Skip to main content

John Farrar, Elliot Hersh and Rosemary Polomano: One Health Award

The University of Pennsylvania has named John T. Farrar of the Perelman School of Medicine; Elliot V. Hersh, of the School of Dental Medicine; and Rosemary Polomano, of the School of Nursing Science, the 2016 recipients of its One Health Award, recognizing their exemplary contributions to expanding interdisciplinary collaboration and improving healthcare for the benefit of humans, animals and the environment.

The One Health Award was established in 2013 by the deans of the four health schools at Penn.

 Together, Drs. Farrar, Hersh and Polomano lead an interdisciplinary course on pain science and practice for nursing, dental and medical students at Penn. This interdisciplinary course stems from the trio’s work as co-principal investigators on the NIH-funded Penn Center for Excellence in Pain Education (CoEPE) grant, one of only 12 such centers in the nation. Since January 2013, the comprehensive and innovative academic pain course has been an inter-school and inter-institutional draw for students, clinicians and international colleagues, attracting more than 400 students. More than 20 Penn pain scientists and clinicians are currently engaged in teaching the course, utilizing various modalities including lectures, interactive case presentations and simulations. The course helps to train the next generation of inter-professional healthcare providers in pain care and pain management, who are also learning to develop strategies to reduce the opioid misuse, abuse and addiction associated with the treatment of pain.

“It is a great privilege to recognize extraordinary collaborations throughout the University that exemplify the One Health initiative,” said Joan C. Hendricks, the Gilbert S. Kahn Dean of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. “The pain science and practice course led by Drs. Farrar, Hersh and Polomano is a superb example of interdisciplinary education at Penn that serves as a model across the globe. We are also very proud that Dr. Dorothy Cimino Brown’s research on objective pain measurements in animals has been conducted in collaboration with Dr. Farrar. Through this program, students in health professions are better equipped to integrate models of inter-professional practice to improve patient care.”

Dr. Farrar  is a neurologist and an associate professor of epidemiology in the department of biostatistics and epidemiology at Penn Medicine. His research interests are focused on the studies of pain and symptom management with a special focus on measurement, analysis and interpretation methodology.

Dr. Hersh is a professor in the department of oral & maxillofacial surgery/pharmacology at Penn Dental Medicine. His clinical research program plays a key role in developing and carrying out FDA-pivotal clinical trials. His primary research endeavors focus on the areas of novel local anesthetic drugs and alternatives to opioids in the management of acute postoperative pain.

Dr. Polomano is a professor of pain practice at Penn Nursing. Her research is dedicated to advancing the science of understanding and treating pain, including the mechanisms of peripheral neuropathy, ways to measure pain, and ways to help patients communicate their pain. She is also associate dean for practice at Penn Nursing.

Back to Top