HRC Pain Research

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

Research Canada: An Alliance for Health Discovery and the Canadian Pain Society are pleased to present an information session and reception for parliamentarians on Pain Research, a subject of increasing importance for the health and well-being of Canadians. The event will feature three speakers and a series of kiosks situated so that attendees may view research highlights and speak directly with some of Canada’s eminent scientists working in the following areas:

•  Children’s Pain
•  Musculoskeletal Pain
•  Pain and Mental Health
•  Neuropathic Pain
•  Chronic Pain

Oct 17 HRC Evening Program

GUEST SPEAKERS

Dr. Patrick J. McGrath, Dalhousie University and Vice-President of  Research, IWK Health Centre

Dr. Patrick J. McGrath, Canada Research Chair and Professor of Psychology, Pediatrics and Psychiatry at Dalhousie University and Vice-President of Research at the IWK Health Centre, is an expert in innovative delivery of mental health care and the diagnosis and treatment of pain in children. His research has been recognized through awards from the Canadian Psychological Association, the American Psychological Association, the Canadian Pain Society, the American Pain Society, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). He received the Order of Canada (Officer) in 2003. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. He has been a member of the CIHR Institute Advisory Board for the Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health. He received his undergraduate and masters education at the University of Ottawa and the University of Saskatchewan and his PhD from Queen’s University.

Dr. Barry Sessle, University of Toronto

Dr. Barry J. Sessle is Professor at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Dentistry and Faculty of Medicine and a member of the Centre for the Study of Pain, and holds a Canada Research Chair. He is also an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and member of the Canadian Academy of Science. He is Past-President of the Canadian Pain Society and Past-President of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP). He has also served as President of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) and President of the Canadian Association for Dental Research. He is currently  Secretary of the Canadian Pain Foundation and of ACTION Ontario.
His other honours and awards include the IADR Oral Sciences Award, the IADR J.J. Pindborg International Prize in Oral Biology, the Distinguished Career Award of the Canadian Pain Society, an Honorary membership with the IASP and of the American Academy of Orofacial Pain, and honorary doctorates (D.Sc.) from McGill University and Aalborg University (Denmark). Dr. Sessle obtained his dental training from the University of Sydney (Australia) and his PhD in neurophysiology from the University of New South Wales (Australia) in the 1960s.  After post-doctoral research at the U.S. National Institute of Dental Research, he joined the University of Toronto in 1971. He was Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry from 1990-2001.

Dr. Mary Lynch, Dalhousie University and Past-President, Canadian Pain Society

Dr. Mary Lynch is Professor of Anesthesia, Psychiatry and Pharmacology at Dalhousie University and Director of the Pain Management Unit at the QEII Health Sciences Centre. She has 20 years of experience as a clinician and researcher assisting patients with chronic pain.
Dr. Lynch’s research interests have focused on the development of new agents for the treatment of neuropathic pain, integrative care in chronic pain management, development of wait-times benchmarks and strategies for service delivery. She is principal investigator of the Canada Foundation for Innovation funded Canadian Pain Trials Network and founding director of the Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids.  Dr. Lynch currently holds funding from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation and the Dalhousie Faculty of Medicine for a randomized controlled trial examining the efficacy of methadone in the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain.
Dr. Lynch is Past-President of the Canadian Pain Society, and has previously chaired its wait-times task force and co-chaired the task force on service delivery. She has also served as co-chair of the International Association for the Study of Pain’s task force on wait-times.
Dr. Lynch was awarded a coveted Mayday Fellowship and the Dr. Helen Hays Award for Excellence in Pain Management. She is the author of the self-help manual “Surviving Your Personal Injuries Claim and Litigation.”

KIOSK PRESENTERS

Children’s Pain

Dr. Patrick J. McGrath, Dalhousie University and Vice-President of Research, IWK Health Centre (see biography above)

Dr. Bonnie Stevens, University of Toronto and Hospital for Sick Children

Chronic Pain

Dr. Mary Lynch, Dalhousie University and Past-President, Canadian Pain Society (see biography above)

Dr. Cathy Bushnell, McGill University and President, Canadian Pain Society

Musculoskeletal Pain

Dr. Jason McDougall, University of Calgary

Dr. Mary-Ann Fitzcharles, McGill University and
Montreal General Hospital

Neuropathic Pain

Dr. Barry Sessle, University of Toronto (see biography above)

Dr. Dwight Moulin, University of Western Ontario

Pain and Mental Health

Dr. Kenneth Craig, University of British Columbia

Dr. Joel Katz, York University