“Opioids, Pain and Addiction: Fact and Fiction”
Dr. Stephani Sutherland
Speaker – Dr. Stephani Sutherland, Neuroscientist and Journalist
An estimated 37,000 people died from opioid overdose in 2017, and millions more are addicted. But as many as 100 million Americans also live with chronic pain—a much less talked-about public health crisis. Opioids are clearly not a solution to chronic pain, but the problem is complicated.
Dr. Stephani Sutherland is a neuroscientist, science journalist, and a Claremont native. After earning a B.S. in psychology from Cal State Fullerton, she earned her PhD in neuroscience, studying pain-sensing nerve cells, at Oregon Health & Sciences University in Portland in 2001. Since then, she has worked as a freelance journalist for publications including the Los Angeles Times, Scientific American, New Scientist and BrainFacts.org. Dr. Sutherland also taught science and writing courses at Washington State University, where she worked as an academic advisor for science students. Since 2013, she has focused on writing about pain research and opioids. She is a frequent contributor online at the Pain Research Forum and RELIEF.news.
Introduction: Don McDonald
Fellowship: Anne Sonner
Greeter: Peter Boniface