Jackie Gardner-Nix, MD, PhD, is a chronic pain consultant in the Department of Anesthesia and the Pain Clinic of St Michael's Hospital in Toronto, ON, Canada, and the Department of Anesthesia and Pain Management at Sunnybrook Health Services Centre, also in Toronto. She is assistant professor in the Department of Anaesthesia, at the University of Toronto. Gardner-Nix is internationally renowned for her ability in managing chronic pain through expert use of medications. She has been on advisory boards for pain medications, including for the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Ontario Medical Association, and the Ministry of Health. She is an accomplished speaker who has given many workshops and presentations internationally, and has written publications on palliative care and control of chronic non-cancer pain. She was a Toronto Sun Women on the Move nominee in 1994 for her work in palliative care.
Lucie Costin-Hall, MA, currently works with Jackie Gardner-Nix as a cofacilitator of the Mindfulness-Based Chronic Pain Management (MBCPM) workshops for patients at two teaching hospitals in Toronto, as well as for patients at numerous distant sites throughout Ontario via the interactive conferencing technology of the Ontario Telehealth Network (OTN). It is estimated that over the last five years more than 1,500 chronic pain patients have taken these courses.
Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, is internationally known for his work as a scientist, writer, and meditation teacher engaged in bringing mindfulness into the mainstream of medicine and society. He is professor of medicine emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and author of numerous books, including Full Catastrophe Living, Arriving at Your Own Door, and Coming to Our Senses.