The American Health Council is proud to elect Dr. Joseph Pergolizzi, Jr. as one of “America’s Best Doctors”, recognizing his expertise in Clinical Research, Pain Medicine, Anesthesia, Internal Medicine, Pharmacology, Drug Discovery, and Regulatory Affairs. As Senior Partner and Director of Naples Anesthesia & Pain Associates, Inc., Dr. Pergolizzi shares 21 years within the healthcare industry, including 17 in his current role.

Dr. Pergolizzi graduated with his MD in 1996 from Ross University School of Medicine, with High Honors. He has completed an Internship in Internal Medicine at Greater Baltimore Medical Center (1997), a Clinical Research Fellowship at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (1997), and an Anesthesiology Residency at Georgetown University Hospital (2000), where he served as Chief Resident.

Dr. Pergolizzi became a physician due to a love for the sciences and desire to create a positive impact on his patients’ lives and attributes his past and current success to excellent mentors as well as his faith. He believes being a physician is a blessing as one can alter the effects of pain.

At Naples Anesthesia & Pain Associates, Inc., Dr. Pergolizzi’s daily responsibilities include serving as Senior Partner and Director of Research. He oversees students and research fellows as a Senior Member and Chief Operating Officer of The NEMA Research Group, which frequently publishes manuscripts in leading medical journals. Dr. Pergolizzi is a part-time Adjunct Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, former Part-time Adjunct Associate Professor at Temple University School of Medicine, former Adjunct Faculty of Georgetown University School of Medicine, current Chairman of the Poster and Abstract Committee at PAINWeek, Advisory Board Member of Pain Research Forum, and an Advisory Board member of the CHANGE PAIN. He also serves as a consultant to the US Dept. of Veterans Affairs, the National Institutes of Health, and the US Food and Drug Administration. He is a former member of the Board of Directors of the National Institute of Pain and former member of the Board of Directors/Treasurer for the Coalition for Pain Education (COPE).

Looking back, Dr. Pergolizzi is proud to have contributed greatly to the field of medicine. He hopes that his work will continue to make great strides towards alleviating various types of both acute chronic pain syndromes that his patients experience. He is proud to have the continuous support of his wife and three children.

In the next five years, he plans to continue publishing medical manuscripts and researching acute and chronic pain in the adult and geriatric population.

In his spare time, Dr. Pergolizzi enjoys reading and traveling, and donates his time to the National Pain Foundation, Project Anti-Bully, and Always Healthcare.