Robert D. Kerns, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology and of Psychology, has received the 2017 Wilbert E. Fordyce Clinical Investigator Award from the American Pain Society.
The award recognizes and honors career achievement in clinical research on pain. Established in 1995, the award was named for Wilbert E. Fordyce, PhD, the first recipient.
The American Pain Society is a professional and scientific organization whose members research and treat pain, and advocate for patients with pain. Its mission is to advance pain-related research, education, treatment, and professional practice.
Kerns recently retired from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs after over 37 years of government service, including roles as VA National Program Director for Pain Management from 2005 to 2013, and as founding Director of the VA Pain Research, Informatics, Multimorbidities and Education (PRIME) Center of Innovation from 2008 to 2016.
He has published over 250 articles, chapters, and monographs, and two books in the area of behavioral medicine and pain management. His scientific contributions to the field have been funded via numerous research grants from the VA, the National Institutes of Health, and private foundations.
His scholarly and scientific contributions to the field of pain management have been broad in scope and include contributions in support of comprehensive pain assessment; development and evaluation of effective psychological interventions for chronic pain; studies of pain, emotional distress, and mental health comorbidities; identification of harms associated with long-term opioid therapy; and efforts to promote organizational improvements in pain care.
Kerns has received numerous awards and honors, and was a member of the Institute of Medicine Committee on Advancing Pain Research, Care, and Education; the Health and Human Services National Pain Strategy Oversight Panel; and the Federal Interagency Workshop on Prevention of Adverse Drug Events among other national committees and work groups.
He received his PhD from Southern Illinois University in 1980.