Clinical & Translational Pain Research
Successfully translating pain research into meaningful pain management in clinical practice improves the health and well-being of our patients and our communities. Our researchers are studying pain in adults and children with the unified goal of improving patient care and developing innovative approaches and safe treatments for patients experiencing acute and chronic pain.
Pediatric Pain Research
Our researchers are engaged in studies to develop a better understanding of the impact of pain on children and adolescents with the goal of improving patient care and outcomes. Focus areas include efficacy of psychological interventions, opioid use and risks for misuse, sleep deficiency and pain, and mechanisms of transition from acute to chronic pain.
Pediatric Pain & Sleep Innovations Lab
Led by lab director, Tonya Palermo, PhD, researchers aim to improve the lives of children and adolescents with chronic pain.
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Lab Members
Dr. Tonya Palermo studies the effectiveness of psychological interventions to help reduce chronic pain, teach self-management and build resiliency.
Dr. Caitlin Murray aim to reduce the impact of living with chronic pain as adolescents transition into adulthood.
Dr. See Wan Tham studies sleep deficiency and pain in adolescents with chronic pain.
Adult Pain Research
Focus areas in our studies on adult pain include early phase clinical trials of pain medications, using RNA sequencing to identify therapeutic targets for neck pain, testing innovative community-based interventions for older adults with knee osteoarthritis and testing a high frequency nerve block device.
Leaders in pain research
Our investigators study pain and pain management with the goal of improving patients’ quality of life.
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Adult Pain Researchers
Dr. Curatolo is involved in several pain studies including using novel therapeutic targets for neck pain using RNA sequencing on joint and nerve tissue. Dr. Curatolo is also collaborating with investigators at the University of Texas to identify molecular phenotypes of human sensory neurons in patients suffering from chronic pain.
Dr. Patel is studying older adults with osteoarthritis pain and the efficacy of community based exercise and behavioral health interventions to manage pain. Dr. Patel is also collaborating on a clinical trial identifying biomarkers for evaluating spine treatments.
Dr. Stacey’s expertise is in clinical trials evaluating pain medications. Currently, Dr. Stacey is involved with a clinical trial studying the efficacy of a drug for patients with moderate to severe osteo arthritis pain.
Dr. Turk is partnering with investigators developing a collaborative framework for prioritizing pain and addiction research, and facilitating the development of safe and effective interventions to improve patients’ lives.
Dr. Wu is involved in a study testing the effectiveness of a high frequency device to reduce pain for patients following amputation.