Welcome

Jamie Kitzman, MD, FASA, DABMA
Program Chair

On behalf of the Society for Pediatric Pain Medicine, it is my pleasure to welcome you to our 2nd Biennial SPPM Global Conference. We are thrilled to have you join us for this virtual program highlighting "What's Trending Worldwide in Pediatric Pain Medicine."

This year's conference brings together a multi-national panel of experts who will share their insights and expertise from various places around the world, spanning from Canada to Asia and Australia. We are excited to facilitate an exchange of ideas and knowledge among global minds from various specialties, as we collaborate to improve the lives of children.

We have an exceptional lineup of speakers who will discuss a range of novel topics. Our first session, "What's New," touches on advancements in the standardization and assessment of pain. Our first speaker, Dr. Allen Finley, is Pediatric Anesthesiologist and Professor at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia who has dedicated over 30 years to pain research while also holding multiple leadership positions in Canadian and international anesthesiology and pain societies. He will be presenting “A Canadian National Pediatric Pain Standard." Dr. Sarah Wallwork is Research Fellow in the Body in Mind Research Group of the University of South Australia. With a background in physiotherapy and research focus in pain neurobiology and pediatric pain, she will be speaking on, "Early Years of Life as an Opportunity to Socialize Children About Pain." Next, Dr. Ayuko Igarashi, the Anesthesiologist in Chief at Miyagi Children's in Japan, is speaking on "Pain in Children with Special Needs." Dr. Rebecca Riddell, who serves as the Research Chair at York University and a world-renowned researcher at the OUCH lab, will be discussing their findings on “AI in Assessing Infant Pain in the NICU."

Our second session, “What’s Hot” provides a spectrum of trending topics in current events and pediatric pain management. Dr. Rita Agarwal, a pediatric anesthesiologist and pain medicine physician, will be discussing “Perioperative Considerations in Pediatric Patients with Substance Use Disorder.” We will follow with a talk on "Adjuvants in Severe Burn Injury in Children" by Dr. Teddy Fabila of Singapore and "Regional Anesthesia in Neonates and Congenital Anomalies" by Dr. Vrushali Ponde of India. We are delighted to host these two instrumental members of the Asian Society of Paediatric Anaesthesiologists. Last, but not certainty not least, we will close our speaker sessions with YouTube Pain sensation (no pun intended) Dr. Andrea Furlan. Brazilian-born Dr. Furlan is a PM&R trained chronic pain physician, researcher, and author from Canada who will speak on "Nociplastic Pain and Somatic Tracking."

Rounding out the program, our final session, “What’s Budding” showcases grassroot educational video on pediatric pain medicine. This session will feature a montage of short clips or Visual Pearls (VIPs), created by SPPM members and conference participants.

I am confident that the diverse range of professional perspectives and medical experiences will be both valuable and thought-provoking. Your participation and engagement are strongly encouraged so please feel free to post questions on the speaker discussion board.

I would like to thank SPPM President Dr. Yuan-Chi Lin, SPPM Immediate Past President Dr. Bob Wilder, SPPM Vice President and Education Committee Chair Dr. Steven Hays, and SPPM Global Conference Co-chair Dr. Cheryl Hartzell for their input and guidance during the planning process. Additionally, I am forever grateful for my husband, Pinkesh, for his encouragement and support in my professional endeavors. Lastly, I would like to extend my appreciation to the Ruggles team for making the virtual platform and program seamless, with a special thanks to Kim Battle, Stewart Hinckley, Matt Carpenter, and Jenny Patterson, for their exceptional dedication to SPPM Global’s success.

Thank you for joining SPPM in our mission to advance pediatric pain medicine globally. We wish you a fruitful conference experience.