Researcher
David A. Edwards, MD, PhD
Co-Founder, Physician
Highlights
- Combined MD/PhD at the University of Maryland on full scholarship. His neurophysiology doctorate helped describe early pathways of the brain's endocannabinoid system.
- Pain Medicine fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital; taught at Harvard Medical School.
- Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and of Neurological Surgery and Chief of Pain Medicine at Vanderbilt University.
- Co-Principal Investigator on a $3.8M NIH/NIDDK HEAL Initiative grant on pain and opioid use.
- Published over 60 articles and authored 8 books.
Biography
Dr. David Edwards is a physician, neuroscientist and doctor of physiology. He was born in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, and moved to the United States after high school to seek a medical education.
He completed a combined MD/PhD degree at the University of Maryland on full scholarship. During his doctorate in neurophysiology he discovered and described some of the initial mechanistic pathways of the endocannabinoid system of the brain, the brain's natural signaling system that enables learning and memory.
He then spent four years at the University of Florida training in Internal Medicine and Anesthesiology, where he was Chief Resident. His research there covered the effects of anesthesia on the pediatric brain and AI predictive models of the development of post-surgical pain.
Dr. Edwards completed fellowship training in Pain Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital of Harvard University. He taught at Harvard Medical School while leading the Acute Pain Service and Pediatric Pain Clinic at MGH.
In 2015 he moved to Nashville and established the first Chronic Pain Service at Vanderbilt, the Cancer Pain Clinic, and pain medicine clinics across Middle Tennessee. At Vanderbilt he served as Chief of Pain Medicine in the departments of Anesthesiology and Neurological Surgery, and held the rank of Associate Professor in both. He is a past President of the Tennessee Pain Society.
His research has covered endocannabinoids, the mechanisms of memory formation, pain treatment, opioid stewardship and medical informatics, including a role as Co-Principal Investigator on a $3.8M NIH/NIDDK HEAL Initiative grant. He has published over 60 articles and authored 8 books, and he received the B.E. Smith Mentorship Award for mentoring residents, fellows and students.
Board certification
- Anesthesiology
- Pain Medicine
- Obesity Medicine (American Board of Obesity Medicine)