Dr. Katalin Karikó, co-inventor of the modified mRNA technology used in vaccines to prevent COVID-19 infection, keynotes the Napa Pain Conference
August 23. 2022 Napa, CALIF, – Approximately 600 top scientists, interventional pain physicians, policy-makers, researchers and innovators gathered to attend the 29th Napa Pain Conference (NPC) in downtown Napa.
“This year, we were honored to have Dr. Katalin Kariko on the stage for the Annual Lindahl Lecture. She spoke about the mRNA technology she developed, which became the foundation of the company BioNtech and Covid vaccines. Her work is incredibly important in fighting the Covid Pandemic,” stated CEO and Founder of Neurovations, Dr. Eric Grigsby.
The Lindahl Lecture honors Dr. Grigsby’s longtime mentor, Dr. Sten Lindahl, who became Chair of the Nobel Committee. Past Lindahl Lectures have included Bruce Beutler, MD, 2011 Nobel Prize winner in Medicine, and Jennifer Doudna, PhD, Nobel Prize winner in 2020, and developer of CRISPR technology, and Elizabeth Blackburn PhD, the Nobel winner in 2009 for her work on Telomeres.
The Napa Pain Conference, a division of Neurovations, has a long history of creating inclusive, equitable, and bias-free programs to educate clinicians on remarkable clinical and scientific advances for pain and neurologic disease.
“We’re committed to an inclusive approach now more than ever. Neurovations Education curates our faculty for excellence, perspective, and accomplishment, not for a particular institution or industry affiliation. Only by including accomplished faculty from all cultures, backgrounds and perspectives will advances be applicable to all of our patients as well,” continued Dr. Eric Grigsby.
The program spanned 4 days and included a day specifically focused on cancer pain in partnership with the Cancer Pain Research Consortium. Topics covered all areas of pain management, including neuromodulation, minimally invasive spine surgery, and what is next in medical technology innovation.
The Napa Pain Conference now has almost three decades of innovation. It was the first pain conference to go digital once the pandemic began and now has over 5,000 members with 1,000 monthly users of its online Education Hub.
The conference included a wine reception hosted by Rocca Family Vineyards and HealthRoots Foundation featuring bluegrass with Ida Winfree and Tessa Schwartz, members of North Country Blue, the highly successful young adult band from Northern California.
“I have always envisioned a performing arts event alongside the meeting, and this will be the second year we bring “Roots Music” to the stage. An important, perhaps a primary goal of the event is to promote young artists. We want to provide a platform for young musicians, who are dedicated to authentic roots music from many genres,” Dr. Grigsby said.
Neurovations, the parent company to NPC, is a growing national leader in medical device and pharmaceutical innovation, clinical research, pain and neuroscience education, and community health through the non-profit foundation, HealthRoots.
“I am very proud of our rapid growth, particularly during these last challenging years. Our research division has quadrupled in size, we have expanded our services to include Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for depression and shifted our toxicology lab to include COVID. We aim to include Monkeypox testing and biomarker and genetic testing for degenerative neurological disorders soon,” stated Dr Grigsby.
“We will continue to push boundaries in patient care for our community,” he continued. “Innovation in medicine is our top priority.”
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Neurovations, a patient care and innovation company, was founded in 1992 by CEO Dr. Eric Grigsby. Today, Neurovations is a national leader in medical device and pharmaceutical innovation, clinical research, and a world-class education program focusing in pain and neuroscience. Dr. Grigsby is deeply connected to the healthcare community through his non-profit HealthRoots Foundation and to the Napa community through his winery, Rocca Family Vineyards, a producer of award-winning Napa Cabernet.
Our unwavering mission is to inspire hope and to contribute to the health and well-being of our patients and communities through integrated clinical practice, research, and education.