Full Schedule
Wednesday, May 13 | Thursday, May 14 | Friday, May 15 | Saturday, May 16
Thursday, May 14
7:45–8 am
Gathering and Introductions
8–8:30 am
(100) State of the Society
Greg Terman, MD PhD, APS President
8:30–9:30 am
General Session 
Continuing Education Credit Available for Sessions 101-102: 1 Hour for Physicians, Psychologists, Nurses, and Pharmacists
(101) Keynote Address: Envisioning Research Focused on Outcomes Rather Than Diseases or Treatments 
Joe Selby, MD MPH, Executive Director, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)
This lecture will provide a brief description of the research funding priorities at Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) and of PCORI’s current portfolio related to pain management. Dr. Selby will describe how PCORI evaluates research applications for their patient-centeredness and patient/stakeholder engagement. He will raise several questions with the audience as to where PCORI should direct its funding for this area in the light of its expressed values for patient-centered/engaged research.
- Define patient-centered comparative effectiveness research.
- Examine the rationale for PCORI’s emphasis on engagement of patients and other stakeholders.
(102) Plenary Lecture
Inside Information–Knowns and Unknowns
Jerry Gebhart, PhD
The internal organs are sparsely innervated relative to other tissues, but uniquely are innervated by two nerves with some overlapping, but also distinct functions. Visceral pain is not reliably produced by typical tissue-damaging stimuli, and chronic visceral pain often exists in the absence of a clear pathobiological cause. Improved management of chronic visceral pain conditions relies on improved understanding of underlying mechanisms, which likely differ between different organs.
9:30–11 am
Poster Session and Networking in the Experience Exchange
Author-Attended Poster Session (Odd-Numbered Posters)
11 am–12:30 pm
Symposia 
Continuing Education Credit Available for Sessions 200-205: 1.5 Hours for Physicians, Psychologists, Nurses, and Pharmacists
(200) Rethinking Clinical Research: The NIH Health Care Systems (HCS) Research Collaboratory and PCORNet 
Linda Porter, PhD (Moderator); Catherine Meyers, MD; Lynn DeBar, PhD; Russ Waitman, PhD
Cost-effective, large-scale research studies that engage healthcare delivery organizations as research partners and involve patients and their providers will strengthen the relevance of research results to health practice. This symposium will describe ongoing efforts by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to address means to enhance large scale, real-world–setting, pragmatic trials. Processes to address major challenges (e.g., ethical, regulatory, technical) of collaborative research, as well as the framework for implementation methods and best practices to improve design, conduct, and analysis of large-scale, pragmatic trials will be described from the NIH’s and the investigators’ perspectives. The National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network (PCORNet), a network for conducting clinical outcomes research that will establish a resource of clinical data gathered in real-world settings will be described. PCORNet requires patients, clinicians, and healthcare systems to be actively involved in the governance and use of the data generated by the network. These programs will provide direction, resources, and tools to support a new approach to clinical research.
(201) American Pain Society Clinical Centers of Excellence: Promoting the Highest Standards of Evidence-Based, Interdisciplinary Pain Care
Robert Kerns, PhD (Moderator); James Choo, MD; Salahadin Abdi, MD PhD; William Zempsky, MD MPH
This symposium will provide an overview of the APS Clinical Centers of Excellence (CCOE) program followed by brief presentations by three 2014 honorees selected by the CCOE Committee. The three programs will showcase innovation in the delivery of integrated, interdisciplinary, and multimodal care across the continuum of acute to chronic pain and pain associated with end-of-life care in three distinct clinical settings, including a community-based practice setting, a university-based pediatric program, and a university-based comprehensive cancer center.
(202) Unmixing the Transcriptional Responses of Sensory Neurons in Partial Injuries 
Jeffrey Petruska, PhD (Moderator); Michael Iadarola, PhD; Douglas Zochodne, MD FRCPC
Animal models have demonstrated that both injured and non-injured neurons contribute to painful conditions arising after partial nerve injury and tissue damage, but may do so through different means. This symposium will consider the clinical scenarios from the perspective of the changes in sensory neuron gene expression, which differ depending on the injury status of the individual neurons involved. Speakers will offer a perspective of the models used to discern these differences, how the models relate to clinical realities, and a comparative analysis of the transcriptomic profiles of both injured and neighboring non-injured sensory neurons.
(203) Biobehavioral Mechanisms of Pain and Reward: Implications for Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Chronic Pain 
Patrick Finan, PhD (Moderator); Susanne Becker, PhD; Eric Garland, PhD; Fadel Zeidan, PhD
A top priority of current pain research is to identify modifiable mechanisms that account for individual variation in pain sensitivity. Emerging clinical and experimental evidence suggests that the mesolimbic dopaminergic reward system is a viable target of individual variability in the subjective experience of pain. Furthermore, recent research suggests that mindfulness-based training regimens may alter neurobiological and behavioral reward processes in the context of pain. In this symposium, Dr. Becker will discuss the basic neuroscience linking pain and reward processing, and how it informs our understanding of chronic pain. Dr. Garland will discuss biobehavioral mechanisms underlying the effects of mindfulness on reward processing in patients with chronic pain. Dr. Zeidan will delineate the behavioral, physiological, and neurobiological mechanisms supporting the modulation of pain and reward processing by mindfulness meditation.
(204) Improving Assessment of Clinical Pain Using Technology
Jeannie Huang, MD MPH (Moderator); Marian Bartlett, PhD; Kenneth Craig, PhD
Adequate and valid pain assessment continues to evade practitioners. Physiological, behavioral and self-report data evaluating technology-based measures for pain assessment will be presented. The role of technologies in the current model of pain assessment and management will be discussed.
(205) Musculoskeletal Pain: Translating Basic Models and Mechanisms
Michael Jankowski, PhD (Moderator); Alan Light, PhD; Timothy Brennan, MD PhD; Petra Schweinhardt, MD
This symposium will bring together basic and clinical scientists to present their ongoing research on the various mechanisms of muscle pain. The symposium covers areas of interest to both basic science researchers and clinicians, as it will discuss the processes that underlie muscle pain development during exercise, ischemia, and acute incision. Data will also be presented on how muscle injury relates to brain activation and function in humans, which can hopefully be used in the design of better clinical therapies for different types of muscle pain.
12:45–2 pm
Lunch Symposium
(L1000) Basic Science of Pain 101
Clifford Woolf, MD PhD; Frank Porreca, PhD; Catherine Bushnell, PhD; Jerry Gebhart, PhD
Distinguished basic scientists will provide attendees the opportunity to learn about neurological principles that are the foundation of our current understanding of pain and how it becomes chronic. Topics include cortical representations of pain, descending pain modulation, neurobiology of nociceptors, and plasticity in pain signaling. Pioneers in the pain field will share their unique insight during this fantastic educational opportunity—and in a "101" format that clinicians, psychologists, pharmacists, nurses, and others will appreciate.
2:15–3:45 pm
Symposia
Continuing Education Credit Available for Sessions 300-305: 1.5 Hours for Physicians, Psychologists, Nurses, and Pharmacists
(300) Rita Allen Scholars Symposium
Reza Sharif Naeini, PhD (Moderator); Rebecca Seal, PhD; Tuan Trang, PhD; Gregory Scherrer, PhD
This symposium will bring together the 2013 and 2014 American Pain Society Rita Allen Foundation Scholars in Pain to present their ongoing research, which covers the molecular and cellular basis of chronic pain and pain treatments. The purpose of this session is to present and discuss novel advances in the mechanisms of pain at the molecular and cellular levels and how these advances could be translated into better clinical therapies. Due to the diversity and nature of these topics, the symposium should appeal broadly to both basic scientists and clinicians.
(301) Cancer Pain
Brian Davis, PhD (Moderator); Brian Schmidt, MD PhD DDS; Durga Mohapatra, PhD; Patrick Mantyh, PhD
More than 10 million people are diagnosed with cancer every year. Each type of cancer is different, and the course of the disease is unique in each patient. Recent studies indicate that for many cancers, the interactions between developing tumors and the nervous system is as important as, or more important than, that with other organ systems, including the vasculature and lymphatic. Tumors release factors that sensitize neurons and induce sprouting contributing to pain, whereas neurons release factors that influence tumor development and, for many types of tumors, provide pathways along which cancers spread throughout the body. This symposium combines basic science investigators and a clinician-scientist who are examining these issues in animal models of pancreatic, prostatic, bone, and orofacial cancers.
(302) Cutting-Edge Research: Complementary Health Strategies to Inform or Improve Pain Management in Veterans
Kristen Huntley, PhD (Co-Moderator); Partap S. Khalsa, DC PhD DABCO(Co-Moderator); Erik Groessl, PhD; Karen Seal, MD MPH; Robert Kerns, PhD
The prevalence of chronic pain and opioid use in veteran populations and strategies to inform or improve pain management in veterans will be described. Preliminary evidence and ongoing research on the efficacy of yoga for chronic low back pain in veterans will be presented. A research project examining an innovative VA primary care model using decision support, motivational interviewing, and development of a personal plan to improve pain management and reduce high-risk opioid use will be described. Research efforts to leverage medical record data using natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) to assess quality of pain management in primary care and use of complementary health approaches in veterans with chronic pain will be presented.
(303) The Impact of Sleep on the Experience of Pain: Evidence from Laboratory and Clinical Studies Across the Lifespan
Burel Goodin, PhD (Moderator); Patrick Finan, PhD; Tonya Palermo, PhD
Emerging evidence from prospective and longitudinal studies shows that sleep disruption leads to subsequent increased pain in multiple samples across childhood and adulthood. The goal of this session is to address two important topics: 1) behavioral mechanisms and sociodemographic moderators of the impact of disturbed sleep on pain across the lifespan, and 2) the impact of disturbed sleep on clinical pain treatment response. This topic has implications for future mechanistic research that may lead to preventive interventions to interrupt a cycle of persistent, disabling pain and sleep problems.
(304) Insight into the Neural Circuits of Itch and How They Are Distinct from Pain 
Sarah Ross, PhD (Moderator); Xinzhong Dong, PhD; Glenn Giesler, PhD
Pain and itch are related aversive sensations. Indeed, almost every type of neuropathic pain has a neuropathic itch counterpart. And yet itch is largely ignored in textbooks and training curricula. Recently, there have been huge advances in our understanding of how itch is encoded in the nervous system and how it is distinguished from pain. Importantly, mu and kappa opioids differentially modulate itch and pain. These findings give insight into a neural basis for morphine’s ability to inhibit pain while simultaneously causing itch.
(305) Technology and Psychological Interventions: Promises and Realization
Amanda Williams, PhD (Moderator); Francis Keefe, PhD; Hunter Hoffman, PhD
Three presentations will demonstrate the range of technology-based translations of evidence-based interventions and raise some of the issues in their design and application. These include using automated voice response systems to direct sensing and feedback to patients of their motor behavior and powerful virtual-reality distractions. All are intended to make psychological intervention accessible and to empower patients to use it as needed.
3:45–5:15 pm
Poster Session and Networking in the Experience Exchange
Author-Attended Poster Session (Even-Numbered Posters)
5:15–6:15 pm
Shared Interest Group (SIG) Meetings
(127) Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Interested in managing chronic pain using a range of nonpharmacologic interventions? Want to learn about the funding opportunities through NCCIH (formerly NCCAM)?
Join our CAM SIG meeting and hear Emmeline Edwards, PhD, Director, Division of Extramural Research address "NCCIH Research Priorities in Pain Research." The neural processing and modulation of pain perception along with the nonpharmacologic management of chronic pain have evolved into a major focus of NCCIH funding. Interventions such as spinal manipulation, massage, acupuncture, natural products, probiotics and mind/body approaches such as meditation, are currently a major focus of NCCIH funding. We promise an engaging look at this emerging approach to the management of chronic pain.
Three early career scholars will give brief presentations on their recent work. The basic science liaisons to the APS Board of Directors and the Scientific Program Committee, and the SIG co-chairs will give brief reports on APS activities over the year. Basic Science SIG members will have an opportunity to give ideas for the SIG’s activities over the coming year. Ideas will be solicited for the 2015 Basic Science Dinner Symposium. A new co-chair for 2015-2016 will be elected.
The program will feature the work of 3 junior investigators presenting posters related to geriatric pain at the meeting. The investigators will be notified prior to the meeting and invited to deliver a 10 minute presentation of their research followed by 5-10 minutes of discussion and questions. This will provide a unique opportunity for junior investigators interested in pain, aging, and geriatrics to receive feedback from the SIG membership as well as develop opportunities for collaboration. The meeting will conclude with a 15-20 minute business meeting for the Geriatric Pain Special Interest Group.
Pain rehabilitation in the form of the biopsychosocial interdisciplinary paradigm has represented for well over 30 years, the cultural transformation the Institute of Medicine ( IOM), the American College of Occupational & Industrial Medicine, (ACOEM), Official Disability Guidlines (ODG) and the Medical Treatment Utilization Schedule of California's work comp system (MTUS) among others have identified as the most effective way of reversing chronic pain and co-morbidities, improving function and decreasing overall medical costs. The issues remain that 1) most stakeholders are unaware of such evidence-based solutions, and 2) access to such care is difficult to come by, and 3) reimbursement does not correspond to evidence-based practices. The SIG's current focus is on creating awareness among patients, providers, legislators and payers regarding best practices, 2) providing treatment recommendations to UR and employers/payers, 3) describing business practices that both promote and prevent patients from receiving such evidence-based care, and 4) identifying tools such as wireless telemedicine, mobile health, and personalized and genomic medicine as a mean of extending pain rehabilitation throughout the U.S. and worldwide.
Among the presentations will be 1) an analysis and recommendations to reverse the chronic pain epidemic at the state level: barriers and opportunities; and 2) Implementation of multidisciplinary care for chronic pain with online and telemedicine technology.
The 2015 Psychosocial Research SIG meeting will feature 3 components. (1) A brief business meeting will update members on major SIG activities, including the election results for the SIG co-chair for the 2015-16 term. (2) The 6th Annual SIG Young Investigator Poster award will be presented, and the winner will present his or her research in a platform session. (3) Experts in the field of psychosocial pain research will give brief presentations and participate in a panel discussion titled “Threatening our darlings II: A critical examination of fundamental assumptions in psychosocial research on pain”. Expert presentations and discussion will focus on fundamental assumptions in the field’s approach to theory, methodology, intervention, and assessment that are not often challenged, as well as alternatives that may be considered. Panelists will include Drs. John Burns, Robert Edwards, Jennifer Haythornthwaite, and Susmita Kashikar-Zuck. We look forward to you joining us for what should be an engaging and interactive SIG meeting that may be of particular interest for APS members across the research spectrum.
In previous years, the question-and-answer session of the SIG has been of great value. During this year’s meeting, we plan to have an expert panel answer SIG members’ questions. The panel will include William Schmidt, PhD; Nathaniel Katz, MD MS; Robert Dworkin, PhD; and Dennis Turk, PhD. Some questions will be solicited beforehand by email, but there will also be significant time allotted for spontaneous questions. We will segregate the topics such that a broad range of issues are discussed such as: maximizing assay sensitivity through clinical trial design, special considerations for the statistical analysis analgesic critical trials, and regulatory implication of the new FDA draft guidance.
In this session, Dr. Burel Goodin from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Dr. Vani Mathur from the University of Maryland, Baltimore will present cutting-edge research on pain disparities, specifically, the roles of stigma and discrimination in shaping pain experience and patient clinical outcomes. This session will highlight the role of behavioral, social, and physiological mechanisms that may contribute to pain in individuals with both HIV and sickle cell disease. The session will conclude with questions from the group, with answers from the speakers. All APS attendees, especially students and trainees with interests in disparities research are invited to participate in this interactive session.
The Pain in SCD SIG seeks to foster the development of a multidisciplinary community that brings together pain researchers, including basic scientists, and clinicians, nurses, psychologists, and other health professionals to increase the knowledge of pain in sickle cell disease and its treatment.
A number of research updates will be presented, including results from a recently completed study of SCD pain phenotypes. Dr Dampier will also provide an update on the ACTTION-APS Pain Taxonomy Project, and will lead a review and discussion of the pain treatment recommendations from the recently released NHLBI SCD Management guidelines.
6:30–8 pm
Awards Reception
Wednesday, May 13 | Thursday, May 14 | Friday, May 15 | Saturday, May 16