Speakers

Dr Nick Christelis

Dr Nick Christelis is the Victoria Pain Specialists Director and co-founder and the secretary of NSANZ. He holds two specialist medical qualifications (Fellowships) in pain medicine: one from the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (FFPMANZCA), for which he received with a Merit Award and the other, from the Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (FFPMRCA) in London (UK).

Dr Christelis is trained in all aspects of pain medicine including interventional pain medicine techniques. His expertise covers most types of chronic pain like spinal pain and neuropathic pain that is proving difficult to treat by other specialists. He is also specialised in advanced pain interventional techniques like nerve and joint blocks, epidural injections, radiofrequency ablation, spinal cord stimulation and other advanced neuromodulation techniques. He has particular expertise in managing lumbar pain and sciatica, neck, shoulder and arm pain, facial pains/headaches.

Originally from South Africa, he completed his medical training before moving to the United Kingdom, where he completed his specialist training in pain medicine and anaesthesia at London’s prestigious Imperial School of Anesthesia. He worked as a pain consultant for almost 2 years in the pain management unit located at The Chelsea & Westminster Hospital in London before moving to Melbourne in 2009 to take up appointments as Consultant in Pain Medicine, Head of Pain Service and Anaesthetist at The Alfred Hospital. He is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at Monash University. He is a Director and co-founder of Victoria Pain Specialists, a specialist pain management group and is a Visiting Pain Specialist in a number of Melbourne hospitals. He has published pain-relevant research. He is a reviewer for the British Journal of Anaesthesia (BJA). He is part of an Alfred-Monash based research collaboration focused on translational pain research. He teaches extensively in pain medicine both to his patients and training pain doctors.

Dr Marc Russo

Dr Marc Russo is the Director of the Hunter Pain Clinic, Hamilton Day Surgery, Hunter Clinical Research and Co-Director of the Innervate Pain Management Program in Newcastle NSW Australia.  He founded the Hunter Pain Clinic in 1999, Hamilton Day Surgery in 2001, Hunter Specialist Medical Centre 2003, Hunter Clinical Research in 2005.  He also founded NAPS (Newcastle Anaesthetic Peri-operative Services).

Dr Russo is the founding member and a past President of the Australian Chapter of the International Neuromodulation Society. He was the 2013-14 Secretary of the International Chapter of Neuromodulation Society and resides on advisory boards, scientific advisory boards and committees nationally and internationally. Dr Russo has a special interest and expertise in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.  At present he is Principal Investigator supervising a clinical trial 2012-03-699 into the treatment of CRPS.

Dr Richard Sullivan

Dr Richard Sullivan (MBChB, FANZCA, FFPMANZCA) is an anaesthetist and pain specialist with Precision Brain, Spine and Pain in Melbourne, Victoria. There he helps coordinate a multidisciplinary team (MDT) focused around the contemporary, integrative and holistic care of patients with pain. He is the medical director of the Ascend Pain Management Program with MDT programs around Melbourne and in Tasmania.  He is also an interventional pain physician with an avid interest in neuromodulation techniques. His research interests are in MDT program outcomes for injured workers and novel neuromodulation techniques and outcomes.  Originally from Dunedin, New Zealand, he has worked and trained in anaesthesia and pain medicine in Victoria, New Zealand, New South Wales and Northern Territory. He is the current President of the Neuromodulation Society of Australia and New Zealand.