Jianguo Cheng Laboratory

Jianguo Cheng, MD, PhD

Staff
Professor, Anesthesiology, CCLCM-CWRU
Medical Director, Cleveland Clinic Consortium for Pain
Location: Cleveland Clinic Main Campus

Research

Chronic pain is common and often difficult to treat. We are interested in identifying safe, efficacious, and cost-effective therapies to relieve the suffering of patients. We are particularly interested in new therapeutic modalities that may help to relieve debilitating pain that originates from lesion, injury, or disease of the nervous system, such as postherpetic neuralgia, peripheral neuropathy, and nerve entrapment syndromes. We aim to achieve our goals by using animal models to better understand the mechanisms of pain and to test new and promising treatments. Our projects include analgesic cell therapy based on stem cell technology, medications that modulate the interaction between neurons, glia cells, and immune cells in the nervous system, and interventional procedures that can modulate or block painful signals transmitted to the central nervous system. We also conduct clinical studies to test and compare the efficacy of different treatment modalities to guide clinical practice. A unique aspect of our research is that we use a combination of laboratory investigation and clinical study to address important problems that the patients present everyday. Our research was initiated with grants support from the National Institutes of Health and is currently sponsored by the Department of Defense.

Biography

Jianguo Cheng, MD, PhD, is Professor of Anesthesiology and Director of the Cleveland Clinic Multidisciplinary Pain Medicine Fellowship Program. He is past President of American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM) and past Chair of the US Section of World Institute of Pain. He served the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Pain Management Best PracticesInter-agency Task Force (PMTF) to identify gaps in pain management and make recommendations to the U.S. Congress. Dr. Cheng is member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Action Collaborative on Countering the Opioid Epidemic and member of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Expert Work Group (EWG) todevelop, specify, and maintain clinical quality measures. As a clinician, Dr. Cheng was recognized by Best Doctors in America (Best Doctors Inc.), 70 Best Pain Management Physicians in the US (Becker's ASC Review), and Top Doctors (International Association of Anesthesiologists). As a physician investigator, Dr. Cheng has received research grants of more than $4 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Defense, and other agencies to conduct basic science, translational, and clinical investigations of stem cells, opioid tolerance, and chronic pain. He has made several innovations/patents and published more than 260 research papers, review articles, abstracts, and book chapters. Dr. Cheng is Safety Officer of Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB), National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Arthritis andMusculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), and member of grant review panels/committees for the NIH and the Department of Defense. As aneducator, Dr. Cheng has published two textbooks: Fundamentals of Pain Medicine (Springer-Nature, 2018) and Neuropathic Pain (Oxford University Press, 2019). He has given more than 200 lectures/presentations world-wide. Dr. Cheng directs the largest and one of most prestigious pain medicine training programs in the US and has trained more than 180 clinical pain fellows and postdoctoral research fellows. He is recognized as Best Teacher of the Year, as well as Staff of the Year, of Anesthesiology/Pain Medicine in Cleveland Clinic. His program is the recipient of American Academy of Pain Medicine Pain Medicine Fellowship Excellence Award. In addition, Dr. Cheng has played active leadership roles in the Association of University Anesthesiologists (AUA), American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA), American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), and American Academy of Regenerative Medicine. He hasserved as Senior Editor, Associate Editor, and Section Editor for the scientific journals of “Pain Medicine”, “Pain Practice”, and “Pain Physician”. Dr. Cheng was trained in Pain Medicine at Harvard University (Fellowship atMassachusetts General Hospital), Surgery and Anesthesiology at University of Louisville (Residency), Neurology at the Qingdao University, and Neurosciences at the University of Guelph (PhD, Biophysics), University of Manitoba, and University of Alberta (PDF) in Canada.

Dr. Cheng has received more than 60 awards and honors from institutions, societies, and government agencies. Dr. Cheng has extensive research interests and clinical expertise, including the mechanisms and therapeutic strategies of chronic pain, sensory-motor integration in the spinal cord, clinical applications of neuromodulation, and stem cell biology and applications in pain medicine.

Education & Professional Highlights

Education & Fellowships

Fellowship - Massachusetts General Hospital
Pain Management/Anesthesia
Boston, MA USA
2005

Residency - University of Louisville Hospital
Anesthesiology
Louisville, KY USA
2004

Internship - University of Louisville Hospital
Surgery
Louisville, KY USA
2002

Medical Education - University of Guelph
biophysics and neuroscience
Guelph, Ontario,
1995

Residency - Qingdao Medical College
Neurology
Shandong,
1991

Medical Education - Qingdao Medical College
Bachelor of Medicine
Shandong,
1986

Additional Training

• Leading in Healthcare Leadership Class, Cleveland Clinic Academy and Board of Governors, Cleveland, Ohio, 08/2009-05/2010.  A 10-month course focusing on leadership in healthcare, human resource management, emotional intelligence, finances, marketing, organizational culture and team building.
• Program Director Certification Program, Cleveland Clinic Education Institute, Department of Faculty Development, 09/2011-05/2012. Certification of Distinguished Development Award,  September of 2013.
• PhD, biophysics, Interdepartmental Group of Biophysics and Department of Human Biology, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, 1991-1995
• Postdoctoral Fellow, electrophysiology of neurons: cell membrane and receptors, Department of Physiology/Spinal Cord Research Centre, University of Manitoba Faculty of Medicine, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, 1995-1996
• Postdoctoral Fellow, neural control of locomotion: neural networks and therapeutic strategies, Division of Neuroscience/Department of Physiology, University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 1996-1998

Professional Highlights

• President of the American Academy of Pain Medicine (2018~-2019)
• Member, US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Pain Management Best Practices Inter-agency Task Force (PMTF Feb 21, 2018-2019)
• Member of National Academy of Medicine Action Collaborative on Countering the US Opioid Epidemic, 2018-2022.
• Member of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Expert Work Group (EWG) on the development of the measure evaluating potential opioid overuse. 2016-2021.
• Chairman, USA Section of World Institute of Pain (2013-2015).
• Board of Directors, American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM) (2014-2020)
• Board of Directors, American Academy of Regenerative Medicine (AARM) (2016~)
• Academy of Medicine of Cleveland & Northern Ohio (AMCNO), 2019-2021.
• Senior Editor/Section Editor, Pain Medicine (Official Journal of American Academy of Pain Medicine), 2015-present)
• Associate Editor, Pain Practice (Official Journal of World Institute of Pain) (2011-2017)
• Scientific Advisory Board, the Association of University Anesthesiologists (AUA) (2015-2018).
• Board of Directors, American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM) (2013-present).
• Chairman, AAPM Scientific Review/Clinical Guideline Committee (2011-present).
• Member of National Institutes of Health Study sections/Grant review committee (National Institutes of Health Special Emphasis Panel/Scientific Review Group.
• Expert Reviewer of grant applications to the US Army Medical Research and Material Command, the Scientific Peer Advisory and Review Services division of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS).
• Published more than 260 research papers, reviews, book chapters, and abstracts.
• Received research grants of more than $4 million from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the Lisa Dean Moseley Foundation, and other funding agencies.
• Executive Board Member, Association of Pain Program Directors (2013-2016).
• Committee Member, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Committee on Pain Medicine (2013-2017) 
• Committee Member, ASA Educational Track Subcommittee on Pain Medicine (2014~).
• Pain Medicine Examination Committee, American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA), the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPMR), and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN), (2013-2018) 
• Examiner, World Institute of Pain, Fellow of Interventional Pain Physicians Board of Examination.
• Previously worked or studied in Harvard University, University of Louisville, University of Alberta, University of Manitoba, University of Guelph, and Qingdao University.
• Trained more than 180 postdoctoral fellows, clinical fellows, and clinical research fellows.
• Received more than 60 honors and awards from institutions, societies, and government agencies.

Certifications

• Anesthesiology - Pain Medicine

Awards & Honors

• Cheng was recognized by Best Doctors in America (Best Doctors Inc.), 70 Best Pain Management Physicians in the US (Becker's ASC Review), and Top Doctors (International Association of Anesthesiologists), one of 25 Great Physicians in Ohio (Becker's Review), and one of Top 10 Anesthesiologists in Cleveland (Vitals). He has received Life-time Achievement Award (Marquis Who's Who, 2018), Patients' Choice Awards for 5 consecutive years (Vitals), Most Compassionate Doctor Award (Vitals), among more than 60 honors from academic, societal, and governmental agencies. His achievements in education have been commended by the ACGME and the Cleveland Clinic Education Institute and recognized by a Certification of Distinguished Development from the Cleveland Clinic. His pain fellowship program is the recipient of American Academy of Pain Medicine Pain Medicine Fellowship Excellence Award. He was recognized as Staff of the Year Award, Pain Medicine, and Best Teacher Award, Department of Pain Management, Anesthesiology Institute, and the Cleveland Clinic

  Clinical Achievement Award, announced by Dr. Toby Cosgrove,the President and CEO of Cleveland Clinic Foundation, in his 2012 State ofthe Cleveland Clinic Address.

Innovations & Patents

• Dr. Cheng holds two US patents and two technology transfers/licensing. He is recipient of the Cleveland Clinic 2012 and 2007 Inventor Awards for his achievements in effectively treating back pain generated from the sacroiliac joint and his innovations of stem cell therapy for chronic pain and opioid tolerance. He is also the inventor of a wheelchair powered by electrical stimulation of paralyzed leg muscles, designed for patients with spinal cord injury and the elderly.

Memberships

• Association of University Anesthesiologists (AUA)
• American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA)
• American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM)
• International Association for the Study of Pain
• Society for Neuroscience (SFN)
• World Institute of Pain (WIP)
• Association of Pain Program Directors  (APPD)