Dr. Wilkes received her M.D.-Ph.D. and completing her residency in anesthesiology and fellowship in pain medicine from at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. She is currently Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine and Director of Pain Medicine Faculty Professional Development at the University of Texas Medical Branch. She is accredited by the American Board of Anesthesiology for Pain Medicine, Hospice Care and Palliative Medicine, and Anesthesiology and her practice provides medical and interventional procedures such as steroid injection, neurolytic blocks, spinal cord stimulator, vertebroplasty, and kyphoplasty.
Dr. Wilkes’ neuroscience research investigates quantitative sensory measurements of pain in humans, with an additional focus on developing large mammalian models to study mechanisms underlying opioid tolerance and to correlate the findings with clinical measurements. She has extensive teaching and research experience in applying evidenced-based practices in pain medication management, novel approaches to the treatment of pain, and identification of risk for opioid misuse and opioid use disorder in pain patients.