SALAHADIN ABDI, M.D., Ph.D.

Chair, Department of Pain Medicine
Professor of Anesthesiology
The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX

Dr. Abdi is an anesthesiologist and pain management physician with over 25 years experience working in the health care sector. He currently serves as the Chair, Clinical Medical Director and Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine in the Department of Pain Medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Among Dr. Abdi’s other notable past positions are serving as Division Chief of Pain Medicine at the University of Miami Pain Centers in Miami, FL; Associate Professor in Anesthesiology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA; Professor of Research in the Department of Anesthesiology at University of Texas Medical Branch and Shriners Burns Institute in Galveston, TX; Instructor in Anesthesia at the University of Münster Medical School in Münster, Germany; and Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX.

Throughout his prestigious career, Dr. Abdi has served as the principal investigator of numerous clinical trials and research studies on a wide variety of topics including chemotherapy induced neuropathic pain, the effects of tobacco on disc degeneration, stem cell therapy for degenerative disc disease, novel pain therapies for failed back surgery syndrome and complex regional pain syndrome, post-operative pain management of total knee replacement, the use of methylnaltrexone to restore bowel function in patients undergoing segmental colectomies, and the application of botulinum toxin A in treating myofascial low back pain, among many others.

In addition to his impressive academic and clinical accomplishments Dr. Abdi is a prolific scholar with more than 100 publications inclusive of peer-review journal articles, book chapters, editorials, and clinical guidelines and reports in such notable sources as The Massachusetts General Hospital Handbook of Pain Management 2nd & 3rd Editions, Drugs in Pain 1st Edition, and Current Therapy in Pain 1st Edition, Critical Care Medicine, Journal of Burn Care & Rehabilitation, American Review of Respiratory Disease, Pain Physician, Journal of Applied Physiology, and Anesthesia & Analgesia. Dr. Abdi also serves at an editorial capacity for several leading journals including Pain Physician, the Korean Pain Journal, Lasers in Medical Science, Frontiers in Pain Pharmacology and Therapy, and the World Journal of Anesthesiology. Moreover, he is a peer-reviewer for various other journals such as Anesthesiology, Clinical Journal of Pain, Journal of Musculoskeletal Pain, and Clinical Therapeutics.

Throughout his distinguished tenure, Dr. Abdi has delivered over 250 lectures, presentations, and seminars on topics related to anesthesia, neuropathic pain, low back pain management, injury rehabilitation, neck pain, acute post-operative pain management, stellate ganglion block, and chronic pain treatment modalities. He is an active member of many national and international professional health organizations including the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the American Pain Society, and the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians where he also serves as a member of the Board of Directors and chair of the abstract selection committee. In addition, Dr. Abdi is a grant reviewer for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Cancer Institute.

Dr. Abdi has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors including the Marquis Who’s Who in Science and Engineering, the Partners in Excellence Award for Quality Treatment and Service, the Donald P. Todd Resident Award in Recognition of Excellence in Pain Management, the International Shock Society Travel Award, the James W. McLaughlin Award in Recognition of Excellence in Research on Infection and Immunity, as well as the 2008 and 2009 Super Doctors in Florida Award.

Dr. Abdi received his Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in pharmacology and toxicology from the University of Münster Medical School in Germany. He completed residencies in anesthesia at the University of Münster Medical Center and Massachusetts General Hospital. He also completed a research fellowship in anesthesiology and critical care at the University of Texas Medical Branch and Shriners Burns Institute in Galveston, TX, and an internship in medicine at State University of New York in Syracuse, NY.