Dr. Sullivan received his M.D. and his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Vanderbilt University. After completing an internship in Family Medicine at University of Missouri, he completed a residency in Psychiatry at the University of Washington in 1988. He is now Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences as well as Adjunct Professor of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Washington. He has served as attending physician in the UWMC Center for Pain Relief for over 30 years. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles. He has a book on patient empowerment, The Patient As Agent of Health and Health Care (Oxford), and a new book, written with Jane Ballantyne, The Right to Pain Relief and other deep roots of the opioid epidemic forthcoming from Oxford University Press.