Dr. Steven D. Bender received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1981 from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas and went on to earn his Doctorate of Dental Surgery from Baylor College of Dentistry, in 1986. He practiced general and restorative dentistry in his hometown of Plano, Texas until 2000. In 1999, he began two-years of study and participated in a mini-residency program at the Parker E. Mahan Facial Pain Center, University of Florida College of Dentistry. There, he received advanced training in orofacial pain and temporomandibular joint disorders. 'He received continuing dental education at the L.D. Pankey Institute and The Dawson Center for Advanced Dental Studies where he was trained in treatment of complicated TMJ disorders, oral appliance design and fabrication and advanced dental restorative techniques. In 2001 he completed a postgraduate course and received a certificate of completion in Orofacial Pain from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Dr. Bender also completed a mini-residency program in Headaches sponsored by Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2003.

Since 2001, Dr. Bender has maintained a private practice devoted to the diagnosis and treatment of head, face, oral and TMJ pain. In 2001 he was appointed to the faculty of Baylor College of Dentistry, as a clinical professor in the Department of Restorative Sciences, teaching TMJ anatomy, Occlusion, and Pain Management. He also serves as adjunct professor in the department of Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency program and at Parker College of Chiropractic in Dallas, Texas.

Dr. Bender's current areas of research and study include: difficult headaches, neuropathic pain mechanism, and Trigeminal Neuralgia.

Dr. Bender maintains active memberships in the Academy of General Dentistry, American Equilibration Society, American Academy of Craniofacial Pain, American Academy of Pain Management, American Headache Society, International Association for the Study of Pain, International Headache Society, New England Headache Cooperative, American Dental Association, Texas Dental Association, Dallas County Dental Society, American Academy of Neurology, International Myopain Society, American Academy of Sleep Medicine, National Headache Foundation, Seritonin Club, Organization for Understanding Cluster Headaches, American Pain Society, InternationalSociety for Anesthetic Pharmacology, and the International Anesthetic Research Society.

Dr. Rick Chavez is Founder and Medical Director of The Pain Institute at Little Company of Mary in the South Bay area of Los Angeles. He is board certified by the American Board of Family Practice and the American Academy of Pain Management. After receiving his BA in Psychology from Stanford University in Northern California, Dr. Chavez went on to complete his medical degree from the UCLA School of Medicine. Upon receiving his M.D. he chose to complete his specialty training in Family Medicine at SPPH/Harbor-UCLA joint residency program.

Currently, Dr. Chavez is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and Treatment Coordinator, Unit for Control of Addiction in Chronic Pain Patients, Little Company of Mary Peninsula Rehabilitation Center. At his prior tenureship as Medical Director of Ambulatory Care Services for HealthCare Partners Medical Group, he conducted Utilization Reviews and Case Management. Subsequently, his multidisciplinary background in Pain Management has helped reduce unwarranted or excessive utilization and has ensured that patients receive appropriate treatment and quality care.

As the Medical Director of The Pain Institute, Dr. Chavez has created a unique paradigm of caretaking patients who suffer from chronic pain. As the patient's personal advocate, he guides them as they explore all the potential medical therapies available for their particular problem. Dr. Chavez believes that along with medical treatments, developing a personal, compassionate rapport with his patients and their loved ones, as well as taking into consideration the social context and family dynamics of each individual, is of utmost importance in his holistic approach to pain management. Additionally, his Native-American, Mexican and Japanese ancestry provide him with an enlightened perspective of the diverse, mulit-cultural, Angelino population. Dr. Chavez is currently writing a book about his personal experiences as a physician called, "Musings of A Modern Day Witch Doctor: Healing the Mind, Body & Spirit," His personal and frank account of the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of his medical odyssey has been excerpted in the Sept. 2003 issue of California Latino Medical Association publication. Old fashioned, but yet a pioneer, Dr. Chavez is one of the very first physicians in the South Bay to institute a treatment program for opioid addicted chronic pain patients with a new, highly effective drug Buprenorphine. This drug and dispensement protocol is supported by The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) which is the Federal agency charged with improving the quality and availability of prevention, treatment, and rehabilitative services in order to reduce illness, death, disability and cost to society resulting from substance abuse and mental illness.

Dr. Chavez is also Medical Director of a medical information firm, Health Care Resource Group, a Medical Consultant in Pain Management for the Board of Medical Quality Assurance (BMQA) Physician and Surgeon Licensure Investigative Division, State of California. In the past, he was Medical Director of The Chronic Pain Center at San Pedro & Peninsula Hospital for 5 years, Medical Director of Todd-Pacific Shipyards Occupational Health Clinic for 5 years, Chairman of the Department of Family Medicine for 3 years; Medical Director, CEO, & Founder of Coastal Physicians Medical Group, Co-founder of Alliance of Private Practice Physicians IPA; Medical Director of the Carson Care Station for 4 years, and Board Member of the Medical Associates of Little Company of Mary Hospital for 2 years.

In addition, he has served as Clinical Faculty, at various times, with the USC School of Medicine and UC Davis School of Medicine. Dr. Chavez is a member of the American Academy of Pain Management, The Society for Pain Management, The American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, The American Pain Society and American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry.

He and his lovely wife Lynette live in the Hollywood Hills and have two grown daughters.

Dr. Jeffrey Fudin is a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at the Stratton Veterans Administration Medical Center in Albany NY. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the Albany College of Pharmacy/Union University, and an Instructor of Pharmacology and Psychopharmacology at SAGE Graduate School of Nursing. He is CEO of American Pharmaceutical Care Pain Consultants, a private Internet-based pain resource.

Dr. Fudin graduated from Albany College of Pharmacy (ACP) with his Bachelors Degree in 1981 and later, completed his Doctorate at ACP. He was awarded and completed an American Cancer Society Sponsored Fellowship in Oncology / Hematology at SUNY/Upstate Medical Center shortly after his undergraduate work. He is board certified as a Diplomat to the American Academy of Pain Management, and a member of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and the American Society of Health-system Pharmacists and other professional organizations. He is a peer reviewer for the American Pain Society's (APS) Clinical Practice Guidelines for Arthritis, APS Clinical Practice Guidelines for Fibromyalgia, he reviews publications and poster submissions for the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and the American Society of Health-systems Pharmacists. He is the Chair-elect and founder of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy's Pain PRN group. Dr. Fudin is a Medical Advisory Board Consultant member for the Danmiller Memorial Education Foundation (an on-line public service for pain practitioners and patients).

Dr. Fudin began his employment at the Stratton VA Hospital in 1982 and developed a pharmaceutical care program in Oncology/Hematology in his earlier years at the VA. The oncology program flourished for several years with clinical pharmacy participation involving direct patient care, clinical, and laboratory research in collaboration with the Albany College of Pharmacy. In 1995, Dr. Fudin began a full time practice in pain management for hospitalized and outpatient veterans and initiated a Pharmaceutical Care Pain Clinic at the hospital. Later, the clinic was developed into a state-of-the-art multidisciplinary practice involving numerous healthcare practitioners. The Pain Clinic continues to develop while fostering new pain management strategies and therapeutic interventions by practitioners of varying disciplines.

Dr. Fudin has been an invited speaker on pain management nationally and internationally at VA Hospitals and within the private sector and at major academic medical centers throughout the United States. He is an active lecturer, writer, and researcher on pain management issues.

Dr. Gatell is board certified in anesthesiology and pain management as well as a certified medical hypnotherapist. He graduated from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, and completed his internship at University Hospital, New York Medical Center. His anesthesiology residency was at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn and his fellowship in advanced anesthesiology and research was at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Dr. Gatell maintains a active practice in Atlanta.

Gary W. Jay, MD practiced Pain Medicine before the advent of the medical subspecialty which he helped form. He did his neurology residency at Northwestern University in Chicago, and has practiced Pain Medicine for the entire twenty-three years of his career. He was one of the original thirty founding members who met in Washington D.C. in 1983 to start the American Academy of Algology, now the American Academy of Pain Medicine. He is a fellow of that organization and also a Diplomate of the American Academy of Pain Management and a member of that organization's National Board of Advisors. He is certified by the American Society of Neurorehabilitation. He is a Senior Disability Analyst and Diplomate of the American Board of Disability Analysts and a Board Certified Forensic Examiner. He is also a Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Medicine. Dr. Jay founded and was the first president of the Southern California Pain Society. He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Association for the Study of Headache (AASH) (now the American Headache Society). He was the Chairperson of the Professional Education group of the Brain Injury Interdisciplinary Special Interest Group, a part of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. There, he helped develop the Core Curriculum to be used to teach professionals about Traumatic Brain Injury. He was one of the speakers teaching the National Pain Medicine Board Review Course for 3 years. Dr. Jay was Chairman of the Colorado State Department of Labor RSD/CRPS Task Force, and Co- Chair of the Chronic Benign Pain Task Force. The results of both taskforces (the appropriate diagnostic and treatment procedures for both problems) were passed into law in the state of Colorado, mandated by all Workers' Compensation Insurers and later the PIP carriers. He has been the Medical Director of Pain and Traumatic Brain Injury Services in several hospitals over the last decade. Dr. Jay is the current President of the Florida Academy of Pain Medicine, 2002 - 2003. He has published over 40 medical textbook chapters and medical articles in peer review journals, all dealing with various aspects of headache, pain and mild traumatic brain injury. He has had two textbooks published, (on Headache and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury) and his third textbook Soft Tissue Pain Syndromes, a part of the Cailliet Pain Series, will be published early next year. He is the Editor-in Chief of the Cailliet Pain Series and will be rewriting all of the ten historic textbooks. He has lectured nationally for 24 years. Currently, Dr. Jay is the Medical Director of the Headache and NeuroPain Care Institute, a division of Anesthesia Pain Care Consultants, Inc., in Tamarac, Florida.

Dr. Koepsel is a board certified podiatric surgeon in foot and ankle surgery by the ABPFAS. He graduated cum laude with a BS degree from the California State University in Long Beach and as valedictorian from the California College of Podiatric Medicine with BMS and DPM degrees. Dr. Koepsel has developed an expertise in the biomechanics of foot and ankle function and its relationship to foot pain. He is currently serving as President of the Texas Podiatric Medical Association. He practices in Houston, Texas where he serves as an attending clinical instructor for the Harris County podiatric surgical residency program.

Dr. McKenna is board certified in Pain Medicine and Anesthesiology through the American Board of Anesthesiology and has qualified for the title of Fellow of Interventional Pain Medicine (FIPP) through the World Institute of Pain. He received his BA from Stanford University and his MD from the Harvard Medical School. He completed his residency and fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. McKenna is a member of several professional organizations and lectures frequently, both locally and nationally. He practices interventional pain medicine in Las Vegas, NV and is the medical director of McKenna Pain Management and the Surgical Arts Center.

Dr. Richard M. Rosenthal graduated from the University of Utah School of Medicine. He completed his internship in internal medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Dr. Rosenthal completed his anesthesiology residency at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in San Antonio, Texas. He is board certified with the American Board of Anesthesiology, the American Board of Pain Medicine, the American Academy of Pain Management, and the American Society of Addiction Medicine. He recently was qualified as a Fellow of Interventional Pain Physicians by the World Institute of Pain. He is the first physician in Utah to have this distinction.

Dr. Rosenthal cares about his patients and strives to improve their quality of life. He is passionate about finding the best way to help each person. He researches extensively on individual cases to make sure he is providing the best possible care. That is why he has continued to stay abreast of the latest technology and information. He has been an instructor and lecturer for the International Spinal Injection Society (ISIS), the Brigham Young University Nurse Practitioner Program, Jansen Pharmaceuticals, and ArthrocareSpine.

His expertise has been utilized by several insurance agencies in the creation of guidelines for the proper use of radio-frequency lesioning in the treatment of spinal pain. As an ISIS instructor, he teaches other physicians the art and technique of spinal injection using anatomical models and cadavers. He is one of ten nationally recognized instructors chosen to instruct a one-on-one course offered to physicians, and one of five instructors invited to teach in Europe. He is sought after extensively to instruct and teach others.

He authored and co-authored two chapters in an internationally used reference book entitled Decision Making in Pain Management, and he is currently working on another book on interventional pain management. One of his primary goals is to educate physicians, nurses, and payers about the appropriate management of chronically painful conditions.

In 1998, Dr. Rosenthal established his private practice, Nexus Pain Care. Since that time, the clinic has grown into an extensive multi-disciplinary clinic that continues to mature. The center now includes: an anesthesiologist/injectionist, two physiatrists, three physician assistants, a nurse, a psychologist, a chiropractor, a medical massage therapist, an off-location physical therapist, and several medical assistants and office personnel. Within the scope of the practice, the goal is to achieve a balance of disciplines that will best serve the patient and address multiple aspects of care.

Dr. Rosenthal has structured his approach to pain management in a five-pillar approach. The first pillar consists of diagnostic and therapeutic spinal injections. The second is the clinical research division. The third pillar is the rehabilitation and educational portion. Teaching and instructing other providers is the fourth pillar. The fifth is the leadership and trailblazing into a more effective present and future of providing care.

Dr. Rosenthal believes that living with pain is personal and difficult. Dr. Rosenthal is committed to treating the whole person and not just the "body", as he understands that pain affects the emotional, mental and spiritual well being of an individual.

Dr. Rosenthal believes that an accurate diagnosis will lead to specific treatment options, and that treatment that is appropriate will encompass rehabilitation and prevention strategies to help stop reoccurrence, with emphasis on achieving a long-term solution to help the patient restore a way of life by, increasing physical activity, improving conditioning, improving ability to manage pain, and reducing dependence on medication and the medical system. Dr. Rosenthal actively promotes growth and learning by teaching medical students, practicing physicians, educating his own staff, and educating his patients. He was included in Best Doctors in America.

Dr. Rosenthal and his wife, Joan, have three children. They enjoy hiking, riding horses, and doing other outdoor activities together.

Dr. Sauer is owner in a partnership at The Center for Pain Relief, an active pain management group in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. His practice is focused on the treatment of chronic pain syndromes of all types. Various treatment modalities are used with an emphasis on interventional treatment.

Dr. Sauer is board certified, as both an anesthesiologist and a pain management specialist by the American Board of Anesthesiology. Dr. Sauer completed medical school at Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. He then completed his training as an anesthesiologist at Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Sauer's fellowship training as a pain management specialist was completed at The Medical University of South Carolina.

Dr. Robert G. Schwartz completed his undergraduate studies at The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and medical school At Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. He completed his residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas. He is board certified In Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Pain Management, Electrodiagnostic Medicine, Orthopedic Medicine and Thermology. Dr. Schwartz is also a fellow of the Society For Vascular Medicine & Biology.

Dr. Schwartz is licensed to practice in three states, Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina, and is certified in five specialty areas. He has lectured extensively throughout the United States and Europe, and is a prolific writer on such topics as innovations on neuromusculoskeletal thermography techniques, prolotherapy injections, electroceutical pain management with electric sympathetic block, electrotherapeutic wound healing, Diagnostic Musculoskeletal Ultrasonography, pain pharmacology and somato-visceral pain syndromes.

Dr. Schwartz is a member of the National Migraine Foundation and the American Headache society. He is the medical director for the South Carolina RSD Support Group and The Upstate South Carolina Polio & Peripheral Neuropathy Support Group. In addition, Dr. Schwartz is the medical director of the South Carolina Fibromyalgia Support Group and serves on the advisory committee of the Greenville Dystonia Support Group.

Dr. Schwartz is a strong advocate of patient centered health care, and has incorporated this practice philosophy into his office, which was established in 1984. He is the innovator of the "Challenge & Choice" program, a tool designed to enhance responsible choice for the health care consumer. Dr. Schwartz owns and operates Piedmont Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, P.A., in Greenville, SC, www.piedmontpmr.com. Within his practice, he specializes in pain diagnosis and treatment, occupational injury, and sports medicine.

Dr. Weisman currently holds the Jane B. Pettit Chair in Pain Management at the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, where he is the Medical Director of the Jane B. Pettit Pain and Palliative Care Center. In addition, he is Professor of Anesthesiology and Pediatrics at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Dr. Weisman formerly established and directed pain management programs for children at both the University of Connecticut Health Center and Yale University School of Medicine. He has completed residency and fellowship training in Pediatrics, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Anesthesiology. His clinical and research interests focus on multidisciplinary system-wide approaches to pain management and postoperative pain in children. The Jane B. Pettit Pain and Palliative Care Center has recently introduced programs in acupuncture and mindfulness meditation for children. In addition, the Center has spearheaded a new institutional comprehensive pain management program known as the Comfort Zone™. Dr. Weisman has spearheaded several different quality improvement programs for pain management in children at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. In addition, he has been the Project Champion for pain management initiatives in the quality improvement group of the Child Health Corporation of America.

Dr. Whitworth is a national leader in the development of minimally invasive spine surgical techniques, including endoscopic discectomy. He practices interventional pain medicine and is involved in research with artificial nucleus technologies. Board certification is held from the the American Board of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery and Medicine, American Board of Pain Medicine, American Academy of Pain Management, and American Board of Anesthesiology. Dr. Whitworth is an active member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, American College of Spine Surgeons, International Intradiscal Therapy Society, Spine Arthroplasty Society, International Spinal Injection Society, and is president of the American Board of Interventional Pain Medicine. Dr. Whitworth lectures nationally and teaches workshops in minimally invasive surgical techniques and advanced pain medicine.