024
- Clinical research: Luana Colloca, MD, PhD, MS, Professor, Dept. of Pain and Translational Symptom Science, MPower Professor of the University of Maryland Strategic Partnership, Director, Placebo Beyond Opinions Center, University of Maryland School of Nursing
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
- Clinical research: Cody Tidwell, MD, Assistant Professor, University of Minnesota
- Presentation Title: Interventional Therapies for Cancer Pain
- Basic research: Jayson Ball, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Colorado Boulder
- Presentation Title: The Insular Cortex and Somatosensory Pain
Tuesday, December 17, 2024
- Clinical research: M. Yawar J. Qadri, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Emory University School of Medicine, Pain Medicine
- Presentation Title: Anterior column pain generators and interventions
- Basic research: Rejesh Khanna, PhD, Richard and Thelma O.C. Barney Term Professor, Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Director, Pain and Addiction Therapeutics (PATH) Collaboratory, University of Florida College of Medicine
- Presentation Title: A peptidomimetic modulator of the CaV2.2 N-type calcium channel for chronic pain
Tuesday, January 21, 2025
- Clinical research: Andrew Mendelson, DO, Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology in the Pain Medicine Division, Medical University of South Carolina
- Presentation Title: Management of Opioid Use Disorder in 2025
- Basic research: Victor Owoyele PhD, FNISEB, FNSN, FTPS, Professor of Physiology (Neuroscience), Dean: Postgraduate School, University of Ilorin
- Presentation Title: Nutraceuticals and pain relief: Studies on bromelain
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
- Clinical research: Brian Erikson, MD, Pain Medicine, Psychiatry, M Health Fairview Pain Center
- Presentation Title: Functional Medicine and Pain
- Basic research: Mary M. Heinricher, PhD, Senior Associate Dean for Research, School of Medicine; Professor and Vice-Chair for Research, Neurological Surgery; Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University
- Presentation Title: How the brain controls pain
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
- Clinical research: Muhammad A. Farooq Anwar, MD, MBA, Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Division, Duke University
- Presentation Title: Interventional management of cancer pain
- Basic research: Frank Porreca, PhD, Associate Department Head, Pharmacology; Professor of Anesthesiology, University of Arizona
- Presentation Title: Sexual dimorphism in pain
Tuesday, April 15, 2025
- Clinical research: Steven Z. George PT, PhD, FAPTA, Laszlo Ormandy Distinguished Professor in Orthopedic Surgery, Editor-in-Chief, Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Journal, Therapeutic Area Lead, Musculoskeletal and Surgical Sciences, Duke Clinical Research Institute, Professor, Department of Population Health Sciences (Secondary), Duke University
- Basic research: Edita Navratilova, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology, University of Arizona
- Presentation Title: Role of prolactin in endometriosis and comorbid migraine
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
- Clinical research: Ryan Carpenter, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame
- Basic research: Michael Gold, PhD, Professor of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh
- Presentation Title: Mechanisms of DRG-stimulation for the treatment of pain
2023-2024
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
- Clinical research: Eric J. Wang, Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine Program Director, Pain Medicine Fellowship Director, Blaustein Pain Treatment Center at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “Scrambler Therapy: Mechanisms and Questions Ahead.”
- Basic research: Carolyn Fairbanks, Professor, Department of Pharmaceutics, and Associate Dean for Research, College of Pharmacy, University of Minnesota. “Strategically substitutes agmatines reduce inflammatory, neuropathic, and post-operative pain.”
Wednesday, November 22, 2023
- Clinical research: Ashley Roger, MD, Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology, Emory University. "Advanced Interventional Techniques for the Management of Chronic Pain."
- Basic research: Ru-Rong Ji, PhD, William Maixner Professor of Anesthesiology & Distinguished Professor of Anesthesiology, Duke University. “Reverse translation in pain medicine: autologous conditioned serum (ACS) effectively controls neuropathic pain in mice.”
Wednesday, December 20, 2023
- Clinical research: Tuhina Neogi, MD, PhD, Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
- Basic research: Yuriy M Usachev, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, University of Iowa. “The Complement Cascade in Neuro-Immune Interaction and Chronic Pain.”
Wednesday, January 17, 2024
- Clinical research: Beth Darnall, PhD, Professor of Stanford University. "Scaling Access to Evidence-Based Behavioral Pain Treatment: 1-session skills-based intervention for acute, chronic and post-surgical pain."
- Basic research: Peter M. Grace, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Symptom Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. "Regulation of neuropathic pain by B cells."
Wednesday, February 21, 2024
- Clinical research: Kristin Schreiber, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School, Vice Chair of Faculty Development, Brigham & Women’s Hospital. “Measuring Persistent Postsurgical Pain that Matters, and Identifying Patients to Whom it Matters Most.”
- Basic research: Xu, Jijun, MD, PhD, Pain Management, Cleveland Clinic. “Neuropathic Pain Pathophysiology and Mechanism-based Pharmacological Therapies.”
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
- Clinical research: Rene Przkora, MD, PhD, Professor, Chief, Pain Medicine Division; Director, Multidisciplinary Pain Medicine Fellowship. “Lumbar Spinal Stenosis – Pathology and Tools in the Toolbox of an Interventional Pain Physician.”
- Basic research: Amy Nippert, PhD, Stanford University. "Beyond GFAP: Astrocytes at the Transition from Acute to Chronic Pain."
Wednesday, April 17, 2024
- Clinical research: Jee Youn Moon, MD, PhD, Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital. “Strategies for CRPS Management in South Korea.”
- Basic research: Jianguo Cheng, MD, PhD, FIPP, Professor of Anesthesiology, Director of Cleveland Clinic Multidisciplinary Pain Medicine Fellowship Program, Departments of Pain Management and Neurosciences. “Biologics in Pain Medicine.”
Wednesday, May 15, 2024
- Clinical research: Anna Woodbury, MD, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Division of Pain Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine. “Percutaneous Electrical Nerve Field Stimulation of the Auricle to Relieve Pain in Veterans with Fibromyalgia.”
- Basic research: Jeff Boissoneault, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Minnesota Anesthesiology Department. “Midbrain-Spinal Interactions Underlying Expectancy-based Placebo Analgesia.”
2022-2023
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
- Clinical case/research: Steven P. Cohen, MD, Professor of Anesthesia and Chief of Pain Medicine, John Hopkins University. “Optimizing Lumbar and Cervical Facet Radiofrequency Ablation Outcomes: Focus on Multispecialty Guideline Recommendations.”
Wednesday, November 16, 2022
- Clinical case/research: Jay Karri, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Interventional Pain Medicine, University of Maryland Medical Center. "Helping or Harming? Insights on Celiac Plexus Neurolysis and Survival Reduction."
- Basic research: David Yeomans, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Stanford University. “Oxytocin and Migraine.”
Wednesday, December 21, 2022
- Clinical case/research: Mohab Ibrahim, MD, Program Director, Pain Medicine Fellowship and Director, Chronic Pain Management Clinic, Professor of Anesthesiology, University of Arizona. “The Effects of Green Light Visual Exposure on Pain.”
- Basic research: Alonso Guedes, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVAA, Associate Professor of Veterinary Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, University of Minnesota. “First steps towards a new analgesic modality.”
Wednesday, January 18, 2023
- Clinical case/research: Peter Staats MD, MBA, DABA, ABIPP, FIPP, Chief Medical Officer, National Spine and Pain Centers. “Harnessing the power of the vagus nerve.”
- Basic research: Seena Ajit, PhD, Associate professor in the Department of Pharmacology & Physiology at Drexel University College of Medicine. “The role of small extracellular vesicles in pain.”
Wednesday, February 15, 2023
- Clinical case/research: Roger Fillingim, PhD, Professor and Director, Pain Research and Intervention Center of Excellence, University of Florida. "How Does Aging Affect Pain…and Vice Versa?"
- Basic research: John Streicher, PhD, Associate Professor, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Arizona. "Terpenes from Cannabis sativa Produce Efficacious Pain Relief in Neuropathic Pain via the Adenosine A2a Receptor in Mouse Spinal Cord."
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
- Clinical case/research: Tina Doshi, MD, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Johns Hopkins University. "Challenges in the Diagnosis and Management of Craniofacial Pain."
- Basic research: Michael Caterina, MD, PhD, Professor of Neurosurgery, John Hopkins University. "Probing and Perturbing Processes Promoting Pathological Pain."
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
- Clinical case/research: Michael W. Hooten, MD, Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Spine Care Pain Medicine, Mayo Clinic. "Therapeutic Promise vs. Potential: Limited by Design."
- Basic research: Michael P. Jankowski, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Cincinnati. "Neuroimmune communication in pediatric pain."
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
- Clinical case/research: Nathaniel M. Schuster, MD, Pain and Headache Neurologist, Associate Professor & Associate Clinic Director, Center for Pain Medicine, UC San Diego Health. "Headache Made S.I.M.P.A.L."
- Basic research: Cheyl L. Stucky, PhD, Marvin Wagner Professor, Director, Pain Division, Neuroscience Research Center, Medical College of Wisconsin. "Beyond the Barrier: Skin cells actively participate in pain."
2021-2022
October 19, 2021
- Clinical case/research: Ariana Nelson, MD, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at University of California, Irvine - School of Medicine. "Approach to Opioid Prescribing: When to Say Yes, How to Say No."
- Basic research: George Wilcox, PhD, Professor, Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota. "Targeting multiple, peripheral opioid receptors for improved analgesia without CNS side effects."
November 16, 2021
- Clinical case/research: Sonya Wang, MD, Associate Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics, University of Minnesota School of Medicine. “Effects of Music-Based Intervention (MBI) on Pain Response and Neurodevelopment in Infants.”
- Basic research: Vivianne Tawfik, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine; Director, Fellowship in Anesthesia Research & Medicine (FARM) program, Stanford University School of Medicine “Neuroimmune Interactions in Chronic Pain: From clinical to clinically-informed basic science.”
December 21, 2021
- Clinical case/research: Zachary Belford, DO, Clinical pain fellow, University of Minnesota. "Intercostal Neuralgia in a patient with pulmonary fibrosis: Rain without clouds?"
- Basic research: Yu Shin Kim, PhD, Associate professor, Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Texas Health, San Antonio. “Mechanisms of Alcohol Addiction; Alcohol Withdrawal-associated Headache and In vivo Sensory Transmission and Neuronal Plasticity Imaging of Primary Sensory Neurons in Health and Disease.”
January 18, 2022
- Clinical case/research: M. Yawar J Qadri, MD, PhD, Assistant professor, Emory University School of Medicine. “Peripheral nerve stimulation for pediatric crps.”
- Basic research: Joshua Emrick, DDS, PhD, Assistant professor, University of Michigan. “Making sense of the Teeth.”
February 15, 2022
- Clinical case/research: Salahadin Abdi, MD, PhD, Chairman, MD Anderson Cancer Center chronic pain division, Department of Anesthesiology. "Translational research for chemotherapy induced neuropathy."
- Basic research: Xinzhong Dong PhD, Professor of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University. "Revealing pain mechanisms by in vivo DRG imaging.”
March 15, 2022
- Clinical case/research: Mohab M. Ibrahim, PhD, MD, Program Director, Pain Medicine Fellowship, Director, Chronic Pain Management Clinic, Associate Professor, Anesthesiology, University of Arizona. “The Effects of Green Light Visual Exposure on Pain.”
- Basic research: Kazue Mizumura, MD, PhD, Emeritus professor, Nagoya University, Japan. “Basis of synergistic interaction of nerve growth factor (NGF) and glial cell-line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in muscular mechanical hyperalgesia after exercise in rats.”
April 19, 2022
- Clinical case/research: Eellan Sivanesan, MD, Assistant Professor and Director of Neuromodulation, Division of Pain Medicine, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. “Spinal Cord Stimulation and Chemotherapy-induced Peripheral Neuropathy.”
- Basic research: Theodore J. Price, PhD, Eugene McDermott Professor of Neuroscience, UT Dallas. “Discovery of New Pain Targets in the Human DRG and Spinal Cord.”
May 20, 2022
- Clinical case/research: Johnathan H Goree, MD, Emory University School of Medicine. “Spinal Cord Stimulation for Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy.”
- Basic research: Megan Uhelski, PhD, Instructor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston. “FaDu Human Squamous Cell Carcinoma Induces Hyperexcitability of Primary Sensory Neurons: an Exploration of Tumor-Nerve Interaction in Head and Neck Cancer Using an In Vitro Co-Culture Model.”
2020-2021
October 23, 2020
- Clinical case/research: Clarence Shannon, MD. "A Sequenced-Strategy for Improving Outcomes in People with Knee Osteoarthritis Pain."
- Basic research: Simone Lab. Diagnostic and Biological Sciences. "Effects of intrathecal Resolvin, products of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, on bone cancer-induced mechanical allodynia and heat hyperalgesia."
November 20, 2020
- Clinical case/research: Abby Metzler, MD. "Updates on migraine: Enter the -gepants."
- Basic research: Phu Tran, PhD. "Global transcriptome analysis of rat dorsal root ganglia to identify molecular pathways involved in incisional pain, Pediatrics."
December 18, 2020
- Clinical case/research: David Darrow, MD, Neurosurgery. "Expanded application and optimization of SCS."
- Basic research: Amanda Klein, PhD, Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences. "Mechanism of Itch."
January 22, 2021
- Clinical case/research: Alik Widge, MD, PhD, Psychiatry. "Tools for translatable brain circuit manipulation."
- Basic research: Cristina Peterson, PhD (Fairbanks and Wilcox Lab). "Development of NMDA antagonists for long-term analgesia."
February 19, 2021
- Clinical case/research: Parisa Salehi, MD, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. "Hemiplegic shoulder pain."
- Basic research: Laura Stone, PhD, Anesthesiology. "Low Back Pain, Intervertebral Disc Degeneration & Epigenetics: Perspectives from Human and Animal Studies."
March 26, 2021
- Clinical case/research: Donald Nixdorf, DDS MS, Diagnostic and Biological Sciences. "Root canal treatment as a human model to study post-surgical acute to chronic pain transition."
- Basic research: Dr. Scott J Thompson, Anesthesiology. "Chronic Pain and the Changing Brain: Investigations into the relationship between chronic pain and the brain."
April 23, 2021
- Clinical case/research: Thomas Chai, MD, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas. "Intrathecal Drug Delivery."
- Basic research: Carrie Haskell-Luevano, PhD, Professor & Associate Department Head, Philip S. Portoghese Endowed Chair in Chemical Neuroscience, and Institute for Translational Neuroscience Scholar, Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy. “New Paradigms for Opioid Receptor Allosteric Modulation and Pain.” - CANCELED
May 21, 2021
- Clinical case/research: Vasudha Goel, MBBS, Anesthesiology
- PIG 2020-2021 highlights and summer wellness events. Ratan Banik, MD, PhD, Anesthesiology