Drs. Tonya Palermo and See Wan Tham were awarded a five-year, $11 million grant by the National Institute of Health that is designed to fund innovative and potentially transformative research that could lead to major improvements in pediatric pain care.
Their funded project will begin by analyzing large-scale retrospective electronic health record data from the PEDSnet national pediatric learning health system to identify common clinical features associated with chronic primary pain in pediatric patients. Building on these insights, the team will then collect prospective data to determine which phenotypic characteristics are linked to different pain trajectories and outcomes.
The aim is to enhance early identification and personalized management of chronic pain across all levels of pediatric care.
Associate Professor Dr. See Wan Tham is a pediatric anesthesiologist and pain physician at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
In addition to her roles as professor and vice chair in the Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine at the University of Washington, Dr. Palermo is the editor-in-chief of The Journal of Pain. At Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Dr. Palermo serves as director of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development.
Learn more about Dr. Tham and Palermo’s research in the Pediatric Pain & Sleep Innovations Lab.