Donald B. Penzien, Ph.D., FAHS, FSBM, is Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Neurology, and Epidemiology and Prevention, and Associate Director for the Center for Integrative Medicine at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
He is widely recognized for his contributions in behavioral medicine — particularly headache and chronic/persistent pain research and research methodologies — and enhancing the accessibility and cost-effectiveness of non-pharmacologic therapies. He is a Fellow of American Headache Society and the Society of Behavioral Medicine with over 175 research articles, book chapters, and books/monographs to his credit. In 2024, he was awarded the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Headache Society.
His research has been supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and other funding agencies. He is Senior Editorial Advisor for Headache, editorial board member for Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health, has served on editorial boards of other scientific journals, and has actively served numerous scientific and professional organizations and scientific study review sections (NIH, CDMRP).
Key appointments include:
-Chair, Nonpharmacological Treatment Group: Headache Treatment Guidelines Project (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality);
-Board of Directors, Chair of Behavioral Clinical Trials Guidelines Section, and Chair of Methodology, Design, and Statistical Issues Special Interest Section (American Headache Society), U.S. Headache Treatment Guidelines Consortium (American Academy of Neurology);
-Common Data Elements Working Group for Headache Clinical Trials (National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke), Program Committee, NIH HEAL Initiative (Helping to End Addiction Long-Term) Annual Investigator Meetings.