Cindy Chai, MD

Title(s)Associate Professor, Anesthesia
SchoolSchool of Medicine
Address2255 Post Street, #N204
San Francisco CA 94115
Phone415-885-7246
PronounsShe/Her/Hers
vCardDownload vCard

    Collapse Biography 
    Collapse Education and Training
    UCSFPain Fellowship
    Johns HopkinsNeurology Residency
    Dartmouth School of MedicineMDMedicine
    UC BerkeleyMolecular & Cell Biology
    UC BerkeleyArt
    Collapse Awards and Honors
    UCSF2021  - 2021Innovations In Education Award
    ASRA Pain Medicine Annual Meeting 20232023  - 2023President's Choice Poster

    Collapse Overview 
    Collapse Overview
    I’m a neurologist specializing in pain medicine. Clinically, I provide both interventional and non-interventional treatment for the full scope of chronic pain conditions. I also have a special interest in the diagnosis and treatment of facial pain and neuropathic pain conditions. Having worked with and learned from so many wonderful pain colleagues with various primary disciplines, experiences, and expertise, I am a true believer in the power of collaborative and multidisciplinary care.

    I am currently the Director of the Pain Medicine Fellowship at UCSF. In my educator role, my mission is to foster an environment and develop innovative educational strategies that encourage collaborative learning among trainees. I believe pain education that can truly leverage the strength of multidisciplinary knowledge sharing will serve as the foundation to cultivate a generation of pain physicians that will have the abilities and attitudes to be lifelong learners and teachers, to think both critically and creatively, and ultimately serve our complex patient population more effectively.

    Pain is a universal experience and is often central to a patient's sense of wellbeing and health. At the same time, each individual patient's pain experience is nuanced and require personalized pain plans. I am dedicated to working with each of my patients to construct individual pain treatments by placing my utmost attention to not just their anatomy and physiology, but also who they are as human beings.

    Collapse Featured Content 
    Collapse Featured Videos

    Collapse Bibliographic 
    Collapse Publications
    Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Researchers can login to make corrections and additions, or contact us for help. to make corrections and additions.
    Newest   |   Oldest   |   Most Cited   |   Most Discussed   |   Timeline   |   Field Summary   |   Plain Text
    Altmetrics Details PMC Citations indicate the number of times the publication was cited by articles in PubMed Central, and the Altmetric score represents citations in news articles and social media. (Note that publications are often cited in additional ways that are not shown here.) Fields are based on how the National Library of Medicine (NLM) classifies the publication's journal and might not represent the specific topic of the publication. Translation tags are based on the publication type and the MeSH terms NLM assigns to the publication. Some publications (especially newer ones and publications not in PubMed) might not yet be assigned Field or Translation tags.) Click a Field or Translation tag to filter the publications.
    1. Giving recorded video lectures new life. Med Educ. 2024 Aug 29. Chai NC. PMID: 39207031.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    2. Spinal Cord Stimulation for Failed Back Surgery Syndrome -- Patient Selection Considerations. Transl Perioper Pain Med. 2019; 6(3):81-90. Palmer N, Guan Z, Chai NC. PMID: 31687422; PMCID: PMC6828157.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 11  
    3. Ictal adipokines are associated with pain severity and treatment response in episodic migraine. Neurology. 2015 Apr 07; 84(14):1409-18. Chai NC, Gelaye B, Tietjen GE, Dash PD, Gower BA, White LW, Ward TN, Scher AI, Peterlin BL. PMID: 25746563; PMCID: PMC4395883.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 12     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    4. Migraine and estrogen. Curr Opin Neurol. 2014 Jun; 27(3):315-24. Chai NC, Peterlin BL, Calhoun AH. PMID: 24792340; PMCID: PMC4102139.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 55     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    5. Obesity and headache: Part II--potential mechanism and treatment considerations. Headache. 2014 Mar; 54(3):459-71. Chai NC, Bond DS, Moghekar A, Scher AI, Peterlin BL. PMID: 24511882; PMCID: PMC3975621.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 33     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    6. Obesity and headache: part I--a systematic review of the epidemiology of obesity and headache. Headache. 2014 Feb; 54(2):219-34. Chai NC, Scher AI, Moghekar A, Bond DS, Peterlin BL. PMID: 24512574; PMCID: PMC3971380.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 59     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    7. Epidural lysis of adhesions for failed back surgery and spinal stenosis: factors associated with treatment outcome. Anesth Analg. 2014 Jan; 118(1):215-24. Hsu E, Atanelov L, Plunkett AR, Chai N, Chen Y, Cohen SP. PMID: 24356168.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 12     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    8. Why does vomiting stop a migraine attack? Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2013 Sep; 17(9):362. Chai NC, Shapiro RE, Rapoport AM. PMID: 23913116.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 5     Fields:    Translation:Humans
    9. A prospective look at intraoperative body temperature and various patient demographics and how these relate to postoperative wound infections and other complications. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2010 Feb; 125(2):80e-81e. Van Vliet M, Chai C, Demas C. PMID: 20124819.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
    10. A comparison of spinal Iba1 and GFAP expression in rodent models of acute and chronic pain. Brain Res. 2008 Jul 11; 1219:116-26. Romero-Sandoval A, Chai N, Nutile-McMenemy N, Deleo JA. PMID: 18538310; PMCID: PMC2512259.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 78     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    Cindy's Networks
    Concepts (64)
    Derived automatically from this person's publications.
    _
    Co-Authors (1)
    People in Profiles who have published with this person.
    _
    Similar People (60)
    People who share similar concepts with this person.
    _
    Same Department
    Search Department
    _