Pain Medicine Fellowship
Program Director Welcome
Welcome to the University of Virginia Department of Anesthesiology’s ACGME-Accredited Pain Medicine Fellowship (AAPM), and thank you for your interest. Using a wide breadth of clinical experience as well as an immersive and tailored didactic program, our goal is to train the future educators, innovators, and thought-leaders in pain management.
Clinical experience within the one-year fellowship includes core rotations through the Fontaine Pain Management Center (clinic and interventions), Monticello Surgery Center (interventions), Main hospital (inpatient pain service), and the OR (surgical interventions). The Fontaine Pain Management Center is the recent recipient of the American Pain Society Center of Excellence designation. In addition, fellows rotate within each of their non-core specialties (Neurology, Anesthesia/Airway, PMR, Psychiatry).
The University of Virginia Pain Medicine fellowship has a well-rounded and immersive didactic component that includes system-based pathophysiology, anatomy, ultrasound, journal clubs, problem-based learning, board review, morbidity and mortality conferences, research, simulation and hands-on courses. Pain medicine course topics encompass neuromodulation, kyphoplasty, and Peripheral nerve stimulation cadaver courses. We strive to provide fellows with the insights and skills to manage complex pain management cases. Our fellows develop the aptitude to perform quality improvement projects and research that ultimately improve pain medicine patient outcomes.
Pain medicine fellows are expected to complete at least one academic project with a faculty mentor during their fellowship year. Our faculty members have a wide and representative expertise in many areas of pain medicine and are willing to facilitate and promote the research process with a variety of different research ideas and ongoing projects. Thank you for your interest in the fellowship program and we hope to hear from you soon.
How to Apply for the Pain Medicine Fellowship
The Fellowship in Pain Medicine accepts six fellows annually. Please apply through ERAS for the Pain Medicine Fellowship.
Note: We have filled all of our ACGME accredited fellowship positions for the 2024-25 academic cycle. We will begin reviewing applications for the 2025-26 cycle beginning in March of 2024.
For Questions about the Pain Medicine Fellowship, please contact us: anesthesiology-painmanagementfellow@virginia.edu
About
Lynn R Kohan, MD
Lynn R Kohan, MD, Pain Management Division Chief
Dr. Kohan is an associate professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Management in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Virginia. Her clinical work encompasses care for patients with a wide range of pain disorders in both the in patient and out patient settings.
Dr. Kohan is American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) certified in anesthesiology and pain medicine. She serves in leadership positions with the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, the Association of Pain Program Directors, The Association of Anesthesiology Specialty Program Directors, the American Academy of Pain Medicine, and the Virginia Pain Society.
In addition, she serves on the editorial boards of several pain journals including Pain Medicine, Anesthesia and Analgesia, Interventional Pain Medicine, Annals of Headache Medicine, and Pain Medicine Case Reports.
Dania C Chastain, PhD Associate Professor
Patrick H. Finan, PhD
Patrick H. Finan, PhD
Patrick H. Finan, PhD, is the Harold Carron Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He is a clinical pain psychologist and an expert in cognitive, behavioral, and affective mechanisms and treatments for chronic pain.
He has an active NIH-funded research program that utilizes laboratory (e.g. experimental sleep disruption; quantitative sensory testing; fMRI), ambulatory (e.g. actigraphy; EEG; ecological momentary assessment), and psychotherapeutic intervention (e.g. meditation; cognitive-behavioral therapy) methodologies to probe mechanisms related to chronic pain. Dr. Finan is an Associate Editor for PAIN and is actively involved in committees for the United States Association for the Study of Pain, the International Association for the Study of Pain, and the Winter Conference on Brain Research.
Robert B Goldstein, MD
Andrew M. Mendelson, DO
Andrew M. Mendelson, DO
Dr. Mendelson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Management Division at the University of Virginia. He specializes in pain medicine with a particular interest in cancer pain, complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), neuromodulation and ultrasound-guided pain procedures.
He is an active member of the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine. His research interests include Ketamine use for chronic pain. He joined UVA Anesthesiology in July, 2021.
Read Dr. Mendelson’s Full Bio
Link to Dr. Mendelson’s Publications
Lori A. Urban, PsyD, ABPP
Lori A. Urban, PsyD, ABPP
Dr. Urban is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Management Division at the University of Virginia. Her clinical work encompasses pain psychology services with individuals throughout the lifespan who experience chronic pain from a variety of sources/conditions.
Dr. Urban’s special interests include complex pain presentations and the use of self-regulation and mindfulness techniques. She is board certified as a Clinical Health Psychologist through the American Board of Professional Psychologists (ABPP). She is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA Divisions 38 and 54), the Virginia Academy of Clinical Psychologists (VACP), and the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP).
Xiaoying Zhu (Amy), MD
Xiaoying Zhu (Amy), MD
Dr. Zhu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Management Division at the University of Virginia. She specializes in the care of patients with chronic pain and acute pain issues. She is interested in optimizing pain treatment using medications and procedures.
Dr. Zhu is involved in the UVA Telehealth Advisory Committee, Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) program, Perioperative Pain Consults, and the UVA Opioid Task Force. Her research interests include outcome measures of pain treatments and improvement of pain procedures.
Bhavana Yalamuru, MBBS
Bhavana Yalamuru, MBBS
Bhavana Yalamuru is a pain medicine physician and anesthesiologist at UVA. She completed her training at the University of Iowa. Her areas of interest include peripheral nerve stimulation, spinal cord stimulation and vertebral augmentation for chronic pain.
She is ABA certified in anesthesiology and pain medicine. She has co-authored book chapters on chronic pain management in trauma, minimally invasive pain techniques in palliative care management. She is an active member of ASRA and is currently selected to serve on the ASRA newsletter committee.
Read Dr. Yalamuru’s Full Bio
Link to Dr. Yalamuru’s Publications
Contacts and Important Information
Please review the important fellowship program details in the sections above. We would also like to request a “Current Photo” which can be sent electronically to the fellowship coordinator. This helps our faculty when interviewing.
For additional information, please contact the fellowship program director, Dr. Lynn Kohan or the Pain Medicine Fellowship Coordinator, Lisa Morton, by phone at 434.924-9454. or by email at: PainManagementFellow@virginia.edu.
Cadaver Lab with Fellows at the January 2020 Workshop