RELIEVING PAIN IN AMERICA
UMB Confronts Pain with Community Conversation
On Oct. 16, Joel D. Greenspan and other top-tier pain researchers and medical professionals associated with CACPR gathered at the Padonia Park Club in Cockeysville, Md., for a community discussion on chronic pain. In addition to Greenspan, panelists included  Thelma Wright, MD, JD , assistant professor of anesthesiology,  School of Medicine ;  John Cagle, MSW, PhD , assistant professor,  School of Social Work ; and  Diane Hoffmann, JD, MS,  director, Law and Health Care Program,  Carey School of Law .  Cynthia Renn, PhD, RN, FAAN , associate professor at the  School of Nursing served as moderator of the forum, which drew an audience of clinicians as well as chronic pain patients and their caregivers.
CACPR MEMBER SPOTLIGHT:
Susan G. Dorsey
University of Maryland School of Nursing’s Dorsey Receives Welch/Woerner Path-Paver Award From Friends of the National Institute of Nursing
Susan G. Dorsey, PhD ’01, MS ’98, RN, FAAN, professor and chair, Department of Pain and Translational Symptom Science, University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON), and co-director of the Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research, University of Maryland, Baltimore, has received the 2019 Welch/Woerner Path-Paver Award from the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research (FNINR).

Dorsey was honored at FNINR’s 2019 Nighting Gala in Washington, D.C., held Oct. 23, where she was presented with the award in recognition of her contributions to developing strategies for the use of multiomics (e.g., genomic, transcriptomic, epigenomic, metabolomic) methods to identify the biological mechanisms underlying symptoms and self-management of symptoms. This work has led to new discoveries regarding genomic factors of neuromuscular weakness in muscular dystrophy and in the transition from acute to chronic pain across numerous conditions. The translational potential of her work — the interface between bench research and clinical care — has led to nearly $27 million in National Institutes of Health research funding and numerous publications, honors, and awards. She has also worked to inspire researchers as they pursue their own multiomics research, innovation, and discovery.
Featured New Grant
PI Name: Dorsey, Susan G.; Ren, Cynthia L.; Starkweather, Angela Renee 
Project Title: Neurophysiological and transcriptomic predictors of chronic low back pain: towards precision pain management (NEAT Study) 
Application ID: 1 R01 NR018595-01 
Funding Period: 04/01/2019-03/31/2024
Funding Amount: $3,840,728 (direct and indirect)

Project Summary:  One of the most common and costly chronic pain conditions is low back pain (LBP), which produces more global disability than any other condition. Up to 39% of patients with an acute LBP episode report chronic LBP (pain lasting >3 months) and long-term disability for 2 years or longer. Increased mechanistic understanding of the transition from acute to chronic LBP will enable us to identify biomarkers early in the transition period and new therapeutic targets at critical windows of opportunity to prevent and/or better manage chronic LBP. In this study, we will test the hypothesis that neurophysiological and gene expression differences can be used to build a predictive model that will define the chronic LBP phenotype and transcriptome and identify those LBP patients who will transition from acute to chronic pain phenotypes. We will prospectively follow a cohort of 380 LBP patients and 40 healthy controls (for comparison with LBP patients and to track gene expression stability over time) for two years following the initial clinic visit for report of LBP. We will rigorously phenotype the participants, including measurement of neurophysiological factors, and analyze gene expression at baseline and regular intervals during the first year and at 18 and 24 months.
Drs. Dorsey and Hogans Talk with WYPR 88.1 FM
From migraines to lower backaches or knee troubles, chronic pain affects one in five Americans. This persistent misery takes a physical, emotional, and financial toll. Susan Dorsey, co-director of the University of Maryland Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research (CACPR), walks us through how the body’s pain response can go rogue. And Dr. Beth Hogans, Associate Director for Education, GRECC VAMHCS, talks about moving away from opioids as a long term strategy for relief.
CACPR Member Laurels
Highlights of recent grant awards, authorships, and other CACPR member news.
Vinita Agarwal, PhD

Conference Proceedings
Agarwal, V.(Supplement, 2019, p. 20). Integrating yoga therapy principles in breast cancer survivorship follow-up care: Tailoring Patanjali’s  sutra s to empower, restore, and heal.   International Journal of Yoga Therapy. Received partial funding ($250 from IAYT to support conference travel).

Presentations
Agarwal, V. (2019).  Embodied subjectivity in multiple sclerosis diagnosis and prognosis communication: Patient narratives constituting awareness and body acceptance . National Communication Association (Health Communication), 14–17 November. Baltimore.

Agarwal, V. (2019).  Examining descriptions of chronic pain to understand the relationship of the body and the self in complementary and alternative medicine patient narratives as   transformative . National Communication Association (Applied Communication), 14–17 November. Baltimore.
Luana Colloca, MD, PhD

Recent Publication
Colloca L, Lee SE, Luhowy MN, Haycock N, Okusogu C, Yim S, Raghuraman N, Goodfellow R, Murray RS, Casper P, Lee M, Scalea T, Fouche Y, Murthi S.  Relieving acute pain (RAP) study: a proof-of-concept protocol for a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. BMJ Open. 2019 Nov 11;9(11):e030623. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-030623. PubMed PMID: 31719077.
Susan G. Dorsey, PhD, RN, FAAN

Recent Publication
The Use of Technology to Support Precision Health in Nursing Science. Starkweather A, Jacelon CS, Bakken S, Barton DL, DeVito Dabbs A, Dorsey SG, Guthrie BJ, Heitkemper MM, Hickey KT, Kelechi TJ, Kim MT, Marquard J, Moore SM, Redeker NS, Schiffman RF, Ward TM, Adams LS, Kehl KA, Miller JL. J Nurs Scholarsh. 2019 Sep 30. doi: 10.1111/jnu.12518. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 31566870.
Joel D. Greenspan, PhD

Recent Publication
Emerson NM, Meeker TJ, Greenspan JD, Saffer MI, Campbell CM, Korzeniewska A, Lenz FA. Missed Targets, Reaction Times and Arousal are Related to Trait Anxiety and Attention to Pain During an Experimental Vigilance Task with a Painful Target. Journal of Neurophysiology 2019 Oct 9. doi: 10.1152/jn.00331.2019. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID: 31596643.
Marcela Romero-Reyes, DDS, PhD

Presentation
American Headache Society. 2019 Scottsdale Headache Symposium: Pre-course “The Anatomy of Headache and Orofacial Pain: An Interventional Based Cadaver Course” November 21, 2019 from 8:00 am – 11:00 at the Mayo Clinic Arizona.

Article (Patient Outreach)
Orofacial Pains: An Introduction. American Migraine Foundation:

Presentation/Webinar
Migraine Triggers (in Spanish)/ Factores comunes desencadenadores de la migraňa. Hosted by the American Migraine Foundation. Here is the link to the webinar:  https://youtu.be/IE2qMXAq1K4
David A. Seminowicz, MD, PhD

Recent Publication
Hum Brain Mapp. 2019 Oct 16. doi: 10.1002/hbm.24824. [Epub ahead of print]  Individual differences in pain sensitivity are associated with cognitive network functional connectivity following one night of experimental sleep disruption . Letzen JE1, Remeniuk B1, Smith MT1, Irwin MR2, Finan PH1, Seminowicz DA3.
Seeking Chronic Pain Strategies in an Opioid Crisis
Researchers, clinicians, and students were among the participants as CACPR held its fifth annual symposium on topic of “Managing Chronic Pain Among Patients with Serious Illness During a National Opioid Crisis.”
The UM Center to Advance Chronic Pain Research (CACPR) is a multidisciplinary center composed of nationally and internationally renowned clinical and preclinical translational scientists whose principle research focus is on the physiological, genetic, and psychosocial underpinnings of the development and persistence of debilitating chronic pain conditions.