Pain Phenotypes and Associated Clinical Risk Factors Following Traumatic Amputation: Results from Veterans Integrated Pain Evaluation Research (VIPER).

Dr. Buchheit serves as Director of the Regenerative Pain Therapies Program in the Duke Center for Translational Pain Medicine (CTPM), and practices Pain Medicine at both Duke University and the Durham VAMC. His research focus is on the local and systemic inflammatory mechanisms that drive pain in arthritis and nerve injury. He has led and participated in several multicenter research projects that have studied patients at Duke, the Durham VAMC, and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, clarifying post-amputation pain phenotypes and mechanisms that drive the chronification of pain. These research pursuits have guided the clinical and translational programs of CTPM that strive develop biologically-based methods for the treatment of arthritis and degenerative musculoskeletal conditions. The program’s overarching goal is to move beyond opioids, steroids and anti-inflammatory medications for the treatment of pain. 

Dr. Buchheit currently serves on the Editorial Board of Pain Medicine and recently completed service as Pain Medicine Division Chief in the Duke Department of Anesthesiology. He also serves on the Board of The Pain Society of the Carolinas and previously on the American Society of Anesthesiologists Pain Medicine Committee, (2012-2014), as an American Board of Anesthesiology Question Author (2011-2014), and President of Pain Society of the Carolinas (2015-2017).  

Clinical Anesthesia
My principal clinical interest is the use of peripheral nerve blocks in primarily orthopedic joint replacement procedures. I am a member of the Regional Division with responsibilities to spine, trauma & plastic surgery.

I was the co-director of the Carolina Cadaver Course, which was run annually in conjunction with Wake Forest University School of Medicine. I have been involved in teaching the use of ultrasound for the placement of peripheral nerve blocks and have lectured on several national courses.

Human Pharmacology & Physiology Lab (HPPL)
I am the Director of the HPPL which is the the Department of Anesthesiology's clinical research lab designed to conduct studies in healthy volunteers. It is designed to collect comprehensive physiological data in a manner similar to the Operating Room (OR), using both non-invasive and invasive techniques. The key areas of interest are:

• Early human clinical drug trials (Phase 1 & 2) of drugs related to anesthesia
• Conduct of clinical equipment validation studies prior to FDA approval

I am Director of the Duke Pain Prevention and Treatment Research Program, an active NIH funded clinical research program focused on developing new and more effective ways of assessing and treating patients having acute and persistent pain.  I have been active in nationally and internationally in shaping the pain research agenda.  For the past 10 years I served as Editor in Chief of PAIN the premier journal in pain research.  I also have served as the Chair of a number of NIH Study Sections.   Finally, I was a member of the Institute of Medicine committee that published a report in 2011 (Relieving Pain in America: A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention, Care, Education, and Research) that has played a key role in shaping national policies in pain research and pain care.

Over my career, I have played a key role in the development of clinical pain services and pain research programs at Duke Medical Center.  For over 20 years, I directed the Duke Pain Management Program and was a leader in the development of Duke Medical Center's multidisciplinary pain programs (both out-patient and in-patient.)  I collaborate actively with investigators in other countries (e.g. United Kingdom, South Africa, China, and Australia). 

Over the course of my career, I have collaborated closely with investigators both in and outside my lab.  Together we have developed and refined a number of treatment protocols for persistent pain conditions (e.g. pain in patients with advanced cancer; sickle cell disease, and persistent joint pain due to osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis) including partner and caregiver-assisted pain coping skills training interventions.  We have conducted a number of NIH- and foundation- funded randomized clinical trials testing the efficacy of these and other behavioral interventions (e.g. aerobic exercise protocols, yoga based interventions, mindfulness-based interventions, forgiveness-based interventions, loving kindness meditation, and emotional disclosure). 

I currently serve as a Co-Investigator on a number of NIH grants, a number of which are funded by the HEAL Initiative.  Many of these grants are testing novel strategies for delivering training in pain coping skills (e.g. video over internet, web-based training, virtual reality interventions, and apps for mobile devices).  Along these lines, I collaborated with Dr. Chris Rini to develop an internet-based program for training in pain coping skills called painTRAINER (available at mypaintrainer.org). This program is free to any individuals or health professionals who wish to use it.  I have a keen interest in exploring the efficacy of these and other strategies (e.g. training physical therapists, social workers, and nurses) promise to increase access to behavioral pain management interventions making them more widely available to the large population of patients and caregivers who might benefit from them.

I have published over 490 papers on topics ranging from pain coping strategies used during mammography to behavioral approaches to managing acute pain and pain at end of life.  I have a longstanding interest in mentoring students and early career professionals interested in developing, testing, and disseminating novel protocols for managing pain, stress, and medical symptoms.