Owen Williamson

Teaching & research interests

• Virtual reality in the management of chronic pain
• The development of integrated pain management networks
• The classification of non-specific low back pain
• Outcomes following spinal surgery
• The interaction of physical and psychological factors in the persistence of pain following trauma

Dr. Owen Williamson practiced in Australia as an orthopedic spine surgeon and pain medicine physician, prior to moving to Canada in 2011, where he continues in clinical practice as a pain medicine specialist. He is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Interactive Art and Technology, Simon Fraser University, and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesia, McMaster University, and the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Australia. His research interests include virtual reality in the management of chronic pain and the development of integrated pain management networks. He is the Chair of the Academic Pain Directors of Canada, and led the call in 2018 for a Canadian National Pain Strategy that resulted in the striking of the Canadian Pain Task Force. He is also the Chair of the IASP Ethical and Legal Issues in Pain SIG.

In 2007, Dr. Williamson became the first orthopaedic surgeon in to be named a Fellow in the Faculty of Pain Medicine in the Australian & New Zealand College of Anaesthetists. He is an examiner for the Faculty of Pain Medicine and is developing pain education programs in Australia and Canada.

• Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), University of Melbourne
• Graduate Diploma in Clinical Epidemiology, Monash University
• FRACS, Orthopaedic Surgery, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons
• FAOrthA, Orthopaedic Surgery, Australian Orthopaedic Association
• FFPMANZCA, Pain Medicine, Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists
• FRCSC, Orthopedic Surgery, Royal College of Physiciansand Surgeons of Canada
• FRCSC, Pain Medicine, Royal College of Physiciansand Surgeons of Canada