Pain Management, Interventional Pain Medicine, Naturopathic Medicine, Pain Medicine, Telemedicine
Undergraduate: Ev. Gymnasium Werther, Werther, Germany Aug 1981 - May1990
Government Mandatory Community Service for Male German Citizens
Elderly Care Facility, Werther, Germany Mar 1991 - Sep 1991, Ward Nurse, General Hospital, Werther, Germany Sep 1991 - Jun 1992
Medical School:
University of Hamburg Germany Jun 1992 - May 1998
Research Scholarship Sep 1999 - Apr 2000, Molecular Endocrinology/Metabolism, University of Hamburg, Germany
Dr. Med University of Hamburg Germany (PhD) Jun 2000
Internship: Jul 2000 - Jun 2001
Internal Medicine, Hospital of Saint Raphael, New Haven, Connecticut, Affiliated with Yale University, School of Medicine
Residency:Residency Anesthesia, UCSD Jul 2001 - Jun 2004
Chief Resident, UCSD Jul 2003 - Jun 2004
Fellowship: Jul 2004 - Jun 2005, Pain Fellow, UCSF
Masters in Clinical Research, UCSD Apr 2006 - May 2008
Pain Management
Addiction Medicine
German Chamber of Physicians
07/2001 – Present American Society of Anesthesiologists
07/2001 – Present California Society of Anesthesiologists
07/2001 – Present American Medical Association
01/2006 – Present American Academy of Pain Management
02/2006 – Present American Pain Society
04/2006 – Present International Association for the Study of Pain
05/2009 – Present American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress
05/2009 – Present The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies
05/2010 – Present Society for Neuroscience
06/2010 – Present National Center for Crisis Management
I serve as the Chief Executive Officer of SAVAS Health and President of VitaMed Research, LLC. Prior to going into private practice, I held an appointment as Associate Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology and Psychiatry and as the director of clinical pain research at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). I am triple-board certified in Anesthesiology, Pain Management, and Addiction Medicine. I received my education in multidisciplinary pain management at UC San Francisco prior to returning to San Diego in 2005 as an Assistant Clinical Professor and enrolled in a masters’ program for clinical research. During my years at UCSD and the VA, I served as the Director for clinical pain research, published numerous papers and book chapters and presented my work at many national and international conferences as guest lecturer or visiting professor. After a career in academia at UCSD, I moved to private practice in 2013 to focus on a comprehensive, holistic approach to patient care.
Today, as a serial entrepreneur in healthcare and software development with special interest in novel, value-based-care delivery systems and models, I oversee more than one dozen integrated pain clinics across southern California. Through our Unitized Transdisciplinary Care program, patients are afforded access to traditional medicine as well as a wide range of holistic opportunities, chiropractic treatment, acupuncture, naturopathic medicine, yoga, meditation, and massage. Besides keeping a busy practice, I conducted many scientific inquiries to better understand the effects of stress on pain perception. My areas of expertise include PTSD and fibromyalgia chronic pain, and I received funding and support from sources including the “Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research,” the “Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health” and industry leaders. I currently hold appointments as Associate Clinical Professor (voluntary) with the University of California Riverside School of Medicine and University of California San Diego School of Medicine.
