This month’s ASRA Pain Medicine Member Spotlight shines on Dr. Alexandra Sideris from the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS). Dr. Sideris joined HSS in 2018 as a research associate. In 2019, she was promoted to assistant director of research. In 2021, after an extensive search, Dr. Sideris was chosen as the first C.V. Starr Director of Pain Research (a position affiliated with an endowed chair in pain research).

Dr. Sideris’s doctoral degree is in basic neuroscience where she studied the endocannabinoid system in the spinal cord. She studied neurobiology of pain in animal models of neuropathic pain during her postdoctoral studies in the anesthesiology department at NYU Langone Medical Center.

According to her nominator, Mary Hargett, “It would not be possible to list all of Dr. Sideris' accomplishments prior to joining HSS and while at HSS, so I will just mention a few: creation of registries in pain and basivertebral nerve ablation; design, implementation, and participation in myriad studies including opioid prescribing patterns and refill rates before and after institutional policy changes and cannabinoid use in myelomalacia; 18 peer-reviewed publications; 2 book chapters; and multiple abstracts and presentations at several society meetings including the ASA and ASRA Pain Medicine.”

Dr. Sideris currently has 4 manuscripts submitted for publication and is working on 8 additional manuscripts. She has been instrumental in pushing through several necessary COVID studies in 2020 and 2021, and she has been a member of the Hospital's "Return to New Normal Research Board." She also has served as a mentor to several research associates since joining HSS and is a respected teacher, Hargett wrote.

In terms of Dr. Sideris' "ASRA Citizenship," she is a member of the Editorial Board for Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine and has attended and been involved in presentations at the past three spring meetings. Dr. Sideris also has encouraged participation and facilitated attendance at ASRA Pain Medicine meetings for several members of the HSS research staff.

“I am nominating Dr. Sideris because I think it is important to also recognize the contributions made by many non-physicians to the mission of ASRA. Dr. Sideris is an excellent example of someone whose dedication and efforts have helped to grow this Society,” Hargett concluded.