Filmed on 13 April 2019 as part of TEDxUTK 2019 On Another Wavelength at the Art and Architecture McCarty Auditorium in Knoxville, TN.

James J. Choo, MD is a native of Knoxville, TN. He graduated from Emory University in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology, and received a Doctor of Medicine degree in 2004 from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. After medical school, Dr. Choo completed his residency in anesthesia at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans, LA. After residency, he attended the University of New Mexico and completed an ACGME-accredited pain fellowship. Dr. Choo is ABMS board-certified in anesthesiology and pain medicine.

Dr. Choo is the owner of Pain Consultants of East Tennessee and serves as the Medical Director of the PCET Surgery Center. Pain Consultants of East Tennessee is an American Pain Society Center of Excellence.

Dr. Choo has been extremely active in advocating for solutions to the opioid crisis while at the same time protecting chronic pain patients’ needs. Dr. Choo served on Governor Bill Haslam’s Chronic Pain Guidelines Panel in 2014, which assisted the Tennessee Department of Health in drafting guidelines that would assist state legislators in addressing the state’s ongoing challenges associated with prescription drug abuse. In addition, Dr. Choo has appeared before the Tennessee General Assembly Senate and House health committees to testify in support of strengthening laws for pain management practices across the state. In addition to serving on a number of boards and committees, Dr. Choo is honored to serve on the planning committee for the East Tennessee Opioid Conference.

Dr. Choo is a proud supporter of the Pain and Palliative Care Service at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, having helped raise more than $55,000 through various PCET sanctioned events since 2016.

In 2018, Dr. Choo was presented with the Metro Drug Coalition‘s "Commitment to Service" Award at their 6th Annual Community Champion Awards banquet. Dr. Choo has been voted a "Top Doc" for Pain Management by local area physicians for eight consecutive years. The honor is published in Cityview Magazine.