APS announces recipients of prestigious achievement awards during annual scientific meeting

The American Pain Society (APS), www.americanpainsociety.org, today announced the recipients of its prestigious achievement awards during the organization's annual scientific meeting. Every year, APS rewards excellence in pain research, advocacy and clinical care 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.

2015 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 Daniel Clauw, MD. Dr. Clauw is professor of anesthesiology, medicine and psychiatry at the University of Michigan Medical School. Since 2002, Dr. Clauw's pain research group has helped identify the prominent central nervous system contributions to a number of pain disorders, as well as the most effective pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments for chronic pain.

Frederick W.L. Kerr Basic Science Research Award
Honoring individual excellence and achievements in clinical pain scholarship, this award is named in honor of an APS founder, Frederick W.L. Kerr. It is presented this year to Clifford Wolff, MD, PhD, professor of neurology and neurobiology at Harvard Medical School and co-director of the neuroscience program at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute. Dr. Wolff's research concentrates on understanding the mechanism of pain and promoting regeneration of the nervous system. He discovered central sensitization and was the first to show the role of NGF in inflammatory pain. His current work includes human, mouse and Drosophilia genetics, stem-cell biology, and exploiting a novel strategy for silencing pain fibers.

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 C. Céleste Johnston, DEd, RN, emeritus professor in the Ingram School of Nursing at McGill University. Dr. Johnston has received numerous awards for her research on pain in infants. Her current research is focused on measurement and nonpharmacological management of pain in preterm neonates, animal models of neonatal pain and changing health care professionals practices related to pain management for infants.

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. Scott Fishman, MD is the awardee. He is professor and the Charles and Patricia Fullerton Endowed Chair of Pain Medicine and executive vice-chair for the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Fishman lectures on all aspects of pain control, including prevention of prescription drug abuse. He is the author The War on Pain, Listening to Pain and Responsible Opioid Prescribing, as well as numerous articles in medical journals, book chapters and other scholarly reviews. Dr. Fishman is a past president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine.

Distinguished Service Award
This award honors outstanding and dedicated service to APS. The recipient is Seddon R. Savage, MD, MS, medical director of the Chronic Pain Recovery Center at Silver Hill Hospital (Conn.) and director, Dartmouth Center on Addiction Recovery and Education. Dr. Savage served as president of the American Pain Society (2010-2012) and the New Hampshire Medical Society (2007). She lectures on issues concerning the interface of pain and addiction, including prescription opioid use, misuse and addiction, and has authored numerous papers and chapters on related topics. Dr. Savage is certified in addiction medicine by the American Board of Addiction Medicine and is an elected fellow.

John and Emma Bonica Public Service Award
Honoring this couple for their leadership in the pain-treatment movement, this APS award recognizes contributions by an individual or organization through public education, public service or other vehicles to communicate information about pain. It is awarded to Bob A. Rappaport, MD, former director of the Division of Anesthesia, Analgesia and Addiction Products at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA. During his service as director, Dr. Rappaport was responsible for numerous agency innovations and was centrally involved with the FDA's continuing efforts to encourage and assist in the development of abuse-deterrent opioid formulations, and he completed an updated guidance for the pharmaceutical industry on development of analgesic drug products.

John C. Liebeskind Early Career Scholar Award
This award recognizes early career achievement in pain scholarship. It is presented to Adam T. Hirsh, PhD, assistant professor of psychology at Indiana University-Purdue University (IUPUI). Dr. Hirsh's laboratory conducts research on the biopsychosocial aspects of pain and functioning in humans. He has published more than 40 empirical manuscripts and has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health and other sources.

The Kathleen M. Foley Journalist Award
The award recognizes excellence in reporting pain-related topics. It honors 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. Melanie Thurnstrom is this year's recipient for her best selling book, The Pain Chronicles: Cures, Myths, Mysteries, Prayers, Diaries, Brain Scans, Healing and the Science of Suffering. The book earned praise from The New York Times as "a stellar example of literary nonfiction." Ms. Thurnstrom is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and also has written for The New Yorker, New York Magazine, Vanity Fair and the Wall Street Journal. She won a 2013 Presidential Commendation from the American Academy of Pain Medicine.