Meet the Faculty

Mert AKBAS was a professor of Anesthesiologist and Pain management at Akdeniz University, School of Medicine in Turkey.
He is an Algology Board certified and pain specialist in Turkey is since 2007, and FIPP since 2006.
His areas of clinical interest are decompressive neuroplasty (Lysis procedures) neuromodulation, RFT procedures (Radiofrequency thermocoagulation procedures), and CT guided percutaneous cordotomy.

Dr Al-Kaisy is currently Clinical Lead of the Pain Management and Neuromodulation Centre at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS trust. He trained in Chronic Pain Medicine at The Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Liverpool. He has a fellowship in Chronic Pain Management at University of Toronto Hospital, Canada. Dr Al-Kaisy has an international reputation as a leading expert in Pain Management and has extensive experience in working toward the advancement of electrical neuromodulation techniques within this specialty. Dr Al-Kaisy led the first multicenter and multinational study on the safety and efficacy of 10kHz SCS in the management of Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBSS). He has subsequently clinically pioneered the use of this novel therapy in the management of different chronic pain conditions including the feasibility study on chronic back patients without prior surgery. He has successfully designed groundbreaking research including a randomized double blind placebo control study examining different frequency in the management of FBSS. He is the innovator of a number techniques including transgrade dorsal root ganglion stimulation using monopolar electrical stimulation. Dr Al-Kaisy continues to teach and lecture on essential and pioneering topics in pain management in the United States, Europe, Australia and Asia. He is the chair of the biannual London Spine Pain Symposium at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Hospital.

Dr. Javier De Andrés Ares is the head of the pain unit at the University Hospital La Paz in Madrid, Spain, Director of Hospital Universitario HLA Moncloa and co-director at Clínica del Dolor Hospital Santa Elena-Madrid. He graduated from Universidad Complutense-Madrid in June 1990, completed his anaesthesiology residency at Complejo Hospitalario de Toledo 1996 and is Fellow in Interventional Pain Practice from the World Institute of Pain 2008. In 2008, he obtained the Hassenbusch Award in from the World Institute of Pain. In addition, he is engaged in many training programmes as assistant professor and examiner, and an active member of several societies, including the Spine Intervention Society.

Balázs Bartos, MD, is a consultant anaesthetist and pain physician. He completed his anaesthetic training in Hungary and has over 20 years of experience in anaesthesia and intensive care. In 2013, he completed a one-year fellowship in pain medicine at the pain training centre of the West Midland rotation in Dudley, United Kingdom, under the supervision of Professor Jon Raphael. He gained experience in interventional as well as in multimodal and multidisciplinary pain management. After that, he worked as a locum consultant at North Devon District Hospital as an anaesthetist and pain physician. In 2017, he returned to Hungary and since then he has been working at the Medical Centre of the Hungarian Defence Forces, where he is the lead clinician of the chronic pain service.

Since 2024, he has been working at PSI Pain Clinic as a pain physician and anaesthetist. He is a member of the British Pain Society. He attended many courses in interventional pain management, mainly in the UK, and he was a member of the faculty of international teaching courses in regional anaesthesia and interventional pain management.

His main interest is ultrasound and x-ray guided regional blocks and interventional pain management in complex pain syndromes, low back pain, cervical pain, and cancer pain.

Douglas P. Beall, MD, is board-certified in Diagnostic Radiology, has an added fellowship in Musculoskeletal Radiology, is a Diplomate of the American Academy of Pain Management and is a Fellow of the Society of Interventional Radiology, the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians and a Fellow of Interventional Pain Practice and board certified by the World Institute of Pain. He is currently in private practice focused on interventional pain management and minimally invasive surgical procedures.

Dr. Bhaskar is the Immediate-Past President of the British Pain Society and has served two terms as an elected member of the Council. Dr. Bhaskar is also the present Chairman of the UK Section, of the World Institute of Pain.  Dr Bhaskar works as a Consultant at the Pain Management Centre, Charing Cross Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, and has special interests in complex pain, including cancer pain, neuropathic pain, visceral & pelvic pain, pain interventional procedures and neuromodulation. He has also a specific interest in opioid management. Dr Bhaskar is on the faculty of many courses, including the European Pain School, and is an examiner for the European Diploma in Pain Medicine and also the FIPP examination for the World Institute of Pain.

Dr. Matthieu Cachemaille is currently working as an anaesthesiologist at “La Tour” Hospital in Meyrin, Geneva, Switzerland since 2022. He completed a fellowship in Toronto, Canada with a specialization in neuromodulation and ultrasound-guided musculoskeletal interventional procedures. In addition to the Swiss pain specialization (SSIPM), he holds the FIPP and CIPS diploma. He is involved in many national and international congresses as a speaker and moderator with a special interest for cryoneurolysis on peripheral nerves, regenerative medicine including PRP and stem cells and peripheral and central neuromodulation.

Marco Cascella, MD, works in the Department of Supportive Care at the Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Fondazione ‘G. Pascale” – IRCCS, Naples, Italy, where he has responsibility for research in anesthesia and pain medicine. He was granted the National Scientific Habilitation (ASN) for Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care in Italian Universities and he is annual Professor of Physiology on the Degree Course in Biomedical Laboratory Techniques at the Faculty of Medicine, University ‘Federico II,” Naples. Dr. Cascella graduated with honors in Medicine and Surgery in 1997 from the University ‘Vanvitelli” of Naples and then undertook postgraduate studies in anesthesia and intensive care, obtaining his doctorate in 2001. He acts as an editorial board member for several medical journals. He has been a speaker at numerous conferences and conventions and is the author of about 150 scientific publications, books, and book chapters in the fields of anesthesia, pathophysiology, treatment of pain, oncology, and palliative care. Dr. Cascella also heads and participates in various research projects.

George C. Chang Chien is a physiatrist specializing in interventional pain management, focusing on musculoskeletal and regenerative medicine. He has practices in Southern California and can be reached at www.GCCInstitute.org

Dr. Kenneth Chapman is the director of pain management at Staten Island University Hospital, part of the Northwell Health System, and is an assistant clinical professor at NYU Langone Medical Center. He completed his Interventional Pain Management Fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, and his Anesthesiology residency at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York, New York.
Dr. Chapman directs the fellowship program at the Spine and Pain Institute of NY and is actively involved in teaching and lecturing both nationally and internationally. Dr. Chapman also frequently serves as a pain management Board Examiner for certification on the Fellowship of Interventional Pain Practice Pain Boards. He has won numerous peer validated awards including ‘America’s Best Anesthesiologists’ and ‘Most Compassionate Doctors,’ and was one of the youngest physicians to ever be named as both a NY Times ‘Super Doctor’ and NY Magazine ‘Top Doctor’ when he first received the recognition in 2014. While at the Cleveland Clinic Dr. Chapman also received the “Ethlene R. Smith’s Most Outstanding Fellow” award. He is Vice President of the NYS Interventional Pain Society and on the advisory board to the NYS Worker’s Compensation Board responsible for writing the NYS Worker’s Compensation Guidelines, which all injured workers in the state are treated by.
Dr. Chapman’s interests include translational research pertaining to spinal cord stimulation and dorsal root ganglion stimulation mechanism of action, and studies involving the use of DRG-S to treat conditions traditionally considered to be mechanical pain syndromes.

Miles R. Day, MD (Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock). Dr. Day is the medical director of The Pain Center at Grace Clinic, pain fellowship program director at Texas Tech, and the Traweek-Racz Endowed Professor in Pain Research in the Department of Anesthesiology at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock. He is the President of the World Institute of Pain (WIP). He is a diplomat of the American Board of Anesthesiology with subspecialty certification in Pain Medicine. He also serves as an examiner for the World Institute of Pain. Previously, he was the director and associate professor at the Eugene McDermott Center for Pain Management at the UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. He serves on the editorial boards of Pain Practice and Pain Physician. He is the past-president of the Texas Pain Society and past-chair of the Board of Examination for the World Institute of Pain. Dr. Day received his medical degree from Texas A&M University Health Science Center in College Station and completed his general surgery internship at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. He completed his anesthesiology residency and pain fellowship at Texas Tech as well. He is the author of numerous articles and book chapters in well-known publications. He has educated physicians globally to further the specialty of interventional pain medicine.

Dr. Christ Declerck MD, FIPP, CIPS, ASRA-PMUC is a board certified in anesthesiology and intensive care medicine. Since 2019 he has been the Head of the Multidisciplinary Pain Center in Bruges, Belgium. The MPC Bruges consists of five full-time Pain Physicians in the Tertiary Referral Hospital Saint Jan and General Hospital Saint Lucas. He is teaching for the WIP organization and is an examiner for the FIPP and CIPS certification at the World Institute of Pain in Miami. He teaches at the Pain International School in Budapest and also at the ISURA organization. Dr. Declerck ’s interests include basic and advanced interventional pain therapy more specifically US-guided nerve ablation techniques, Neuromodulation, cryoneurolysis of peripheral nerves, SI joints, and cervical facet syndromes.

Degree in Medicine and Surgery at Pavia University in 1985.
Specialization in Anesthesia and Intensive at Pavia University in 1991.
Specialization in Pain Physiopathology and Therapy at Verona University in 1995.
FIPP diploma in 2018.
Since 2012 head of the Pain Unit of Fondazione Salvatore Maugeri di Pavia
Lecturer and tutor in Pain Management for some Specialty Schools
Since 2018 teacher at Pain School International, Budapest.
I participate and participated in national and international studies, mainly on SCS.
Membership of WIP and INS
The majority of publications are on pain physiopathology, neurostimulation and neuromodulation.

Dr. Sudhir Diwan, nationally and internationally recognized as a key opinion leader in the field of pain management, is the President, Park Avenue Spine and Pain, New York, Associate Clinical Professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York. Dr. Diwan was the former Director of the Tri-Institutional Pain Fellowship Program and Division of Pain Medicine at Ivy League Weill Medical College of Cornell University for more than a decade, where he also served as associate professor of clinical anesthesiology, and on the faculty at the world renowned New York Presbyterian Hospital.
Dr. Diwan has published extensively in prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals and medical books on a variety of pain management topics. He is on the Editorial Board for the Pain Physician – an official journal of the American Society of Pain Physicians (ASIPP) since 2008, and Pain Practice – official journal of World Institute of Pain (WIP) since 2009. He was invited Guest Editor for Journal of Techniques in Regional Anesthesia and Pain Management 2009. Dr. Diwan is the Examiner for the Certification Board for American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians (ABIPP) and Fellow of Interventional Pain Practice (FIPP) offered by the World Institute of Pain. Dr. Diwan is Co-Editor for Intrathecal Drug Delivery for Pain and Spasticity, Vol 2, Timothy Deer, Series Editor, Elsevier-Saunders 2012, and Co-Editor for Diwan-Staats’s Atlas of Pain Medicine Procedures, McGraw Hill Education 2015, and Advanced Procedures for Pain Management, A step-by-step Atlas, Springer US, 2018
In addition to his busy pain management practice in New York City, Dr. Diwan lectures extensively and interacts regularly with experts in the field of pain medicine nationally and internationally. He has been guest speaker for many noteworthy organizations including the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP), and State Societies Pain Meetings, the World Institute of Pain, NANS, INS, and numerous International pain specialty societies and congresses nationally and internationally. Currently he is Executive Director of NYSIPP and Course Chairman of the Annual NYSIPP/NJSIPP Pain Medicine Symposium, and President of ASIPP.

FELLOWSHIP TRAINED INTERVENTIONAL PAIN PHYSICIAN | SENIOR SPECIALIST INPAIN MEDICINE AT HOSPITAL CLÍNIC DE BARCELONA

Dr. Dos Santos (“Gui”) works as a Senior Specialist and Responsible Clinical Lead for the Education and Training Excellence Center in Pain Medicine at the Division of Pain Medicine, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona (2023 – Present), accredited by the European Society of Regional Anesthesia and PainTherapy. Gui earned his Medical Degree from the University of Lisbon (2008 – 2014) and completed a 5-year Residency Program in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Unidade Local de Saúde São José (2016 – 2020). During his training, Gui was an Invited Clinical Research Scholar at the Department of Pain Medicine, Mayo Clinic (2018; 2021), under Mark Friedrich Hurdle, MD. He then completed a Clinical Fellowship in Chronic Pain Medicine under Anuj Bhatia, MD PhD, Paul Tumber, MD, and PhillipPeng, MBBS Founder (Pain Medicine), at the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Toronto (2022).

Dr László Entz is a neurosurgeon and interventional pain therapist. He completed his general medical studies at Semmelweis University, Bonn and Buffalo medical universities. In 2006, he began his research career as a student of professors Péter Halász and István Ulbert at the current National Institute of Mental Neurology and Neurosurgery. In 2009, he’s got a one-year Fulbright Fellowship in New York (Northwell Health, NY). From 2010, as a student of Dr. Loránd Erőss, he gained a broad insight into the treatment of diseases at the border of neurology and neurosurgery, such as Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and various chronic pain syndromes, as well as spasticity. He also participated in the introduction of many innovative surgical techniques in Hungary. In 2015, he obtained a PhD degree (clinical neurosciences) and then a neurosurgery exam with summa cum laude. In 2016, he obtained the qualification of Fellow of Interventional Pain Practice (FIPP). Since 2017, he has been a student of Professor Dezső Jeszenszky in the international spinal surgery training program of the Schulthess Clinic in Switzerland, and then the institute’s deputy chief physician. Since the end of 2019, he has been a colleague and student of Professor Robert Reisch at the Endomin Zentrum at the Hirslanden Clinic in Zurich. Transnasal endoscopic skull base surgery is the focus of the center, which is a leader in the application and education of minimally invasive and endoscopic neurosurgery techniques. From 2021, he is the chief neurosurgeon at the Hirslanden Clinic, the head of the spine surgery profile at the Endomin Zentrum, a member of the skull base surgical team, and an invasive pain therapist. In 2022, he established the Endomin Center in Budapest at the MiND Clinic together with Professor Dr. Róbert Reisch, in close cooperation with the Endomin Zentrum in Zurich.

He is a member of several international companies and the treasurer of the Hungarian section of WIP. He is a regular lecturer at domestic and international conferences. At Semmelweis University, he participates as an instructor in the postgraduate courses of the Department of Neurosurgery.

Dr. Eleni Episkopou is a consultant anesthesiologist and interventional pain specialist with international training in Greece, Austria, UK Budapest. Certified in FIPP and CIPS, she pioneered Greece’s first stellate ganglion cryoablation for arrhythmias and the first intraoperative intercostal cryoablation during VATS. Dr. Episkopou works at Athens Metropolitan Hospital’s Interventional Radiology Department, following her fellowship at Athens Medical University. She volunteers at Athens University Pain Clinic and has supported the Dental School of Athens University. Her work bridges from acute medical pain care, to cancer palliative care focusing on Regenerative Medicine.

Prof. Serdar Erdine is a professor of Anesthesiology and Algology (Pain Medicine). He is the founder of Pain Medicine- Algology in Turkey. He is also the founder of the Turkish Society of Algology and had been the president between 1993-2012, founder of the Turkish Society for Regional Anesthesia, President for two terms.and had been on the board of ESRA between 1993-2001.
He was also the previous exb member and president of EFIC between 1999-2011, Founder and President of the WIP since the foundation and currently chair of the Turkish Registered Section of WIP. He has the Trail Blazers award of WIP in 2017 and Honorary President of the Turkish Pain Society.

Dr. Lorand Eross is the head of the Functional Neurosurgical Department and Center of Neuromodulation at the National Institute of Clinical Neurosciences in Budapest. He is the Director of Research and Innovation. He leads the Epilepsy Surgery Program at the institute. He got his PhD degree at Semmelweis University in 2010 in epilepsy surgery. His main interest is epilepsy surgery, movement disorder surgery, neurosurgical treatment of pain, spasticity and neuromodulation. He has an active reasearch group in the field of epilepsy, chronic pain. He developed new intraoperative localisation method for invasive recordings in epilepsy surgery. His activity includes research and development of in vitro and in vivo electrophysiological and optical investigation methods. He is a lecturer at the Medical Faculty of the Semmelweis University and at the Pazmany Peter Catholic University, Faculty of Information Technology in bionical sciences.

Prof J C Flores Anestesiólogo, Prof Universit; FIPP and CIPS, Phd; Director of CAIDBA Premiado EPP Award 2011-2015; President of CAIDBA Foundation; Assoc Prof of Anatomy Univ Nacional de La Plata, Argentina; Past Chairm Latin American Sect WIP 2 times; Chief of Pain Medicine Clínica San Camilo from 1994 (29 years); Director Workshop Universitario CAIDBA Técnicas Interv Tratamiento del Dolor Refractario (24 Workshops CAIDBA); Director “Postgraduate Universitary Training” in Interventional Ref Pain Fund CAIDBA and Univers Nacional de La Plata. JCF organized 1st Cadaver Workshop Latin América May 2001 (Racz, Calvillo y Fundación Dolor) and has worked with WIP and CLASA since 2004 como Instructor y Examinador. Past President FAAAAR, Pain Foundation, Textbook Pain Medicine, Research in anatomy.

Dr. Manuel Herrero is board certified in anesthesiology and pain management. He completed his anesthesia training at Severo Ochoa Hospital, Madrid, and continued his specialization in pain management at Ciudad Real Hospital with his mentor and recognized pain physician, Dr. Joaquin Insausti. He is also certified interventional pain sonologist (CIPS), fellow of interventional pain practice (FIPP) and European diploma in pain medicine (EDPM). Currently working in Madrid at Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda Hospital, and managing the Cancer Pain multidisciplinary Unit at HM Sanchinarro Hospital. He is a regular trainer in his country using fluoroscopy and ultrasound guided minimally invasive interventional pain procedures, and honorary tutor of the Master of Pain treatment by the Rey Juan Carlos University.

Sean Li, MD is an interventional pain physician. He earned his medical degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, residency training in general surgery at the Mayo Clinic, and later in anesthesiology at the University of Michigan. He completed his fellowship at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Li is the immediate past-president of the New Jersey Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (NJSIPP) and is the Vice-President elect of American Society of Pain and Neuroscience (ASPN). He is a physician partner at National Spine and Pain Centers and an Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School at Newark, NJ.

Giuliano Lo Bianco, MD, PhD, FIPP, EDPM, is an Italian anesthesiologist and interventional pain specialist renowned for fluoro‑ and ultrasound‑guided percutaneous procedures and neuromodulation. Since 2020 he has directed the Analgesia & Percutaneous Surgery Unit at Fondazione G. Giglio, Cefalù, uniting high‑volume clinical practice with translational pain research. He earned a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Catania, fellowship in Neuromodulation and Pain Medicine. Certified FIPP and EDPM in 2022, Dr Lo Bianco lectures on pain therapy at the Universities of Palermo and Pavia, organises the Mediterranean Pain Forum, and serves as Section Editor for Pain Education and Early Career Investigators in the Journal of Pain Research.

André Mansano, MD, Ph.D. FIPP, CIPS
Fellow of Interventional Pain Practice – World Institute of Pain
Certified in Interventional Pain Sonologist – World Institute of Pain
Diplomate of American Interventional Headache Society Board
Education Committee – WIP

Jee Youn Moon, MD, PhD, is a dedicated Professor and Chief Director of the Pain Management Center at the Dep of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine of Seoul National Univ. Hospital College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea. She is the Director of the International Coop of the Korean Pain Society, CRPS SIG Secretary in IASP, and WIP BoE Officer. Her clinical interests are in managing CRPS and cancer pain, and ultrasound and fluoroscopy-guided interventions. She has published over 100 SCI-indexed articles in Anesthesiology, BJA, RAPM, Lancet, etc. She has performed translational research on CRPS patients to investigate their neuroimmune mechanisms via spatial transcriptome analyses.

Carl Noe MD FIPP is a Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Management at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas Texas USA. He serves as the Director of the Pain Division and Medical Director of the Eugene McDermott Center for Pain Management. His fellowship training in pain management was at Texas Tech University Health Science Center under Dr. Gabor Racz.

Dr Padilla del Rey studied Medicine at the University of Murcia (Spain), specialized in Anesthesiology and Intensive Care at Morales Meseguer University Hospital in Murcia, and completed fellowship training in Pain Medicine at Cécil Clinic Multidisciplinary Pain Center in Lausanne (Switzerland). She became a FIPP (Fellow of Interventional Pain Practice) in 2014, got the European Pain Federation Diploma in Pain Medicine (EDPM) in 2017, and became a CIPS (Certified Interventional Pain Sonologist) in 2019. She has a Master’s Degree in Health Management and a Master’s Degree in Nutrition & Dietetics.
She has presented numerous posters at national and international congresses and has also been the author of articles in pain journals and chapters in some pain books.
Dr. Padilla del Rey is a reviewer for the Spanish Society of Pain Journal and forms part of the Spanish Society of Pain Master’s Degree faculty. She is a member of the Murcian Society of Pain, the Spanish Society of Pain, and the World Institute of Pain.
She has worked as an anesthesiologist and pain physician at Morales Meseguer University Hospital and since 2018 she is working at Santa Lucía General University Hospital in Cartagena (Spain)

Ovidiu Nicolae Palea was born in Blaj, a small town in the heart of Transylvania, and was raised in Bucharest, Romania.

He graduated from the Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy in 1989 and continued on graduating from his residency program in Anesthesiology at George Washington University Hospital, Washington DC, USA in 2003.

After graduating from an Intensive Care fellowship at the same University Hospital a year later, he continued to work at Washington University Hospital until the end of 2007 when he returned to Romania.

He started his pain management practice in 2011, being the first Romanian to be accredited in Pain Management by the World Institute of Pain in August 2017.

In 2018, his practice became the only Medical training facility in Eastern and Central Europe to be approved as a training facility by the European Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Therapy.

He has extensive expertise in spine endoscopy,  holds regular workshops in a wide variety of minimally invasive pain management procedures across the world, and has been included in the list of approved examiners by the World Institute of Pain.

Anesthesiologist and pain medicine board certified physician. Over 35 book chapters. Director for workshops at ASA, ASRA, WIP, CCF, INS. Past Program director pain fellowship, Loyola University, Chicago.

Dr Edit Racz has more than 30 years of experience in chronic pain management, with anesthesia and critical care background. She got involved with the World Institute of Pain (WIP) in 1994 and initiated the yearly Budapest Congress with Professors Prithvy Raj, Gabor Rácz and late Jim Heavner. She was one of the first to establish chronic pain care in Hungary and was the first Hungarian Fellow of Interventional Pain Practice.
Since 2013 she serves as a board examiner for WIP and she is the President of the Hungarian Chapter of the WIP.
She was a Chief Anesthesiologist, Intensivist and Pain physician at Péterfy Hospital, Budapest between 1999 and 2018. Since 2018 she has been practicing in private practice at Saint Magdolna Hospital. She performs most fluoroscopy and ultrasound guided pain interventional procedures, as well as teaches more advanced procedures to pain physicians from all over Europe. Regenerative medicine has been a part of her practice since 2006.
Currently she works in chronic interventional pain and anesthesia in Budapest at St Magdolna Private Hospital.
Her main clinical interests are treatment options for lumbar hernias, failed back surgery syndrome and regenerative medicine techniques (such as PRP and prolotherapy for various spine and musculoskeletal conditions).

Grover Murray Professor and TTUHSC Endowed Chair
Professor and Chairman Emeritus Department of Anesthesiology
Past President of Texas Pain Society
Founder and Past President of World Institute of Pain

Dr. Racz graduated The University of Liverpool Medical School, completed his residency at SUNY Upstate Medical Center and served at SUNY from 1966-1977 when he moved to Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center where he served until 2016 as co-director of Pain Services at Grace Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas. Dr. Racz is a founder and past president of World Institute of Pain and Texas Pain Society. He is the first Grover E. Murry Professor named after the first President of the Texas Tech University School of Medicine. He was director of the TTUHSC Pain Symposium since its inception 33 years ago and is also Director of the annual Budapest Conference since it began 23 years ago. He was the first President of the Texas Pain Society.
Dr. Racz board certified with the American Board of Anesthesiology, the American Board of Anesthesiology subspecialty in Pain Medicine, and holds the certificates of Diplomat with the American College of Pain Medicine, Fellow of Interventional Pain Practice awarded by the World Institute of Pain and the Diplomat American Board of Interventional Pain Practice (DABIPP) certification awarded by ASIPP and WIP. He is an advocate for high standards of certification and training among pain physicians and works toward the advancement of those goals.
He has received numerous recognitions and awards from organizations around the world including Distinguished Professor Award for Lifetime Achievement from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, the Lifetime Achievement Award(s) from American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, ASIPP keynote speaker lecture series named for Raj/Racz, and the MORICCA AWARD, the highest award presented by the Italian Pain Society. He educated over 1,000 Pain Physician visitors during tenure at Texas Tech.
He has published over 200 book chapters and journal articles and three books describing his techniques in spinal cord and peripheral nerve stimulation, neurolysis, radiofrequency thermocoagulation and other interventional procedures. Today, Dr. Racz continues to practice in Dallas, Texas, hosts Racz Labs Interventional workshops, and travels around the world presenting lectures and workshops.

Dr. Kristóf Rácz is an anesthesiologist and intensive care specialist. He graduated from Semmelweis University in 2000, and in 2006 he passed the specialist examination. He has 19  years of experience in cardiovascular anaesthesia, heart transplantation, artificial heart anesthesia and intensive therapy.
He has been working at Semmelweis University since 2004, and between 2007-2009 he gained valuable experience as an employee of Imperial College London and Harefield Hospital NHS Trust.

In 2020, he joined the anesthesiologist team at Saint Magdolna Private Hospital, where he has been learning pain management from Dr. Edit Rácz, Dr. Ágnes Stogicza and Dr. Balázs Bartos.

In addition to cardio-vascular anesthesia and intensive therapy, he is also interested in chronic musculoskeletal and cancer pain treatment with ultrasound- and X-ray-guided procedures, as well as the fields of application of regenerative medicine.

Dr Raja Reddy MD FRCA FPMRCA EDRA FIPP CIPS

Dr Reddy trained at Kings, Guys & St Thomas Hospitals in London. His current appointment is consultant in pain medicine & clinical lead for chronic pain management at Medway Maritime NHS Hospital Trust in Kent, UK. Dr Reddy as educational tutor for The Faculty of Pain Medicine, is actively involved in pain medicine fellowship training program. As a senior lecturer for Canterbury Christchurch University, Dr Reddy contributes and teaches on the postgraduate Mch orthopaedic surgical program. Dr Reddy is Faculty & Educational Committee Member for The World Institute of Pain, WIP & Examiner for FIPP & CIPS Examinations. Dr Reddy is the founder & chair of the Annual Spine & Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Intervention Pain Conference in London.

President, Founder, and CEO (1987)
Clinica Vertebra- Barcelona / Madrid
Spine & Pain Surgery Centers, Spain

Founder (2001) & President (2005 – 2009) of the Catalan Pain Society, Academia de Ciencies Mediques i de la Salut. Barcelona

Vice-President (2012 – ), World Federation of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Societies

Founder (1993) & President (2011-2013) of World Institute of Pain, USA

Promoter ( 2016 – 2020) of Taiwan WIP East – South Asia FIPP /CIPS Program at Taiwan National University, Taipei, Taiwan

Advisor & Hon. Member ( 2020) of Taiwan WIP Registered Society

Dr. Sahinler was born in Turkey. He spent a large portion of his childhood in Washington D.C. where his family served as diplomats. He later received his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Ankara with honors. Once he had his medical degree he returned to the United States and began his Anesthesiology residency at Texas Tech University School of Medicine. After residency, he completed his interventional pain management fellowship also at Texas Tech University. He was given the prestigious Dr. Racz/ Dr. Raj award for outstanding Pain Management Fellow. He has been in private practice in Lubbock Texas since 2004. Dr. Sahinler is married to Dr. Michelle Sahinler who is a Gynecologist and they have two children, Seth and Jake. He is a die-hard Red Raider and enjoys tailgating, spending time with his family, and hunting. He is proud and excited to be a partner at Lubbock Spine Institute. His special clinical interests are neuromodulation, implantable drug therapies, and kyphoplasty for the repair of osteoporotic fractures. Dr. Sahinler is board certified by the American Board of Anesthesiology with added qualifications in pain management.

Dr. Ender Sir is an Associate Professor of Algology and Pain Medicine at the University of Health Sciences, Gulhane Medical Faculty, Department of Algology, Ankara, Turkey. He is a member of World Institute of Pain (WIP), Turk Algoloji Dernegi, Turk Anestezi ve Reanimasyon Dernegi. He serves as the Secretary of the WIP Turkish Section.

Prof (Dr.) A A Shetty MCh., PhD, FRCS Eng., FRCS Orth., FACA
He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, Edinburgh and Glasgow. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, London and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
He is an Emeritus professor of Orthopaedics and Cell research at Canterbury Christ Church University (CCU), and former Chair of Orthopaedics and Director of Post graduate studies in Surgery UK.
He was awarded the prestigious Hunterian Surgical Medal and Hunterian Professorship in 2017, by the Royal College of Surgeons of England, London.

Dr. Staats was the founder of the division of Pain Medicine in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at Johns Hopkins University, where he was the division chief and director for over a decade. In this capacity he was youngest major division chief in the history of Johns Hopkins Hospital and was the first anesthesiologist to obtain surgical privileges at any academic university. In 2003 he became a founding partner in Premier Pain Centers in New Jersey which merged with National Spine and Pain Centers (NSPC), the largest pain practice in the United States. He is currently the chief medical officer of National Spine and Pain. He serves on the United States Health and Human Services Pain task force subcommittee.
He is boarded by the American Society of Anesthesiology, the American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians (ABIPP) and the World Institute of Pain (FIPP). He has edited or co- authored 11 textbooks on pain medicine and written over four hundred articles, book chapters and abstracts on neuromodulation and the diagnosis and management of complex pain problems. His publications have appeared in prominent journals including JAMA, Lancet, Anesthesiology, Pain Medicine and others. He has chaired hundreds of meetings devoted to innovation in pain and neuromodulation around the world.
He is listed in Americas Top Doctors, New Jersey Top Doctors and Best Doctors in America. He is the Past President of (ASIPP), The American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, the North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS), the southern pain society the New Jersey Society of interventional pain physicians (NJSIPP) and was the first chair of the American Society of Anesthesia’s committee on Interventional pain. He served as chairman of Board of Examination, and as President of the World Institute of Pain (WIP).

In Prof.dr Monique Steegers’ patient care, research and education, the daily clinical practice of patients influensing the quality of life of patients with acute and chronic pain and in the palliative care setting is still the starting point. Prof.dr. Steegers focuses mainly on the development of acute and chronic pain medicine. She focuses on the question of multidimensionality and interdisciplinary action in the chain care of the pain. She works extensively with national and international education groups and will always look for national and international connection in her research. As full professor dr. Steegers wants to further develop solid networks with professionals working in the field of pain medicine and palliative care influencing the quality of life.

Dr. Agnes Stogicza is a board-certified anesthesiologist and pain physician with 15+ years of experience in interventional pain management. She completed her pain fellowship at the University of Washington, where she was on faculty from 2010 to 2017. As a clinician-educator she treated pain patients and taught fluoroscopy and ultrasound guided minimally invasive interventional pain procedures, regional anesthesia techniques and medication management for complex chronic pain patients to pain fellows and residents.
Currently she works in chronic interventional pain and anesthesia in Budapest at St Magdolna Private Hospital.
She is a member of the World Institute of Pain (WIP) Education Committee, Vice-Chair of the Hungarian Section of WIP and serves as an examiner for the FIPP (Fellow of Interventional Pain Practice) and CIPS (Certified Interventional Pain Sonologist) Board Certification.
She regularly lectures and teaches interventional pain procedures in the US, Europe, South America, India and Africa for the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP), World Institute of Pain (WIP), American Society of Regional Anesthesia (ASRA), World Academy of Pain Medicine Ultrasonography (WAPMU), Singular and other societies.
She is a co-founder of Pain School International that provides interventional pain education in Budapest for doctors from all around the world.
She has authored and co-authored numerous book-chapters and papers in chronic pain management.
Her main clinical interests are neck pain and headaches, peripheral nerve entrapments, and regenerative medicine techniques (such as PRP, BMC and prolotherapy for various spine and musculoskeletal conditions).

Dr Simon Thomson is lead consultant in pain medicine and neuromodulation at Mid & South Essex University Hospitals NHS since 1992. He provides clinical, research, education pain and neuromodulation services. He gained his FIPP in 2002 and FFPMRCA in 2007.
He founded the Neuromodulation Society of UK and Ireland (NSUKI) in 2001. He served on International Neuromodulation Society (INS) board in one capacity or another for 20 years, President for 6 of those years. He co-chaired four biennial INS congresses from 2011 to 2017.
Important ongoing leadership roles include appropriate SCS selection consensus, national neuromodulation registry, SCS waveform research, definitions of persistent spinal pain syndromes. In 2024 he was awarded “Lifetime Achievement Award” by NSUKI.

Andrea Trescot, MD is past president of the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP), past president of the Florida Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (FSIPP), past president of the Alaska Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (AKSIPP), a former professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, and the previous director of the pain fellowship programs at the University of Washington and the University of Florida. She was a pain clinic director in private practice for 10 years before she moved to academics. She has returned to private practice, where she splits her time between Alaska and Florida. She is also the Chief Medical Officer of Stimwave, a wireless stimulation company. Dr. Trescot has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed articles and textbook chapters, and she is the editor and senior author of a 900-page pain textbook (Peripheral Nerve Entrapments – Clinical Diagnosis and Management). She is also co-author of PainWise – A Patient’s Guide to Pain Management, as well as co-editor of the three-volume pain review textbook Pain Medicine & Interventional Pain Management – A Comprehensive Review. She speaks internationally on topics of pain medicine and interventional pain management.

Kris Vissers is an anesthesiologist – pain specialist and consultant in palliative care, professor in Pain and Palliative Medicine and chairman of the Radboud Expertise Center of Pain and Palliative Medicine of the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre in the Netherlands. As a Research Group Leader his research program focusses on the quality of life of vulnerable patients.
He is the immediate past president of the Pain Alliance in the Netherlands, oldest chapter of the IASP. He is Past President of the World Institute of Pain and immediate past chair of the Board of Examination of WIP. Currently, he is the Director education and certification of WIP.