Communicating Science and Improving Care of Pain: Responding to the Cry for Help
David K. Lam, MD, DDS, PhD, professor of surgery and oral and maxillofacial surgery, is one of twelve experts in pain science and care to be selected as fellows of the Mayday Pain and Society Fellowship.
Dr. Lam and the other fellows in June will attend a four-day, intensive workshop in Washington, DC, where they will learn skills to effectively communicate and advocate for the translation of scientific research and evidence-based best practices in pain care and management.
"The need for the expert voices of pain researchers and clinicians to improve pain care in the U.S. and Canada is greater than ever," says Christina Spellman, executive director of the MAYDAY Fund.
"The Mayday Fellowship will help this year's fellows develop the skills to bring their knowledge of the latest in pain research and evidence-based care to the public, healthcare practitioners, and policymakers.
"Their messages will help shape conversations about access to care, pain research, emerging pain treatments, clinical practice improvements, disparities in care, and the progress that is being made in knowledge about pain and its impact."
The leadership of the MAYDAY Fund believes that public education and the support of quality science are essential to improving the way that pain is understood and treated.
The MAYDAY Fund was established in 1992 to further Shirley Steinman Katzenbach's commitment to social and medical causes. The trustees decided to adopt her special interest in the treatment of pain as the fund's mission.
The name MAYDAY commemorates the date of her birth, and is the international word signaling a cry for help, taken from the French "m'aidez" or "help me."
Dr. Lam joined our faculty and practice last fall as section chief of oral and maxillofacial surgery, and holds a joint appointment in the School of Dental Medicine, where he is professor and chairman of oral and maxillofacial surgery. He contributes a new dimension to the care provided by Stony Brook Surgical Associates.
Board certified in oral and maxillofacial surgery, Dr. Lam specializes in the comprehensive surgical management of patients with cancer, pathology, pain, and trigeminal nerve injury.
Dr. Lam comes to Stony Brook from the University of Toronto, where he headed the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery since 2013.
As a member of Stony Brook Surgical Associates, Dr. Lam will practice at the Stony Brook Cancer Center. His clinical interests and expertise, which demonstrate his multidisciplinary experience and training, are:
- Maxillofacial oncology
- Facial trauma
- Reconstructive surgery
- Trigeminal nerve injuries
- Oral and maxillofacial pathology
- Head and neck surgery
- Pain management
"I can channel knowledge from science to the patient's bedside and back again because I split my time and interests between clinical practice and research."
An active scholar as well as clinician, Dr. Lam has to date more than 50 publications to his credit. In a personal statement about his work as a pain specialist, Dr. Lam says:
"Being a surgeon and a neuroscientist provides me with a unique perspective on pain management, both focal and global. It is the perspective I gain in helping an individual patient that allows me to potentially help populations of patients.
"I can channel knowledge from science to the patient's bedside and back again because I split my time and interests between clinical practice and research.
"This allows me to play an important role in bridging the bench-to-bedside translational gap since I can readily translate my research results into the clinic and develop research questions based on clinical issues I encounter in practice.
"As a result, my research and clinical programs are closely integrated, and my research addresses the many challenges I face in the clinical management of patients with a focus on pain from head and neck disorders, cancer, trauma, and trigeminal nerve injury."
Dr. Lam earned his MD at the University of California, Davis (2013) and his DDS and PhD at the University of Toronto (2001 and 2008, respectively).
He completed his residency training in oral and maxillofacial surgery and anesthesia at the University of Toronto, and his fellowship training in maxillofacial oncology at the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center.
| "My unique multidisciplinary experience and training in medicine, dentistry, anesthesia, neurophysiology, and surgery allow me to ensure optimal care for patients with evidence-based and solutions-focused management, as well as innovative therapies." — Dr. David K. Lam |
