The Texas Pain Society recently announced this year’s winners of the Racz-Raj Pain Medicine Case Studies and Hassenbusch Continued Learning Scholarships, and the case study presentations are happening live at the TPS 16th Annual Scientific Conference next week.

For an in-depth look at pain fellowship training in Texas, we spoke with the following programs:

Program: University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Pain Medicine Fellowship 

Fellows: Rohan Adiga, MD, Vishal Bansal, MD, Jeff Cao, MD, Marissa Catalanotto, MD, Noushad Mamun, DO, Christian Vangeison, DO

What makes your program unique for pain fellows? Without a doubt, it is our complex patient population and our multidisciplinary faculty with backgrounds in anesthesiology, physiatry, neurology, and emergency medicine. Fellows get top-notch experience in the pharmacologic, interventional, and psychosocial aspects of pain management. During the year spent with us, fellows get hands-on experience with basic and advanced interventional therapies in both a private practice and academic setting. Perhaps somewhat unique to our program is our transition to practice block in which we cover the basics of employment agreements, non-compete agreements, academics vs. private practice, and financial literacy.

What do fellows hope to accomplish during their time with you? We hope and feel strongly that our fellows build a firm foundation to build upon as they complete training and begin attending positions. 

Where do graduates go on to practice? It varies from year to year, but typically, fellows enter into academic or private practice positions. In our most recently graduated class, three are now in private practice and three are in academic practice. 

Program: University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) Pain Medicine Fellowship Program 

Fellows: Jeffrey Cegelski, MD, Sommer A. Kirsch, MD, Benjamin Eike, DO

Program: UT Southwestern Medical Center's Pain Management Fellowship

Fellows: Lauren Golino, D.O., Justin Jackson, M.D., Maneesha Julakanti, M.D.

Program: Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Baylor College of Medicine (Temple) Pain Fellowship Management

Fellows: Miles Sanderson and Walter Johnson 

What makes your program unique for pain fellows? Our program stands out largely due to the volume and variety of interventional procedures performed by our team. 

What do fellows hope to accomplish during their time with you? Our fellows quickly integrate into our clinical team, where they play an integral role in the evaluation of patients, as well as making clinic diagnoses and treatment plans. Additionally, they sharpen their procedural skills throughout the academic year to ensure that they can excel in any clinical situation that they may encounter. 

Where do graduates go on to practice? We have former fellowship graduates stretching from Kentucky to Washington, but most are located throughout Texas and Oklahoma. 

Program: UTHealth Houston Pain Medicine Fellowship 

Fellows: Dr. Karla Samaniego was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, and graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts in human biology. She received her medical degree from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) School of Medicine in Lubbock, Texas. After graduating medical school in 2021, Dr. Samaniego remained in Lubbock to complete her intern year in general surgery in a level 1 trauma center through TTUHSC. Dr. Samaniego is currently an anesthesiology resident at Mount Sinai Medical Center of Florida in Miami Beach and will complete her training in June 2025 prior to the start of fellowship.   

What makes your program unique for pain fellows? The Pain Medicine Fellowship at UTHealth Houston offers a comprehensive program dedicated to patient care, education, and research, integrating the latest advancements in knowledge and technology. Our faculty members are experts in diagnosing and managing patients who have not responded to standard treatments, while our fellows are trained to provide holistic care for those with complex pain conditions. Our multidisciplinary team includes specialists from anesthesiology, neurology, physiatry, internal medicine, hematology, psychiatry, and addiction medicine.

What do fellows hope to accomplish during their time with you? Our fellowship provides training in a variety of settings, including outpatient pain clinics, inpatient acute and chronic pain services, MD Anderson Cancer Center, private practice offices, ambulatory surgery centers, and satellite clinics throughout the Houston area. This one-year fellowship emphasizes the development of clinical expertise, leadership, research capabilities, and a collaborative approach to patient care. 

Program: UT Health San Antonio Pain Medicine Fellowship

Good luck/Congrats to all!