Amber Keller Brooks, MD

About Me

Amber K. Brooks, MD, MS, is a board-certified anesthesiologist and comprehensive pain management physician who specializes in treating complex pain conditions through a multimodal, patient-centered approach. Her work spans clinical care, education, and research, helping to advance Wake Forest University School of Medicine’s mission as an Academic Learning Health System within the Advocate Health enterprise. Her research focuses on non-pharmacological interventions for chronic pain in older adults and is supported by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, and National Institute on Aging. Dr. Brooks is widely recognized for her leadership in academic medicine and her collaborative approach to shaping the future of healthcare and medical education.

In her previous role as Vice Dean for Strategic Initiatives at School of Medicine, Dr. Brooks was instrumental in guiding the School of Medicine through federal policy changes and advancing numerous enterprise-wide initiatives in areas such as Planetary Health, Community Engagement, Artificial Intelligence and Research, Innovations, and Translational Neuroscience.

Dr. Brooks currently serves as the inaugural Wake Forest University School of Medicine Vice Dean and Advocate Health Vice Chief Academic Officer for Institutional Learning and Transformation. This office serves as a cornerstone for institutional strategy and transformation by providing oversight and direction for the Centralized Analytic Platform for Performance, Transparency, and Utilization in Real-time for Excellence (CAPTURE)—the School of Medicine’s integrated data dashboard initiative. CAPTURE aims to deliver measurable, transparent, and scalable indicators of performance in education, research, and academically integrated clinical care, serving as a single source of truth for institutional effectiveness.

Research

Publications
Clinical Trials

Baseline characteristics of participants in the Biomarkers for Evaluating Spine Treatments clinical trial: a sequential multiple assignment randomized trial for chronic low back pain†. Rowland B, Barth KS, Bell KM, Brooks AK, Chadwick AL, Cleven A, Hurley RW, Mackey S, Patel KV, Piva SR, Schneider MJ, Al-Kadhi F, Asante-Nketiah B, Bagaason S, Batorsky A, Borckardt JJ, Bowden AE, Carey TS, Castellanos J, Chen L, Chidgey B, Dalton D, Dufour JS, Eberting JL, Eller SM, Fields AJ, Fritz JM, Fu A, Ghulamhussain I, Goolsby RW, Greco CM, Grim S, Gunn CA, Hanes L, Harris RE, Harte SE, Hassett AL, Helton K, Hoffmeyer A, Ivanova A, Jones Berkeley S, Kaplan C, Kidwell KM, Knapik GG, Kosorok MR, Kurillo G, Li D, Lobo R, Long J, Lotz JC, Mageswaran P, Majumdar S, Mao J, Marras WS, McCracken LM, McCumber M, McLean SA, McMillan M, Mehling W, Mendoza R, Mitchell UH, Napadow V, O'Neill C, Pearson S, Peltier S, Rundell SD, Ryser S, Schrepf A, Schulze E, Sperger J, Vo N, Wallace MS, Wampler AM, Wasan AD, Weaver TE, Weber KA, Wilcox L, Williams DA, Wilson L, Woo JE, Zeidan F, Zhao B, Zhou B, Anstrom KJ, Clauw DJ, Sowa GA, Mauck MC. Pain Med. 2025 Aug;
Advancing Equity in Pain Care through Education, Strategic Partnerships, and Advocacy. Brooks AK, Patel J. J Pain. 2025 Jul; :105505.
Risk factors for administration of additional neuromuscular block reversal in adults undergoing general anaesthesia: a single centre retrospective case-control study. Vishneski SR, Saha AK, Tran LC, Fernando RJ, Acharya SK, Lee LK, Templeton LB, Brooks AK, Smith LD, Templeton TW. BMC Anesthesiol. 2025 Apr; 25(1):189.
The Design and Rationale of the Biomarkers for Evaluating Spine Treatments (BEST) Trial: A Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial. Mauck MC, Barth KS, Bell KM, Brooks AK, Chadwick AL, Gunn CA, Hurley RW, Ivanova A, Piva SR, Schneider MJ, Bailey JF, Bagaason S, Batorsky A, Borckardt JJ, Bowden AE, Carey TS, Castellanos J, Chen L, Chidgey B, Dalton D, Dufour JS, Fields AJ, Fritz JM, Goolsby RW, Greco CM, Harris RE, Harte S, Hassett AL, Hoffmeyer A, Jones Berkeley S, Kaplan C, Kidwell KM, Knapik GG, Kosorok MR, Kurillo G, Lobo R, Lotz JC, Mackey S, Mageswaran P, Majumdar S, Mao J, Marras WS, McCumber M, McLean SA, Mehling W, Mitchell UH, Napadow VJ, O'Neill C, Patel KV, Peltier S, Psioda M, Rowland B, Rundell SD, Schrepf A, Sperger J, Vo N, Wallace MS, Wasan AD, Weaver TE, Weber KA, Williams DA, Wilson L, Zeidan F, Zhao B, Anstrom KJ, Clauw DJ, Sowa GA. Pain Med. 2025 Apr;
Investigating the accuracy of Garmin PPG sensors on differing skin types based on the Fitzpatrick scale: cross-sectional comparison study. Icenhower A, Murphy C, Brooks AK, Irby M, N'dah K, Robison J, Fanning J. Front Digit Health. 2025; 7:1553565.

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Managing Osteoarthritis Pain with Movement and Healthy Eating at Home

Technology Transfer and Commercialization

Research Focus Areas

Translation to Care

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Amber Keller Brooks, MD

Research Interests

About Me