Prentiss Lawson, Jr., M.D., has been named the new director of the Pain Medicine Fellowship Program for the UAB Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine.
Lawson is currently an assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine. He graduated from the Heersink School of Medicine, and then completed his residency in anesthesia at UAB. After completing a pain medicine fellowship at the University of Virginia, he returned to join the UAB faculty.
His clinical practice and research interests include regional anesthesia for perioperative and other acute pain management and the interventional and integrative treatment of chronic spinal pain, peripheral joint pain, and other chronic pain syndromes. Lawson believes in a patient-centered, holistic approach to helping patients cope with chronic pain and that general health and wellness are fundamental to building resiliency. In addition to patient care at UAB Medicine, he has served as a faculty mentor for numerous residents and fellows and aided in recruitment as well as clinical competence review.
Lawson has been invited as a guest lecturer on various pain medicine topics at several national meetings. He also participates in regular lectures for other programs within the UAB School of Health Professions. His involvement on teams that have developed early recovery protocols has led to the improved perioperative care and pain management of surgical patients. He was recently certified in medical acupuncture and hopes to bring this to his clinical practice soon.
The department looks forward to seeing the growth and development of the fellowship under Lawson’s thoughtful and innovative guidance.
Note: The department would also like to thank Alethia Sellers, M.D., for her outstanding stewardship of the fellowship during the last eight years. She led the successful recruitment and training of dozens of pain medicine fellows, and her wise council and help during this important transition has been greatly appreciated.