Education

Young Investigator Travel Award Program Applications Due January 24

APS is planning to offer Young Investigator travel support for the 2013 APS Annual Scientific Meeting, May 8–11, 2013, in New Orleans, LA. A limited number of funding awards may be available to individuals who will be presenting poster abstracts at the meeting. Applicants may be from any research training background (basic or clinical science, psychology, medicine, or biostatistics) and may be at any level in training, including students, residents, predoctoral trainees, postdoctoral fellows, or those who have completed their postdoctoral training with the last 3 years. All applicants must be APS members and must have an abstract accepted for presentation. Applications from nonmembers will not be considered.

The Young Investigator Travel Award application is available on the APS website. To apply for funding, visit the APS site and complete the online application. Note that an applicant’s abstract must be accepted for presentation before he/she is eligible to submit an application for Young Investigator travel support. The listing of accepted abstracts, by primary author, will be available on the APS site in late December. Please check the abstract acceptance list before applying for a Young Investigator award. Applications must be completed online by January 24, 2013. If you have difficulty completing the application, contact APS at 847.375.4715. Applications will be reviewed by the APS Scientific Program Committee, and stipends will be awarded in late February 2013. Notifications will be sent to applicants in February. Those applicants selected for the 2013 meeting will receive their travel grants at the APS Annual Scientific Meeting.

Registration Open for the 2013 APS Meeting

Join us in the Crescent City for the APS 32nd Annual Scientific Meeting May 8–11, 2013. The 32nd Annual Scientific Meeting provides you the opportunity to

• attend a variety of educational sessions featuring interactive workshops and symposia
  
• attend the Clinical and Basic Science Data Blitz featuring innovative and compelling clinical and basic science research
  
• receive a special conference rate of $239 at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside
  
• earn more than 15 hours of continuing education/contact hours
  
• meet with more than 400 poster presenters
  
• network with colleagues at the opening reception in the exhibit hall on Wednesday evening
  
• enjoy the sound of the Pain Sensations, APS's house band, in the French Quarter on Thursday night, back by popular demand.

Register by March 27, 2013 and receive $100 off the registration fee! To learn more about APS's annual scientific meeting and to register, visit the 2013 Annual Scientific Meeting website.

Clinical and Basic Science Data Blitz—Submission Forms Available in February

APS will host the Clinical and Basic Science Data Blitz on Wednesday, May 8 from 6–8 pm in New Orleans, LA, as part of the 32nd Annual Scientific Meeting. The Data Blitz submission form will be available on the APS website in early February 2013; the deadline for submissions will be March 18. Authors are encouraged to submit "hot topics" for presentation during the Blitz; submissions from doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows are encouraged. Selected presenters will have 5 minutes to present data and 5 additional minutes for questions. The Blitz will be moderated by Greg Dussor, PhD; Steve George, PhD PT; and David Seminowicz, PhD. Please visit the APS website in early February for further information and to download the submission forms.

Funding Announcements

2013 Rita Allen Foundation Award in Pain: Extended Deadline: February 1

The Rita Allen Foundation (RAF) and APS announce the 2013 Award in Pain. The RAF and APS may award two grants each in the amount of $50,000 annually for a period of up to 3 years to those research proposals demonstrating the greatest merit and potential for success.

Candidates must have completed their training and provided persuasive evidence of distinguished achievement or extraordinary promise in basic science research in pain. Candidates should be in the early stages of their career with an appointment at faculty level. The entire award is to be allocated to projects specifically chosen by the recipient. Overhead is not supported.

To learn more about the RAF Award in Pain, please visit the APS website, where additional details and an application link are posted.

Members

Member Spotlight J. Bruce Hillenberg, PhD ABPP Director of Psychology Pain Medicine Beaumont Health System Royal Oak, MI

What is your area of specialty?
I am a board-certified clinical health psychologist. My primary interest lies in helping patients with chronic pain live meaningful and active lives. I am intrigued with the process by which patients find courage to seek acceptance, reduce disability, and take responsibility for their quality of life. I am interested in the psychological, family, cultural, and contextual factors that play a critical role in the variation of coping skills and functioning seen among patients with chronic pain. My work has focused on translating research and theoretical models of pain management into clinical practice and working with multidisciplinary colleagues to develop evidence-based biopsychosocial interventions within integrated medical settings.

What initially sparked your interest in working in your field? Briefly describe your career path.
My introduction to the field of pain management began in 1974 when, at 24 years of age, I had a lumbar spinal fusion for chronic pain that began 2 years earlier after a work site accident. I remained with a degree of post-surgical pain thereafter, which began my personal journey to find acceptance of this new reality and lead me to reinvent my career direction and hobbies. I discovered ways to strengthen my body and keep myself emotionally grounded and learned how to calm the fears that life would now be different. What followed was a personal journey to learn as much as I could about pain and coping, attempt to understand how individuals with chronic health conditions find purpose and meaning, and explore their career directions on this pathway. My personal journey with pain was additionally honed by a second lumbar spinal fusion when I was 36 years old.

Within this context, I found my way to the doorstep of the developing field of clinical health psychology. I completed my PhD in clinical psychology in 1984 with an emphasis on health and behavioral medicine at West Virginia University. During my practicum and internship experience, I gained an increased interest in the field of pain management. I had astute and caring mentors—Frank L. Collins, Richard Seime, Jerry C. Parker, and Robert Frank—who helped me integrate my personal experience with both clinical and empirical knowledge so that I could assist patients in the process of being survivors in managing pain.

I chose a career path that emphasized clinical practice and program development. My identity in working in pain management expanded during my professional work at the Harry S. Truman Memorial Hospital and the Rusk Rehabilitation Institute on the campus of the University of Missouri-Columbia. I then moved back to Michigan and worked in the Henry Ford Health System prior to beginning my career with the Beaumont Health System. I have been active in providing clinical pain management services to a range of patients and their significant others. My work also includes extensive involvement with pain medicine physicians, mid-level providers, nurses, and physical therapists to develop an integrated pain management network throughout the Beaumont Health System.

What has been a highlight of your work? Perhaps you and your staff are proud of a certain project or accomplishment.
Over the past 2 years, I have worked with a strategic-planning team within the Beaumont Health System with the goal of creating an integrated process of multidisciplinary care for pain problems throughout the continuum of care. My colleagues have included Sean Conroy, Gloria Mann, David Monan, LuAnn Cathers, and Cain Dimon. As the team has been transformed into a system-wide Pain Integration Council, additional team members from inpatient/outpatient care and multiple medical specialties have joined the Council.

Our team has used the criteria established for the Centers of Excellence award to guide our process, which has included creating subcommittees covering different medical/pain treatment issues in the health system, conducting needs assessment for integrated care, identifying strengths and specific areas for improvement in pain management, as well as expanding pain management education resources. Our goal is to establish an evidence-based standard of care for pain medicine throughout the health system—across the age range, and including acute, post-surgical, cancer-related, and chronic pain. Our team is enthusiastic and excited about the far-reaching opportunities to provide quality pain care to our patients.

Is there a particular challenge that you've either overcome or hope to address soon?
There is significant variation among patients with chronic pain in their perception of why a psychologist plays an important role in a team approach to pain management. Some patients welcome this with open arms, while others are hesitant and worry that their pain physician has asked them to see a psychologist because the validity of their pain is being questioned. I have been intrigued and challenged over the years with my work in pain management to find effective strategies for engaging with patients, allaying their fears of what it means to be working with a psychologist on pain-related problems, and enlisting their commitment to improve their psychological flexibility and well being. Seeing patients work through the grief process towards acceptance of pain, renewing personal investment in valued activities, discovering mindfulness and empowerment, and reaching an improved quality of life, has reinforced my commitment to find unique ways of engaging each patient in this journey.

Member Benefit

Grants and Fellowship Opportunities
APS provides its members with several funding opportunities as well as information on fellowships in pain. The following are just some examples of how APS provides financial support to pain professionals.

NEW! APS Sharon S. Keller Chronic Pain Research Grant
The APS Sharon S. Keller Chronic Pain Research Grant has been established to fund research projects that have a high likelihood of leading to new treatments and increased access to/and or expansion of treatment options for people with chronic pain.

APS Future Leaders in Pain Research Grants Program
The APS Future Leaders in Pain Research Grants Program has been established to fund research projects of doctorally-prepared investigators who have not yet attained NIH RO1 level funding.

Rita Allen Foundation Award in Pain
The American Pain Society and Rita Allen Foundation (RAF) have announced a call for applications for the Rita Allen Foundation Award in Pain. The RAF and APS may award two grants in the amount of $50,000 annually, for a period of up to 3 years to those research proposals demonstrating the greatest merit and potential for success.

Fellowship opportunities can be found on the APS Education page.

This information is provided as a resource and does not imply APS endorsement of any of the training programs listed.

Summaries

The Journal of Pain Highlights

The following highlights summarize selected articles from January 2013 (Volume 14, Number 1).

Post-Operative Subcutaneous Installation of Low-Dose Ketorolac but not Hydromorphone Reduces Wound Exudate Concentrations of Interlukin-6 and Interlukin-10 and Improved Analgesia Following Cesarean Delivery
Brendan Carvalho, Harry J. Lemmends, Vicki Ting, and Martin S. Angst; Stanford University School of Medicine

Reducing inflammation at Cesarean wound sites using subcutaneous administration of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication showed significant analgesic benefit effect and reduced the use of opioid pain medications after surgery, according to research reported in The Journal of Pain, the peer review publication of the American Pain Society (www.americanpainsociety.org).

Researchers from Stanford University studied 60 healthy women undergoing elective Cesarean surgeries to study the effects of administering a low-dose NSAID (ketorolac) or mu-opioid agonist (hydromorphone) in concurrent, subcutaneous delivery with an anesthetic agent (bupivacaine). The primary objective was to determine whether doses of ketorolac and hydromorphone, which are ineffective when administered systemically, would exhibit anti-inflammatory and analgesic efficacy if given locally at the wound site.

The impact of peripheral drug administration is not well studied and poorly understood. The authors noted that compared with systemic drug administration, peripheral application could reduce systemic exposure and adverse effects, provide enhanced drug concentrations at the wound site, and reduce nociceptive inputs from the wound site.

Three treatment groups were studied: subjects given bupivacaine without kerorolac or hydromorphone, bupivacaine with kerorolac, and bupivacaine with hydromorphone. Investigators remained blinded to the study groups throughout the trial period. Wound exudate was collected at 4, 24, and 48 hours after surgery and tested for levels of interlukin (IL6 and IL10) to gauge anti-inflammatory effects.

Results showed that a small continuous daily dose of ketorolac added to bupivacaine and applied at the Cesarean wound site resulted in a significant decrease of IL 6 and IL 10 in wound exudate as well as decreased pain and analgesic use. The data showed that anti-inflammatory effects similar to levels achieved from systemic administration of high doses were observed in patients given low doses of NSAIDS via local administration. However, the benefits of hydromorphone were not as significant.

In addition, the study results showed local administration of NSAIDS produced significant analgesic benefits as well as noteworthy reductions in opioid use for pain management.

The authors concluded the study results justify further examination of local NSAID use for treating surgical wounds.

Epigenetic Regulation of Opioid-Induced Hyperalgesia, Dependence and Tolerance in Mice
De-Yong Liang, et al; Stanford University

Though opioids are considered a mainstay of therapy for moderate to severe pain, one of the major concerns is behavioral adaptation to chronic use that leads to tolerance, opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH), and dependence. Researchers from Stanford University sought to determine how the balance of histone acetyltransferase (HAT) versus histone deacetylase (HDAC) might regulate opioid-induced behavioral changes.

New genetic techniques have been used to identify gene candidates that contribute to tolerance, OIH, and dependence. Epigenetics involves the structural adaptation of chromosomal regions to register, signal, or perpetuate altered activity state. As plausible as epigenetic mechanisms are as a controller of opioid adaptations, relatively little work has been done in this area. The researchers addressed two questions:

• Do pharmacological agents regulating histone acetylation alter behavioral adaptations observed after chronic administration of morphine?
  
• Do pharmacological modifiers of epigenetic enzymes alter the state of histone acetylation in the dorsal region of spinal cord tissue, a center for the neuro-adaptive effects of opioids?

Mice were given 10mg/kg of morphine twice a day on day 1, and the dose was upped to 20 mg/kg on days 2 and 3 and 40 mg/kg on day 4. To study the roles of histone acetylation, the HAT inhibitor curcumin or a selective HDAC inhibitor suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) was administered daily to the animals. Results showed that concurrent administration of curcumin and morphine significantly reduced development opioid-induced mechanical allodynia, thermal hyperlagesia, tolerance, and dependence. Also, SAHA treatment after termination of opioids administration sustained the behavioral changes for at least 4 weeks.

The researchers concluded the results show that epigenetic mechanisms play a crucial role in opioid-induced long-lasting neuroplasticity and may suggest new strategies to limit opioid abuse potential.

Clinical Journal of Pain Highlights

The following highlights summarize selected articles from the January 2013 issue (Volume 29, Number 1).

Combination of Pregabalin and Dexamethasone for Postoperative Pain and Functional Outcome in Patients Undergoing Lumbar Spinal Surgery: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial
Yong Seon Choi, Jae-Kwang Shim, Jong Wook Song, Jong Chan Kim, Young Chul Yoo, and Young Lan Kwak; Yonsei University College of Medicine, Severance Biomedical Science Institute, Kyungpook National University Hospital

Pregabalin has been shown to improve postoperative pain scores and reduce opioid consumption and opioid-related side effects in different surgical settings. The primary aim of this randomized controlled study was to investigate the effect of the combined administration of pregabalin and dexamethasone on postoperative pain and analgesic requirements in patients with chronic lumbosacral radiculopathy who underwent lumbar spinal surgery. The secondary aims were to evaluate chronic pain intensity and functional outcomes over a 6-month period.

This study’s 108 subjects were randomized to either group C (placebo + placebo), group P (pregabalin + placebo), or group PD (pregabalin + dexamethasone). According to their allocated group, patients received placebo or pregabalin 150 mg every 12 hours starting 1 hour before anesthetic induction for a total of eight doses. Dexamethasone 16 mg or normal saline was injected before the induction of anesthesia. Pain intensity, analgesic requirements, and side effects were assessed in the postoperative period. Pain intensity and daily activity performance were assessed 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery.

Authors observed significant benefits of this combined regimen in terms of lower back pain intensity at work and better functional outcome at 1 month after surgery, indicating acceleration of returning to normal daily activities.

In contrast to expectations, however, the beneficial influence of the combined regimen on pain scores was limited to pain at rest at 24 hours after surgery. More constant and definite benefits could be observed only in terms of the rescue analgesic requirement. Although pregabalin alone also demonstrated benefits compared with placebo in terms of rescue analgesic requirements, these benefits were more prominent and consistent throughout the 2 postoperative days in patients treated with both pregabalin and dexamethasone.

Sensory Impairment in Obese Patients? Sensitivity and Pain Detection Thresholds for Electrical Stimulation After Surgery-Induced Weight Loss, and Comparison with a Nonobese Population
Pauline Dodet, Serge Perrot, Lauriane Auvergne, Aline Hajj, Guy Simoneau, Xavier Declèves, Christine Poitou, Jean-Michel Oppert, Katel Peoc’h, Stéphane Mouly, Jean-Francois Bergmann, and Célia Lloret-Linares

Obese patients have a high prevalence of painful musculoskeletal disorders that may decrease after massive weight loss. Pain thresholds may be different in obese participants, however. This study assessed the sensitivity and pain detection thresholds through the application of an electrical sensitivity before and after massive weight loss and compared the thresholds obtained with those in a control population.

The pain matcher is a device used for the assessment of pain experimentally induced with an electrical signal. Pain level assessments with the pain matcher are strongly correlated with those obtained with the visual analog scale in patients experiencing pain. This study was designed to determine whether experimental values for sensitivity and pain detection thresholds obtained with an electrical sensitivity differ between nonobese and severely obese participants and whether sensory dysfunction is modified by weight loss.

Pain threshold was not correlated with fast insulin or other biological factors, the values of which are usually different in obese and normal-weight participants. After significant weight loss (mean loss 32 kg), the sensitivity and pain detection thresholds measured with an electrical sensitivity remained higher in obese participants than in normal-weight participants and were similar to those obtained before weight loss.

Although pain, especially of musculoskeletal origin, seems to be more prevalent in obese individuals, the thresholds for the detection of a cutaneous electrical sensitivity and for pain caused by that sensitivity were found to be significantly higher in obese than in control participants. This sensory dysfunction appears unchanged by weight loss and does not seem to be related to a number of hormonal and genetic factors. Further studies are warranted to explore sensory dysfunction in obese patients and to investigate the implications of this dysfunction for pain management in such patients.

PAIN Highlights

The following highlights summarize selected articles from January 2013 (Volume 154, Number 1).

Racial Disparities in the Monitoring of Patients on Chronic Opioid Therapy
Leslie R.M. Hausmann, Shasha Gao, Edward S. Lee, and C. Kent Kwoh; VA Pittsburg Healthcare Systems, University of Pittsburg, School of Medicine

Disparities in opioid prescribing practices and pain treatment effectiveness have received a great deal of attention, but racial disparities in the monitoring and follow-up treatment of patients after opioids have been prescribed have been understudied.

The current study examined whether racial disparities exist in opioid monitoring and treatment practices, including the use of an opioid agreement, assessment of pain during follow-up visits, use of urine drug screenings, and referrals to pain and substance abuse specialty clinics. Using data extracted from electronic medical records, authors conducted a retrospective cohort analysis to examine whether recommended guidelines for monitoring and treatment of patients on opioid therapy for the management of chronic noncancer pain are differentially applied to black and white patients.

This study moves beyond the typical focus of research on racial disparities in pain management by targeting opioid monitoring and follow-up treatment practices rather than the prescribing of pain medications or treatment effectiveness. In this sample of patients from a major Veterans Affairs health care facility, authors found racial differences in several recommended practices for monitoring patients who are taking opioid medications for chronic noncancer pain. Pain was assessed less often at primary care follow-up visits for black patients than for white patients. Also, among those who had at least one urine drug test, black patients were subjected to more tests, especially if they were taking higher doses of opioids. Finally, the involvement of specialists in the care of these patients differed by race, with white patients more often being referred to pain specialists and black patients more often being referred to substance abuse specialists.

These findings suggest that steps should be taken to increase the use of recommended opioid monitoring practices and address racial disparities in opioid monitoring practices. Providing pain management support to primary care providers in the form of training on recommended guidelines and assistance with managing treatment for patients on long-term opioid regimens could improve overall adherence to recommended guidelines.

Variability of “Optimal’’ Cut Points for Mild, Moderate, and Severe Pain: Neglected Problems when Comparing Groups
Gerrit Hirschfeld and Boris Zernikow; Vodafone Foundation Chair for Children’s Pain Therapy and Paediatric Palliative Care, Witten/Herdecke University, German Paediatric Pain Centre, Children’s Hospital Datteln

Defining cut points for mild, moderate, and severe pain intensity on the basis of differences in functional interference has an intuitive appeal. The statistical procedure to derive “optimal” cut points (OCs) proposed in 1995 by Serlin and colleagues has been widely used. Contrasting cut points between populations have been interpreted as meaningful differences between different chronic pain populations. In this study, authors explored the variability associated with optimally defined cut points in a large sample of patients with chronic pain and in homogeneous subsamples.

Ratings of maximal pain intensity (0–10 numeric rating scale, NRS) and pain-related disability were collected in a sample of 2,249 children with chronic pain whose conditions were managed in a tertiary pain clinic. Three measurements were used in the present study: the 0–10 NRS, the Pediatric Pain-Related Disability Index (PPDI), and the Depression Inventory for Children and Adolescents (DIKJ).

First, the OCs for the entire sample were determined. Second, the variability of these cut points was quantified by the bootstrap technique. Third, this variability was assessed in homogeneous subsamples of 650 children with constant pain, 430 children with chronic daily headache, and 295 children with musculoskeletal pain.

This study revealed three main findings: The PCs for mild, moderate, and severe pain in the entire sample were 4 and 8 (0–10 NRS); the variability of these cut points within this sample was very high, identifying the optimal cut points only 40% of the time; similarly, large variability was found in subsamples of patients with a homogeneous pain etiology. These results demonstrate that using OCs to describe a sample is misleading because OCs are highly variable. This study found that OC procedures generate very different results in randomly selected subsamples and grossly overestimate true effects.

Although the intention to define meaningful measures of pain intensity by their impact on pain-related disability is fascinating and potentially offers a criterion that is relevant for treatment decisions, the OC procedure has technical problems. On the basis of the present results on variability, it is unlikely that additional analysis that uses OCs will be useful in comparing groups. Specifically, comparisons between subgroups or across studies need to take into account the effect of random fluctuations on OCs.

Research

APS Annual Meeting Offers Many Research Sessions

The APS 32nd Annual Scientific Meeting May 8–11, 2013, New Orleans, LA, provides you with the opportunity to attend a variety of educational sessions featuring interactive workshops and symposia, attend the Clinical and Basic Science Data Blitz featuring innovative and compelling clinical and basic science research, and earn continuing education/contact hours. Highlighted below are some of the session of particular interest to researchers.

The Future of Pain Research: Challenges and Opportunities (Keynote)

Why Image Pain? (Plenary)

Mechanisms Controlling Nociceptor Excitability and How They Can Be Targeted for Pain Relief (Plenary)

Frederick W.L. Kerr Basic Science Research Lecture: Mice are People Too: Social Modulation of and by Pain in Laboratory Rodents (Kerr Award Lecture)

Rita Allen Foundation Scholars in Pain: Frontiers in Basic Pain Research (Symposium)

Profiling the Pain Transcriptome with RNA-seq (Symposium)

From Receptors to Pain: The Molecular Dynamics of Pain (Symposium)

Now More Than Ever, Voltage-Gated Na+ Channels as a Viable Target for the Treatment of Pain (Symposium)

The Structure of Neuropathic Pain: Extracellular Structural Plasticity Contributing to Chronic Pain (Symposium)

Pain Itch and Touch Sensations: Neurons, Circuits, and Genes (Symposium)

Targeting Spinal GABAergic Mechanisms to Develop Novel Analgesics (Symposium)

Basic Science Dinner: The Future of Drug Discovery for Pain (Symposium)

Insight into the Neuropathic Aspect of Cancer Pain (Symposium)

For more information on these session or to register, please visit the 2013 Annual Scientific Meeting website.

New Funding Announcement: “Pain in Aging (R01)”

(PA-13-058)

National Institute on Aging

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

National Institute on Drug Abuse

Application Receipt/Submission Date(s): Multiple receipt dates, see announcement.

Society

New APS Web Address

The APS Web domain has changed to www.americanpainsociety.org. Please be sure to bookmark the new address and replace any older bookmarked links that you may have saved from the previous URL. Visit the site often for updates on all society matters and access to The Journal of Pain and other members-only content!

Regional Societies News

If you have any regional news you would like to see included in APS E-News, please send it to enews@americanpainsociety.org.

In the Media

Researchers Report Progress in Quest to Create Objective Method of Detecting Pain (Stanford School of Medicine)

Cholesterol Medicine Affects Energy Production in Muscles (Medical News Today)

Electric Stimulation of Brain Releases Powerful, Opiate-Like Painkiller (Medical News Today)

Men with Fibromyalgia Often Go Undiagnosed, Mayo Clinic Study Suggests (Medical News Today)

Scientists Map Sensory Nerves in Mouse Skin, Findings Could Hold Clues for Pain Management (Medical News Today)

Mouse Study Finds Common Anesthetic Agents Harmful For the Development of the Fetus (Medical News Today)

Discovery Could Eventually Help Diagnose and Treat Chronic Pain (Science Daily)

The Pain Puzzle: Uncovering How Morphine Increases Pain in Some People (Science Daily)

Scientists Home in On Cause of Osteoarthritis Pain (Science Daily)

FDA might tighten reins on Vicodin (USA Today)

Call for Submissions

Do you have a topic that is relevant to APS members? Is there a member who is doing work that APS should spotlight? Is there a funding opportunity APS members need to know about? Please submit stories, events, and more to enews@americanpainsociety.org for consideration.

NIH Vacancy Announcement

Vacancy Announcement

Tenure Track Position in Pain Research

Intramural Research Program

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Department of Health and Human Services

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), seeks an exceptional scientist for a tenure-track position to develop an independent basic, translational, or clinical research program on the mechanisms of pain processing and its central modulation. The candidate will join a newly established and growing research program focused on the neural basis of pain perception and modulation with the long-term goal of improving clinical management of chronic pain through the integration of pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches.

Located on the NIH Bethesda campus within one of the largest and most active neuroscience communities in the world (neuroscience.nih.gov), the position offers exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration with a diverse group of investigators with a wide range of interests relative to the study of pain. Basic research facilities are housed in the Porter Neuroscience Research Center, with new state-of-the art laboratories slated for completion in fall 2013. Clinical facilities are located in the NIH Clinical Center, the world’s largest hospital entirely devoted to biomedical research, with access to a world-renowned brain-imaging center, as well as the infrastructure necessary for patient recruitment and evaluation. As in academia, tenure track scientists have many opportunities to mentor outstanding trainees at all levels.

QUALIFICATIONS/ELIGIBILITY: Applicants must have a PhD, MD, or equivalent degree in the biomedical sciences and have an outstanding record of research accomplishments in the pain field as evidenced by publications in major peer-reviewed journals. Applicants may be in early or mid stages of their career. Appointees may be U.S. citizens, resident aliens, or non-resident aliens with, or eligible to obtain, a valid employment-authorization visa. Salary is commensurate with experience, and a full package of Civil Service benefits is available including retirement, health and life insurance, long term care insurance, leave, and savings plan (401 K equivalent).

HOW TO APPLY: Applicants must submit a CV, a three-page research plan, a one page description of their vision for future research and its potential impact, and the contact information for three professional references to: Ms. Belinda Davis at nccamirprecruit@mail.nih.gov. The applicant should also have three professional references sent to this e-mail address. E-mail receipt of applications and inquiries is preferred; however, candidates needing reasonable accommodation may fax application materials to 301.480.3159.

Applications will be reviewed beginning February 25, 2013, which is 60 days from first public posting, and will be accepted until the position is filled. All information provided by applicants will remain confidential and will not be released outside the NCCAM search process without a signed release from the applicant.

The NIH encourages the application and nomination of qualified women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities. NIH AND DHHS ARE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYERS.