MICHAEL GOFELD, MD, PhD, C-CAT(P)

Dr. Gofeld completed the residency program in Anesthesiology at the University of Tel Aviv in 2001 and fellowship training in Chronic Pain at the University of Toronto in 2005. He defended his Doctorate thesis in Spinal Sonography at the University of Maastricht. Dr. Gofeld worked in the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre until 2008 and developed the first collaborative pain management program in the province of Ontario for palliative care patients. He was recruited by the University of Washington in Seattle and served as the Director of Clinical Operations at the Center for Pain Relief (CPR). The CPR was the first multidisciplinary pain program in the World that started in 1967 and immensely influenced the development of the entire Chronic Pain discipline. Dr. Gofeld subsequently led the Neuromodulation Program and was cross-appointed with the Department of Neurological Surgery. He returned to Ontario in 2013 and joined the Department of Anesthesia at the University of Toronto. Dr. Gofeld substantially contributed to developing and launching the Toronto Academic Pain Medicine Institute (TAPMI). He served as an interim Medical Director of the Women’s College Pain Clinic, as the Advisor on Chronic Pain at the Department of Anesthesia, and as vice-chair of the Chronic Pain Registry Committee at the Adult Chronic Pain Network Advisory for the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care of Ontario.

Dr. Gofeld devoted time and effort to launching the Neuromodulation Program at the St Michael’s Hospital and developing Chronic Pain education at the University of Toronto, where he was appointed as Associate Professor. He served as an Assessor for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. Dr. Gofeld is a renowned expert and speaker at international conferences and forums on chronic pain. He served as a member of the editorial boards of several prestigious scientific journals. He founded the Canadian Interventional Special Interest Group at the Canadian Pain Society and developed the first continuing medical education program for practicing pain physicians in the country. Dr. Gofeld spearheaded the development of the first certification in interventional pain ultrasound and served as the inaugural Vise-Chair (Ultrasound) at the Board of Examination, World Institute of Pain. He is currently holding an appointment as a Director at the World Academy of Pain Medicine United.

In 2018 Dr. Gofeld accepted the role of Medical Director at Silver Pain Centre. The clinic provides interdisciplinary and interventional pain services, including image-guided methods. The clinic is staffed and equipped according to the highest safety standards and patient-oriented care. Although Dr. Gofeld left the academic practice in 2018, he remained connected with the University of Toronto Pain Medicine Royal College residency program mentoring trainees.

Dr. Gofeld has 22 years of clinical experience in spinal, musculoskeletal and neurological interventions and comprehensive management of complex chronic pain conditions.

As a scientist, Dr. Gofeld is experienced in medical device studies and clinical interventional pain projects, including multicenter trials and patient-oriented research. He is certified in Human Subjects and Animal research ethics and regulatory requirements for pharmaceutical trials. Dr. Gofeld authored 27 peer-reviewed publications, co-authored 18 research papers, and wrote numerous book chapters.

Dr. Gofeld completed training in the evaluations of personal injury claims through the Canadian Society of Medical Evaluators and the Canadian Academy of Psychologists in Disability Assessment (CSME-CAPDA) and was certified in catastrophic assessments C-CAT(P). The Ontario Court of Justice has qualified Dr. Gofeld as an expert witness in Chronic Pain.