Patrick W. Mantyh, PhD, JD
Professor of Pharmacology
University of Arizona

Patrick W. Mantyh, PhD, JD is professor of pharmacology in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona anda member of the Arizona Cancer Center and a research career scientist at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He received bachelor’s degrees in botany and molecular biology from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin, a PhD in neuroanatomy from the University of California at San Francisco, and a JD degree with specialty in patent law from the William Mitchell College of Law in St Paul, Minnesota. Dr. Mantyh is nationally recognized for his research of chronic skeletal pain and cancer-related pain. Specific areas of interest include, reflected in his 190 publications, understanding the unique sensory and sympathetic innervation of the skeleton in health, disease and aging; investigating the mechanisms that generate and maintain cancer pain; exploring the factors that drive non-malignant skeletal pain; and developing and testing novel therapies that can attenuate malignant and non-malignant skeletal pain.

William W. Muir III, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVA, DACVECC
Chief Medical Officer
Animal Medical Center
New York

William W. Muir III, DVM, MS, PhD, DACVA, DACVECC received his DVM from Michigan State University and his PhD atThe Ohio State University. He is board certified in veterinary anesthesia and veterinary medicine and critical care, a fellow of the American Academy of Clinical Pharmacology, regional director of the International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management and a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association.He serves as a consultant to the Veterinary Pharmaceutical Animal Health industry and pharmaceutical regulatory agencies including the Center for Veterinary Animal Medicine of the Food and Drug Administration. He was Chair (1983-1994) and Professor of the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at The Ohio State University for 37 years. Dr. Muir is presently the Chief Medical Officer for The Animal Medical Center in New York. Dr. Muir has lectured and published extensively in both scientific and clinical veterinary forums on the subjects of anesthesia, critical care, acid-base and fluid therapy, circulatory shock and the pharmacology and pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic properties of drugs used to treat diseases in companion animals with over 290 papers.

Linda S. Sorkin, PhD
Professor, Department of Anesthesiology
UC San Diego
La Jolla, CA

Linda S. Sorkin, PhD is presently a Professor of Anesthesiology at University of California, San Diego and a member of the Neurosciences Group. She received her PhD in mammalian physiology with a concentration in neurophysiology from the University of Michigan. This was followed by post-doctoral training in pain mechanisms at both the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and University of Bristol, United Kingdom. She is a past member of the board of directors of the American Pain Society. Dr. Sorkin has been a Fulbright Fellow at the Karolinska institute and was the recipient of the prestigious Wennergren ellowship. She has authored more than 90 peer reviewed articles and chapters concerning mechanisms of acute and chronic pain. Her research interest are on sensory systems that are activated by tissue injury and inflammation.

Camilla I. Svensson, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology
Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

Camilla I. Svensson, PhD is Assistant Professor and group leader at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. Scientific interest: Mechanisms of chronic pain, neuro-immuno interactions in the central nervous system, glia cells, regulation of inflammatory processes and how these affect sensory nerves. Dr. Svensson received a Master of Science in Pharmacy from Uppsala University in Sweden. She received her PhD in Molecular Pathology from University of California, San Diego 2005 and then undertook post-doctoral work at the Department of Medicine, division of Rheumatology at the same university. In parallel, Dr. Svensson was appointed as a Project Scientist at the Department of Anesthesiology to pursue pain research supported by the National Institute of Health. Dr. Svensson then moved her laboratory to the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the Karolinska Institutet 2008 and is appointed by the Swedish Research Council (VR FoA-tjänst).Dr. Svensson’s current research interests, published in over 40 papers, include mechanisms of chronic pain, neuro-immuno interactions in the central nervous system, glia cells, regulation of inflammatory processes and how these affect sensory nerves. Dr. Svensson has received several awards rcognizing her contribution including recently the recognition by the Swedish government as one of the top 10 young researchers in Sweden.

Andrew J. Todd, PhD
Professor, College of Medical
Veterinary and Life Sciences
University of Glasgow, Scotland

Andrew J. Todd, PhD is Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Glascow, Scotland. Dr. Todd’s research involves investigating the neuronal circuits which are present in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, and in particular those which are relevant to pain mechanisms. This work uses light, confocal and electron microscopy, in combination with immunocytochemistry and neuronal tract-tracing. He has undertaken pivotal studies defining the organization of dorsal horn nociceptive processing systems. He has published over 100 papers and is widely considered to be one of the premiere experts in dorsal horn organization. He is a member of The Spinal Cord Research Group in Glasgow and has extensive collaborations with laboratories around the world.

Ashley Wiese, DVM, MS, DACVA      
Fellow, Department of Anesthesiology
UC San Diego
La Jolla, CA

Ashley J. Wiese, DVM, DACVA is research fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Tony Yaksh at the University of California San Diego. Dr. Wiese received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Masters of Science in Clinical Pharmacology degrees from the Ohio State University. She completed a residency in Anesthesia and Critical Patient Care from the University of California Davis. She is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Anesthesiologists. Dr. Wiese’s is currently involved in studies focusing on the pharmacology and pathophysiology of novel spinal pain therapies.

Tony L. Yaksh, PhD
Professor and Vice Chair
Depart of Anesthesiology
UC San Diego
La Jolla, CA

Tony L. Yaksh, PhD obtained his BS degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology , MS degree from the University of Georgia, and PhD from Purdue University. He joined Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN and rose to rank of Professor in Neurosurgery (1977-1988). He then joined UCSD in 1988 as Professor and Vice Chairman for Research in the Department of Anesthesiology and Professor of Pharmacology. Dr. Yaksh’s research interests are primarily in the area of the biology of pain processing, with a particular interest in the role of non-neuronal cells and lipid mediators in pain transmission. He is an expert on issues related to spinal drug kinetics and the evaluation of the safety of spinally delivered agents. He has published more than 750 papers and edited 6 texts. He has been a mentor to more than 100 post-graduate Fellows. He has been funded consistently by the NIH since 1977 and has twice been a Javitz award recipient. He is currently the Principal Investigator on several grants and numerous contracts. He has received several honors and awards, including the FWL Kerr award of the American Pain Society, the American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) Award for Excellence in Research, the Rovenstein award from the New York Society of Anesthesiology, and the Torsten Gordh award from the Swedish Society of Medicine.