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 Expert  724645

Expert in Addiction in Pain Patients, Clinical Research, Analgesia, Neuroscience, Nursing, Sedatives, Morphine


Available for your Consulting and Expert Witness Needs

California (CA)
USA
Education Work History Career AccomplishmentsPublicationsConsulting Services Expert Witness

Summary of Expertise:

Listed with other top experts in: 

Expert has expert knowledge of the different classes of abused drugs (including alcohol), both their unique clinical pharmacology and their shared effects on neural reward and memory systems. Specifically, she can speak on the neurochemistry and neurophysiology of brain responses to abused drugs, and has excellent understanding of the relationship between abused drugs and the disease of addiction. She also has good working knowledge of the epidemiological and trend data on the use of abused drugs in this country, and is able to provide in-depth description on which drugs of abuse which Americans are using. She is quite familiar with the federal scheduling of abused illicit drugs, as well as the legal responses to their use. She has been principal investigator on multiple federal and intramural grants evaluating the effects of abused drugs on pain responses in patients opiate and/or cocaine addiction, as well as has studied samples of chronic pain patients abusing prescribed opiate analgesic medications. Her extensive expertise on abused drugs is evident in the fact that she gives the all the lectures on drugs of abuse in the Expert's Firm graduate nursing program, across the pharmacology, pathophysiology, neuropsychiatry and addictive disease courses.
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abused drug

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addiction

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benzodiazepine

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cocaine

 • 

drug abuse

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nursing

 • 

opiate

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hypnotic

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urine sampling

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barbiturate

Expert is expert in the clinical pharmacology of all classes of analgesics used for the treatment of pain, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), opiates (including all morphine derivatives), and the adjuvant analgesics including antidepressants, anticonvulsants and steroidal formulations. She has a clear understanding of the types of pain (inflammatory; neuropathic; chronic) for which these medications are indicated, as well as the mechanism and quality of analgesia, and the side effects associated with each. Her specific expertise is in the prescription of opiate analgesics, and she has in-depth understanding of the mechanism of action, side effects and adverse events (including overdose and withdrawal) associated with opioid analgesic use. She is quite familiar with the federal scheduling of narcotic analgesics and legal system controls over their use. Her specific expertise is in the responsible and appropriate prescription of opiate analgesics within the context of addiction.
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anti-inflammatory drug

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codeine

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drug

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hydromorphone

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ketorolac

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morphine

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narcotic

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opium

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oxycodone

Expert has extensive knowledge of clinical neuroscience, with expertise in the nursing care of stroke, head injury, spinal cord injury, pain, seizure, brain tumor and the neuropsychiatric disorders, including addiction, depression and anxiety disorders. Her understanding of the neuroscience of pain and addiction is unparalleled. Her PhD is in neuroscience nursing, and her knowledge of neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, and neuropharmacology is outstanding. She has practiced neuroscience nursing in ICU, surgical ward and outpatient settings. She teaches neuroscience nursing at a graduate-level in the nursing program at Expert's Firm, in pathophysiology, pharmacology and neuropsychiatry contexts. She is a member of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses and the Expert's Firm Brain Research Institute, and reviews neuroscience manuscripts for the American Journal of Critical Care, Critical Care Nurse, Research in Nursing and Health, Issues in Mental Health Nursing, Biological Research for Nursing, and Nursing Research. Due to her clear understanding of clinical neuroscience, she is able to distill complex neuropathology concepts into language understandable to all levels of audience.
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brain

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mental disorder

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neuroanatomy

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neurochemistry

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neurology

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neuropharmacology

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neuroscience

Expert has been actively engaged in clinical trials of addiction and pain pharmacotherapies for almost 20 years. She has served in various roles on these studies, including research nurse, project director, and principal investigator. She as participated in every aspect of the research process, including grant writing, research design, protocol development, data collection, measurement, data analysis, and manuscript preparation. She has taught nursing research at the undergraduate level, and currently teaches clinical research content in the PhD program at the Expert's Firm School of Nursing. Her understanding of the unique challenges associated with studying in patients in clinical settings, as well as the related issues of informed consent and ethical treatment of human subjects, is quite sophisticated. Most specifically, Expert studies opiate and pain responses in addicts, pain patients and normal controls, and is expert in measuring pain perception and the effects of opiate analgesia (including overdose and withdrawal). She has received independent funding from both intramural and extramural sources, most notably federal grants from the Department of Health and Services, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the National Institute of Nursing Research. She reviews clinical trial manuscripts for Biological Research for Nursing and Nursing Research, and the significance of her research has earned her membership in the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Academy of Nursing.
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clinical measurement

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clinical protocol

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clinical research

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clinical research management

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clinical study

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clinical trial design

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protocol development

Expert is an expert in the field of pain and the clinical use of analgesics for the relief of both acute and chronic pain. Her understanding of the prescription and pharmacology of analgesics is extensive, with specific expertise in the clinical therapeutics of the opiate analgesics. She is an expert in the neuroscience of pain (both physiological and pathological), and in-depth understanding of the mechanism of action, side effects and adverse events associated with opioid analgesic use. She also is familiar the federal scheduling of narcotic analgesics and legal system controls over their use. In her nursing practice, Expert has worked with patients receiving analgesics for the management of pain in both inpatient and outpatient settings since the early ‘80's. She reviews manuscripts for the prestigious Journal of Pain, the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management and PAIN, and is a member of the American Pain Society, the International Association for the Study of Pain, and the American Society of Pain Management Nurses. She also works in addiction settings where patients abusing opiate analgesics seek treatment. Expert gives all lectures on the clinical use of analgesics in the graduate nursing program at Expert's Firm, and to advanced nursing audiences with prescriptive authority. She has unique and unparalleled knowledge of the components of appropriate opiate therapy in the treatment chronic pain so as to monitor for and minimize the emergence of addiction, and is considered a thought leader on the phenomenology of addiction in pain patients on opiate analgesic therapy for chronic pain patients.
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pain management

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pain perception

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analgesia

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pain medication

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opioid

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chronic pain management

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addiction medicine

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cocaine addiction

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chronic pain


Show Secondary and Basic Areas of Expertise
Localities:
Expert may consult nationally and internationally, and is also local to the following cities: Los Angeles, California;  San Diego, California;  Long Beach, California;  Santa Ana, California;  Anaheim, California;  Riverside, California;  Bakersfield, California;  Glendale, California;  Huntington Beach, California;  and San Bernardino, California.

Education:
Year   Degree   Subject   Institution   Honors
1982   R.N., BSN   Nursing   University of Rochester   Cum Laude, Sigma Theta Tau
1986   MS   Advanced Practice Nursing   Syracuse University   Magna Cum Laude
1993   PhD   Neuroscience Nursing   New York University   Magna Cum Laude, Kappa Delta Pi
1994   Post-doctoral fellow   Addiction Science   University of California, Los Angeles (Expert's Firm)  

Work History:
Years   Employer   Department   Title   Responsibilities

2003 to

 

(Undisclosed)

 

Norman Cousins Center of Psychoneuroimmunology

 

Affiliate Faculty

 


1996 to 1997

 

Expert's Firm Drug Abuse Research Center

 

Neuropsychiatric Institute

 

Faculty Coordinator- Training Program

 


1994 to 1995

 

Los Angeles Addiction Treatment

 

Research Center

 

Research Scientist

 


1991 to 1992

 

New York University

 

Division of Nursing

 

Assistant Research Scientist

 

She served as project director on several National Institute on Drug abuse research grants, and provided direct patient care to individuals with opioid addiction

1990 to 1992

 

Yale University

 

School of Nursing

 

Assistant Clinical Professor

 

She oversaw the clinical instruction of nurse practitioner students in the neuroscience specialty, and consulted with the Yale-New Haven Hospital pain team on the analgesic needs of methadone patients. She also served as principal investigator for a research grant from the US Department of Health and Services, Agency for Health Care Policy and Research.

1987 to 1991

 

Yale University

 

Department of Psychiatry

 

Research Nurse Practitioner*

 

She served as project director on several National Institute on Drug abuse research grants, and provided direct patient care to individuals with opioid addiction

1986 to 1989

 

The Hospital of St. Raphael

 

Neurosurgery Unit

 

Staff Nurse

 


1983 to 1985

 

Upstate Medical Center

 

Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit

 

Staff and Charge Nurse

 



Career Accomplishments:
Associations/Societies

American Nurses Association; California Nurses Association; International Nurses Society on Addictions; College on Problems of Drug Dependence (CPDD); American Pain Society; International Association for the Study of Pain; American Society of Pain Management Nurses; American Association for the Advancement of Science; International Association for Pain and Chemical Dependency; American Academy of Nursing

Licenses/Certifications

RN California, Connecticut, New York

Professional Appointments

Reviewer for 13 scholarly scientific journals;

Taskforce Member: Diversion Program Pain Management Task Force, California Board of Registered Nursing;

IRB Member: Southern California Research Institute;

Member: CPDD Taskforce on Prescription Opioid Abuse;

Technical Advisor: First Draft, The Entertainment Industries Council, Inc., in partnership with The National Institute of Drug Abuse and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Expert Consultant: International Nurses Society on Addictions Taskforce on Treatment of Pain in the Addicted Patient;

Advisory Board Member: Last Acts: A National Coalition to Improve Care and Caring Near the End of Life, National Program Office Partnership for Caring, Inc.

Consultant: NIDA 1R43DA015617-01A1, “Screening for Addiction Risk in Chronic Opioid Therapy,” Inflexxion

Advisory Board Member: Sixth International Conference on Pain and Chemical Dependency

Review Committee: Prescription Pain Medication, US Department of Justice

Advisory Board: 7th International Conference on Pain and Chemical Dependency Review Committee: Pain Relief in Substance Abusers, Core Curriculum, International Association for the Study of Pain

Awards Committee Member: International Nurses Society on Addictions

Awards/Recognition

Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing; Young investigator award American Society of Addiction Medicine

Medical/Professional Internships

Postdoctoral Fellowship, Expert's Firm Drug Abuse Research Center


Publications:
Publications and Patents Summary

She has 40 publications in refereed scholarly journals, has written 13 book chapters on the clinical interface of addiction and pain

Selected Publications and Publishers  
 - Journal of Pain and Symptom Management  
 - Annals of Internal Medicine  
 - Clinical Neuroscience Research  
 - Journal of Addictions Nursing  

Consulting Services:
Selected Consulting Examples:
  • Patient started on opioid therapy for treatment of chronic pain; family concerned that he is addicted and blames clinician
  • Clinician is accused of prescribing opioid analgesics to a patient with addiction
  • Patient demonstrates "drug-seeking" behaviors in chronic pain treatment; is he addicted?
  • Patient has chronic pain and addictive disease; what is the appropriate use of opioid analgesics in this situation
  • Addicted patient on opioid (methadone, buprenorphine, naltrexone) treatment; how is clinical pain best managed?
Click the green button above to contact Expert for a free initial screening call regarding your expert consulting needs.  Expert is available for consulting to corporate, legal and government clients.  Remember, your initial screening call to speak with Expert is free.

Expert Witness:
Expert Witness Experience Summary:
She has consulted of 4 cases, and provided expert witness deposition on two of these.
Recent Litigation Client Requests:
  • Pharmacokinetics expert for consulting on relative effectivness of long acting versus short acting narcotics.
  • Expert on methadone for consulting on case involving possible methadone overdose.
  • Pain management expert in Los Angeles for consulting on oral steroids prescribed as a form of pain management.
  • Addiction expert witness for consulting on medical necessity of long-term narcotics use.
Click the green button above to contact Expert for a free initial screening call regarding expert testimony, litigation consulting and support, forensic services, or any related expert witness services.  A few litigation needs include product liability, personal injury, economic loss, intellectual property (patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright), and insurance matters.  Remember, your initial screening call to speak with Expert is free.

Additional Skills and Services:
Training/Seminars

Expert's Firm Neuropsychiatric Nursing Subspecialty Prescriptive Authority for nurse practitioners to furnish Schedule II medications

Other Skills and Services

Expert is widely regarded as a scientific expert and thought leader in the field of addiction and pain.


 

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