The National Pain Foundation's John C. Oakley Fund Advisory Board

John C. Oakley, MD, was a world-renowned expert in pain medicine and founding board member of the National Pain Foundation. Born in 1946, his interest in helping people through education or ministry developed into a passion for medicine. After years of college, medical school, internships and residency, John settled back in Seattle, the place of his birth, to establish a private practice in neurosurgical medicine at Northwestern Hospital. After 17 years in Seattle, he moved to Billings, Mont., and joined the Yellowstone Neurological Associates practice.

John's life was tragically cut short in a plane crash on April 17, 2006. His legacy of kindness, curiosity and adventure has continued, however, in the work and in the spirit of the hundreds of colleagues, friends and family members he influenced and inspired during his time on earth.

The John C. Oakley, MD Memorial Fund for Pain Research and Education was established in 2007 to pay tribute to the legacy of Dr. Oakley's compassionate care for patients living with pain. The Oakley Fund Advisory Board is dedicated to honoring his memory and continuing efforts towards his goals of improving the lifes of those living with pain. If you would like to support the John C. Oakley, MD Memorial Fund, please click here.
 

Giancarlo Barolat, MD, is the medical director at the Center for Neuroscience and Pain at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Hospital in Denver and specializes in neuromodulation for chronic pain management at Barolat Neurosciences, Denver. He was born and raised in Torino, Italy and attended medical school at the University of Torino. Dr. Barolat is board certified in neurological surgery by both the American and the Italian boards of neurosurgery, having completed neurosurgery residencies in both countries. He was professor of neurosurgery and director of the Division of Functional Neurosurgery at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and director of Neurosurgical Services at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital until December 2004. Dr. Barolat serves as a director-at-large of the International Neuromodulation Society, is on the board of the American Neuromodulation Society, and also serves on the editorial board of the journal Neuromodulation. He is a past president of the International Neuromodulation Society and is a leader and pioneer in the areas of neuro-implantable technologies for the management of pain, motor disorders and spasticity. His practice is one of the largest in the country, treating patients from all over the world. Aside from performing more than 4,000 neurostimulation implants, Dr. Barolat has authored more than 60 medical articles and book chapters. He lectures extensively both nationally and internationally.

Scott Drees, NPF Vice-Chair, Program Development and NPF Secretary, has been an active member of the National Pain Foundation since its inception. Mr. Drees is president and CEO of three private companies. The first, Decaf Consulting, Inc., provides a wide array of consulting services for medical device companies. The second, Decaf Inc., is in the business of invention, intellectual property development and licensing of medical devices. The third, Neuromodulation Ventures, LLC. (his newest enterprise), is designed to create strategic partnerships and provide investment capital for new technologies and companies in the field of neuromodulation. Mr. Drees has worked in the implantable medical device business for 28 years. He was instrumental in the development of the fast growing neurostimulation market for pain, while serving at Advanced Neuromodulation Systems, Inc. from 1996 to 2007. Prior to ANS, Inc., Mr. Dress held a variety of positions at St. Jude Medical, Boston Scientific and Johnson & Johnson. Mr. Drees holds a bachelor of science degree from St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia. Mr. Drees also serves on the board of the John Oakley Pain Research Foundation. Mr. Drees and his family reside in Texas and Colorado.

Allen R. Dyer, MD, PhD, is professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at James H. Quillen College of Medicine, East Tennessee State University, where he has served as chair of the department. Previously he served at Albany Medical College as associate and interim chair of the Psychiatry Department, psychiatrist-in-chief at the Albany Medical Center Hospital, and chief medical officer of the Capital District Psychiatric Center. He was professor of health policy and management at the State University of New York at Albany. Dr. Dyer graduated from Brown University, where he received a master of medical science degree and received certificate of theological studies from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, Calif. He earned his MD degree from Duke University and also his PhD from the department of religion at Duke. Dr. Dyer completed his internship and psychiatric residency, including a year as chief resident of psychiatry, at Duke University Medical Center. His field of academic interest is medical ethics and health policy. Dr. Dyer has written more than 100 articles and chapters and is the author of several books including Ethics and Psychiatry: Toward Professional Definition and coauthor of A Concise Guide to Ethics in Mental Health Care. He has received a number of teaching awards including Dean’s Distinguished Teaching Award in the Clinical Sciences (1998), Nancy C. A. Roeske Award for Outstanding and Sustained Contributions in Medical Education and the Caduceus Club Attending of the Year (2006).

Elliot Krames, MD, NPF Co-Founder, is the medical director of the Pacific Pain Treatment Center in San Francisco California. A pioneer in the fields of intraspinal analgesia and neuromodulation for pain control, Dr. Krames has written extensively on these topics for pain management and has conducted national and international symposia related to this topic. He is a founding member of the American Neuromodulation Society and the National Pain Foundation and has participated on its boards as well as those of the International Neuromodulation Society, the World Institute of Pain, and the American Academy of Pain Medicine. Dr. Krames is the current president of the International Neuromodulation Society and the editor in chief of their journal, Neuromodulation, Technology at the Neural Interface. Dr. Krames has edited several books including Chronic Pain Management; Use of the Tools of the Trade, Operative Neuromodulation and is the present co-editor of a new book, Neuromodulation, published by Elsevier.

Richard Stieg, MD, MHS, Editor-in-Chief of www.NationalPainFoundation.org, is the medical director of the Pain Medicine Center Clinic - Centennial Group, Denver and is an associate clinical professor of neurology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Dr. Stieg created and served as the medical director of the first comprehensive multidisciplinary chronic pain treatment center in Colorado at Boulder Memorial Hospital. He also was the executive medical director for the pain rehabilitation program at the Center for Spine Rehabilitation and the Colorado Rehabilitation Institute. Dr. Stieg was the medical director of the Pain Evaluation and Treatment Institute at the University of Pittsburgh from 1987 through 1989. He has served on numerous committees and boards, including the AMA President's Council, as treasurer of the American Pain Society, and as president of the American Academy of Pain Medicine. He was editor-in-chief of the Journal of Disability and has served on the editorial boards of the Clinical Journal of Pain and Pain Medicine. His most recent publication, Roadblocks to Effective Pain Treatment, explores the issues of accessibility of treatment options for the chronic pain patient.