Mary-Ann Fitzcharles, Canada

Mary-Ann Fitzcharles is a clinician, teacher and clinical researcher at McGill University, Montreal, Canada since 1982. Medical school was at University Cape Town, South Africa, rheumatology training was at the London Hospital, England. Career interest has focused on rheumatic disease pain, and she has served on national/international committees in this context. She is a founder member of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada specialty committee for Pain Medicine, is an immediate past chair of the Canadian Rheumatology Association (CRA) Therapeutics committee, and has led the 2012 Canadian fibromyalgia guideline group and the CRA position statement on medical cannabis.  Recent publications and national/international presentations have addressed the concept of pain associated with rheumatic diseases and the use of opioids and cannabinoids in rheumatology patients.