Akhtar Purvez

Akhtar Purvez is a Kashmiri American author, physician and medical researcher specializing in pain management and substance use disorder. He serves as a principal investigator in clinical research.

Personal life Purvez grew up in Tangmarg in the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir region of India. He moved to the United States where he trained in anesthesiology at Boston Medical Center and in pain management at the University of Virginia.

He promotes access to health care in Kashmir, including by making recommendations on addressing self-medication and substance abuse in pain management.

He has been profiled for his approach to pain management, which incorporates cultural and literary elements, including the use of poetry as a complementary perspective in patient care.

Publications Managing Chronic Pain in an Age of Addiction, 2018 The Brain Behind Pain: Exploring the Mind-Body Connection, 2022