Four-year study to develop predictive models for personalized pain care
The National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH/NINDS) awarded a four-year, $5.1 million RF1 grant to a multidisciplinary research team led by associate professor Brittany Punches, PhD, MPH, RN, at The Ohio State University College of Nursing and College of Medicine Department of Emergency Medicine along with mPI associate professor Macarius Donneyong, PhD, MPH from the Ohio State Colleges of Pharmacy and Public Health and mPI assistant professor Andy Ni from the College of Public Health.
Pain is not “one-size-fits-all,” as patients have different experiences, responses, and expressions of pain. The research project, “MODEL-pain: Modeling Diverse Experiences and Longitudinal Trajectories of Pain,” aims to leverage the emergency department setting to better understand the range of influences on pain and develop models that can inform personalized pain treatment.
“Receiving this grant is an incredible honor and the culmination of many years of work by our entire team,” Punches said. “It represents a validation of our vision and a tremendous vote of confidence from the NIH HEAL Initiative in our ability to tackle such a complex issue, and I couldn’t be more grateful to be a part of this work.”
Over the course of four years, the team will enroll 2,400 adult patients experiencing pain in the emergency departments at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Participants will complete surveys on their health history, social situations, and pain beliefs; wear a biosensor for 30 days to provide real-time physiologic data such as heart rate variability, sleep, and activity; provide saliva samples for genomic analysis; and undergo non-invasive pain sensitivity testing. Researchers will follow patients for six months to track recovery, pain trajectory and healthcare use.
The research team also includes co-investigators from the OSU College of Nursing Michelle Failla, PhD; College of Medicine Department of Emergency Medicine Michael S. Lyons, MD, MPH, and Edward Boyer, MD, PhD, and Ohio State College of Pharmacy and Medicine Julie A. Johnson, PharmD, as well as partners from Purdue University and the University of Massachusetts.
“Most importantly, this funding provides us with the resources to conduct work that we hope will one day personalize pain management for the millions of people who live with pain,” Punches said. “That is the ultimate motivation and the greatest privilege.”
