July 2022: Vinny Francio
Vinny Francio, MD, MS (@VinnyFrancioMD), a resident in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Kansas Medical Center, is the subject of our July 2022 Member Spotlight.
Dr. Francio is a native of Brazil (with Italian heritage) who came to the United States to continue his medical education. As a subcommittee chair on the ASRA Pain Medicine Resident Section Committee and was responsible for planning a very successful Virtual Meet and Greet for residents applying to pain fellowships to meet with program directors.
His nominators, Drs. Adlai L. Pappy II and Lynn Kohan describe him as a rising star. “He is one of the most innovative, dedicated, and hard-working residents in medicine,” wrote Dr. Kohan, adding “He is dedicated to advancing the field of pain in the areas of neuromodulation as well as pain fellowship education. On top of it all he is humble and kind. I can’t wait to see what else he accomplishes.”
Dr. Francio has been active in spine and pain medicine since 2014 and says that his multidisciplinary pain medicine exposure includes high-volume outpatient clinics, interventional pain procedures, neuromodulation, minimally invasive surgical procedures, and integrative and complementary medicine. He has been involved in several research projects and has published articles and several book chapters, as well as presenting more than 40 abstracts/posters presentations in academic meetings.
“I … enjoy working and learning from students, residents, faculty, and patients,” Dr. Francio said. “I believe this will allow me to always seek self-improvement and aim to get better in everything I do to help chronic pain patients that are in much need. I always enjoy the lifelong learning process of medicine and life, and I believe we should never stop learning, because life never stops teaching us.”
He describes his interests as clinical research, neuromodulation, minimally invasive spinal procedures, and innovative pain medicine interventions to help patients suffering from debilitating pain to improve function and quality of life.