Professor Joanna Zakrzewska

Professional statement

Professor Joanna Zakrzewska is a world-renowned specialist in facial pain and oral medicine, with particular expertise in trigeminal neuralgia and practising privately at Cleveland Clinic Portland Place Outpatient Centre.

With dual degrees in dentistry (King’s College London) and medicine (University of Cambridge), she completed her specialist training in oral medicine and earned an MD focused on trigeminal neuralgia, followed by a personal chair in facial pain.

Professor Zakrzewska was the first non-anaesthetist to join the Faculty of Pain Medicine and serves as Chairperson of the Medical Advisory Board for the Trigeminal Neuralgia Association UK, which she co-founded.

Her distinguished career includes a decade in academia at Queen Mary, University of London, before transitioning to University College London Hospitals (UCLH) NHS Foundation Trust. At UCLH, she established and led the largest award-winning UK centre for facial pain between 2007 and 2015, creating an interdisciplinary service that continues to set national standards.

Professor Zakrzewska has been instrumental in developing the care pathway for trigeminal neuralgia, which is now a key component of the Royal College of Surgeons’ National Guidelines, with input from major UK stakeholders. She has also contributed to both European and American guidelines on facial pain management.

As a principal investigator, Professor Zakrzewska leads clinical trials and supervises advanced research, including a PhD on core outcomes in trigeminal neuralgia. Her interdisciplinary approach extends to the humanities, where she co-supervised a PhD exploring the visual language of pain to enhance communication in healthcare.

A prolific author, Professor Zakrzewska has published six books, contributed chapters to 28 others, and written over 200 peer-reviewed articles. Recognised as the world’s leading expert in trigeminal neuralgia research, she has delivered more than 100 invited lectures in over 30 countries, solidifying her global reputation as a pioneer in the field.