IASP Pain Research Forum Podcasts

Editor’s note: In 2024, IASP is celebrating its 50th Anniversary, culminating at the IASP 2024 World Congress on Pain. To highlight this milestone, IASP is reflecting on its history and the advances and contributions made by its members over the past 50 years. Throughout the remainder of 2024, Pain Research Forum will be providing a series of podcasts featuring senior leaders in the field who have made major contributions to pain research and management, including those with major roles at IASP. In this episode of the IASP-PRF Podcast, frequent PRF contributor Fred Schwaller spoke with Dr. John D. Loeser – a founder of IASP during its formal incorporation in 1974. During their wide-ranging conversation, Dr. Loeser spoke about his introduction to the field of pain research and management after meeting Dr. John J. Bonica and Dr. Wilbert “Bill” Fordyce, his role in the genesis of IASP during the International Symposium on Pain in Issaquah (Washington, USA), the state of pain education in current medical school curricula, and policy barriers that impact advances in the field. To learn more about Dr. Loeser and his indelible mark on the field of pain research and management, be sure to check out his recently published biography – John Loeser: The Man Who Reimagined Pain. Podcast participants include: John D. Loeser, MD,Fred Schwaller, PhD,

On 23 August 2023, Brain, Behavior, and Immunity published the article, “Beyond Biopsychosocial: The Keystone Mechanism Theory of Pain.” In this article, researchers from the United Kingdom and Germany propose the keystone model of pain, which offers a practical balance between the expansive biopsychosocial model of pain and other reductive approaches by providing advantages for the transition from treating at the population level to that of individual people. In this episode of the IASP-PRF Podcast, two of the article’s authors speak with PRF contributor, Lincoln Tracy, PhD, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. They discuss how the group formulated this theory of pain and how it builds upon the successes of the biopsychosocial model to provide a theoretical foundation for basic and translational pain science to move forward with a strong emphasis on factors that shape an individual’s pain phenotype in a practical manner. Podcast participants include: Timothy Lawn, PhD, King’s College London, UK Jan Vollert, PhD, University of Exeter, UK Lincoln Tracy, PhD, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia (host)

This episode of the IASP-PRF Podcast highlights an emerging resource for adults and youths with the lived experience of pain called the Power Over Pain Portal. The Power Over Pain Portal works toward improving access to chronic pain care by providing access to free resources in a “one-stop shop,” including articles, videos, podcasts, courses, workshops, peer support, and even 24/7 one-on-one counseling – offered through Wellness Together Canada. While initiated and designed by a consortium of researchers, clinicians, patient partners, hospitals, and institutions in Canada, the Power Over Pain Portal is freely available worldwide. In this episode, PRF spoke with developers of the Power Over Pain Portal to learn more about its initiation, resources, and plans for the future. Podcast participants include: Lynn CooperJennifer Stinson, RN-EC, PhD, CPNP, FAAN,Yaad Shergill, DC, MSc,Gregory Carbonetti, PhD,

This 16 episode of The Pain Beat highlights the work of a vibrant consortium of pain researchers working on a project known as Acute to Chronic Pain Signatures (A2CPS). A2CPS is focused on the identification of biomarkers to predict which patients will transition from acute to chronic pain, and which patients living with chronic pain can improve their quality of life with management (see related PRF news story). The Pain Beat invited several Primary Investigators from A2CPS to talk about the work of the consortium, and how listeners of The Pain Beat can get involved themselves! Podcast participants include: Kathleen Sluka, PT, PhD, FAPTA, A2CPS Principal Investigator; University of Iowa, USA John Burns, PhD, A2CPS Principal Investigator; Rush University Medical Center, Illinois, USA Chad Brummett, MD, A2CPS Principal Investigator; University of Michigan, USA Michael Olivier, PhD, A2CPS Principal Investigator; Wake Forest University, North Carolina, USA. Stephani Sutherland, PhD, A2CPS Communications Director; Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, USA (moderator)

Editor’s note: The North American Pain School (NAPS) took place 19-24 June 2022, in Montebello, Québec City, Canada. NAPS – an educational initiative of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) and Analgesic, Anesthetic, and Addiction Clinical Trial Translations, Innovations, Opportunities, and Networks (ACTTION), and presented by the Quebec Pain Research Network (QPRN) – brings together leading experts in pain research and management to provide trainees with scientific education, professional development, and networking experiences. This year’s theme was, “Controversies in Pain Research.” Five of the trainees were also selected to serve as PRF-NAPS Correspondents, who provided firsthand reporting from the event, including interviews with NAPS’ Visiting Faculty members and Patient Partners, summaries of scientific sessions, and coverage on social media. In the podcast below, PRF-NAPS Correspondent Joseph Lesnak, a PhD candidate at the University of Iowa, US, spoke with NAPS Visiting Faculty member Rajesh Khanna. Rajesh is a Professor of Molecular Pathobiology and the Director of New York University’s Pain Research Center in the US. His research focuses on the functions of voltage-gated ion channels and the discovery of novel biologics and small molecules targeting pain and neurodegenerative diseases (see related PRF news article). Joseph and Rajesh discussed targeting Nav1.7 for pain relief, the challenge of moving a pharmacologic through the regulatory process, and a serendipitous finding that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic. This podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts here and Spotify here.

This 15 episode of The Pain Beat is the third and final of a three-part series discussing the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine – awarded to David Julius, University of California, San Francisco, USA and Ardem Patapoutian, Scripps Research, California, USA – for their work on molecules important for somatosensation (see PRF related interview here, PRF related news story here, part one of this series here, and part two of this series here). In this episode, The Pain Beat spoke with a group of collaborators and former mentees to discuss what the discoveries mean for the somatosensory field, as well as stories and insights about what it was like working with Drs. Julius and Patapoutian during that time. Podcast participants include: Allan Basbaum, PhD, FRSDiana Bautista, PhDAlexander Chesler, PhDEllen Lumpkin, PhDTayler Sheahan, PhD

Editor’s note: For the past 21 years, September has been declared Pain Awareness Month in the United States. During this time, we reflect on the global burden of pain and assess ways to increase engagement, awareness, and advocacy regarding this issue. While September has concluded, we should continue to engage in these vital practices! For a unique perspective on the challenges of raising pain awareness, PRF spoke with Staja “Star” Booker, PhD, RN. Star is an Assistant Professor in the Pain Research and Intervention Center of Excellence (PRICE Center) at the University of Florida, USA, and her recent work has contributed to our knowledge of osteoarthritis pain in older African Americans. She is active in several national pain, nursing, and gerontology organizations, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the United States Association for the Study of Pain (USASP). Additionally, Star serves as a member of the Pain Research Forum Editorial Board. In the podcast below, recorded on 21 September 2022, Star speaks with PRF Virtual Correspondent Paulina Scheuren, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at Balgrist University Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland. They discuss Star’s experience working at the PRICE Center, pain management hurdles for underrepresented minorities, and misinformation vs. missed information regarding chronic pain.

This 14 episode of The Pain Beat is the second of a three-part series discussing the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine – awarded to David Julius, University of California, San Francisco, USA and Ardem Patapoutian, Scripps Research, California, USA – for their work on molecules important for somatosensation (see PRF related interview here, PRF related news story here, and part one of this series here). In this episode, The Pain Beat spoke with Nobel Prize laureate Ardem Patapoutian and Bertrand Coste, Aix-Marseille University, France, to discuss their discovery of mechanically sensitive ion channels – Piezo1 and Piezo2. Podcast participants include: Ardem Patapoutian, PhDBertrand Coste, PhD Tayler Sheahan, PhD, University of Pittsburgh, USA (Host)

This 13 episode of The Pain Beat is the first of a three-part series discussing the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine – awarded to David Julius, University of California, San Francisco, USA and Ardem Patapoutian, Scripps Research, California, USA – for their work on molecules important for somatosensation (see PRF related interview here, and PRF related news story here). In this episode, The Pain Beat spoke with Nobel Prize laureate David Julius and Michael Caterina, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Maryland, USA, to discuss their discovery of TRPV1. The conversation provides insight regarding their thought processes and problem solving, the enduring challenges of scientific discoveries, and the fun they had along the way. Podcast participants include: David Julius, PhDMichael Caterina, MD, PhDTayler Sheahan, PhD

Editor’s note: On 2 August 2022, JAMA (the Journal of the American Medical Association) published the article, “Effect of Graded Sensorimotor Retraining on Pain Intensity in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial.” This trial, which included 276 participants, sought to estimate the effect of a sensorimotor retraining intervention (RESOLVE) on pain intensity in people with chronic low back pain. In the podcast below, several of this study’s researchers speak with PRF contributor, Lincoln Tracy, PhD, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. They discuss the trial’s design and setting, its main findings, and the future research resulting from this work. Podcast participants include: Matthew Bagg, PhDCentre for Pain IMPACT at NeuRAAidan Cashin, PhDEdel O’Hagan, PhDJames McAuley, PhDLincoln Tracy, PhD

Senior Manager’s note: Sarah D’Angelo is a passionate advocate for patient education and increasing empathy among caretakers, care providers, and the general public for chronic pain. She uses her skills as an artist, writer, and scientist as a way to bring visibility to the invisible and complex processes of pain. As a pain patient herself, she has first-hand experience with the difficulties of dealing with pain on a daily basis. She talks openly about some of her experiences and struggles in the hopes of reducing the stigmatization of pain. Sarah graduated with her B.S. degree in May 2021 from Rutgers University, New Jersey, US. She plans to apply to Neuroscience doctoral programs in the US to further her education and specialize in the field of pain neuroscience. She hopes to bridge some of the translational gaps within preclinical pain research by exploring the bidirectional relationships existing between chronic pain and other biological mechanisms and neuroethology. In the podcast below, recorded in September 2021, Sarah speaks with PRF Correspondent Bhushan Thakkar, a PhD student at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, US. They discuss Sarah’s lived experiences with pain, her role as a pain advocate and pain scientist, and how these two roles can co-exist amidst the challenges they present. Additionally, Sarah discusses her career goals and how she uses her art to talk about chronic pain.

Senior Manager’s note: Emeralda Burke is a health researcher, patient advocate, and a person with lived experience. In 2013, she moved from Ireland to Toronto, Canada, after completing a degree in medicinal chemistry. One year later, she was struck as a pedestrian by a stolen car and now lives with chronic pain. She quickly realized how prevalent, underfunded, and underserviced chronic pain can be in Canada. Emeralda shifted to pain research with a special interest in patient education, self-management, and program evaluation. Her advocacy work focuses on raising the public’s awareness of chronic pain, using her voice to illuminate gaps in health services. She shares her experience with healthcare providers in the hopes of improving the healthcare system. She is currently a researcher at the Toronto Academic Pain Medicine Institute, and is completing her master’s degree in health evaluation. Here, Emeralda speaks with PRF Correspondent Bhushan Thakkar, a PhD student at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, US. They discuss Emeralda’s lived experiences with pain, her role as a pain researcher and patient partner, her motivations for working as a patient advocate, and how pain scientists and researchers can meaningfully engage with patient partners in research and academia. Additionally, Emeralda talks about the importance of using a non-stigmatizing and non-judgmental approach to talk about chronic pain.

For its eleventh episode, The Pain Beat brought together experts to discuss the biological evolution of nociceptors, their subtypes, and plasticity as part of the Gulf Coast Consortium’s #Pain2021 Webinar Series. These experts study nociceptors across a variety of animal models, including Drosophila, C. elegans, cephalopods, rodents, and humans. The discussion focused on how an evolutionary perspective brings novel insights into the role and function of nociceptors and if, why, and how organisms experience pain. Podcast participants include: Greg Neely, PhD, University of Sydney, AustraliaEdgar T. Walters, PhD, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, USARobyn Crook, PhD, San Francisco State University, California, USAEwan St. John Smith, PhD, University of Cambridge, UKTed Price, PhD, University of Texas at Dallas, USA (Moderator)Peter Grace, PhD, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA (Host)

Senior Manager’s note: Kirsty Bannister, PhD, is an Associate Professor at King’s College London, UK, and recently awarded the Patrick D. Wall Young Investigator Prize for Basic Science from the IASP. This prize recognizes an individual who has achieved a high level of independence as an outstanding scholar in the field of pain in basic science. Bannister focuses on bench-to-bedside pain research by conducting exploratory experiments that seek to define descending control pathways molecularly, anatomically, and functionally in rodents and humans using electrophysiology and human psychophysics, respectively. Here, Bannister speaks with PRF Correspondent Bhushan Thakkar, a PhD student at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, US. They discuss Bannister’s recent funding from the Parkinson’s Foundation UK, the role of descending control in chronic pain focusing on the brainstem pathways, as well as its measurement using conditioned pain modulation and the challenges involved in this area. Additionally, Bannister discusses her research goals and focus in the areas of translational chronic pain research

For its tenth episode, The Pain Beat brought together guests from a variety of career stages to share their experiences conducting pain and pain-related research during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their discussion highlighted unique and shared experiences, how research priorities and strategies shifted in response to the pandemic, as well as ways in which colleagues found and offered support. Podcast participants include: Theanne Griffith, PhD, University of California, Davis, USKelly Smith, PhD, University of Pittsburgh, USKara Marshall, PhD, Baylor University, Texas, USLindsay Ejoh, PhD Candidate, University of Pennsylvania, USTayler Sheahan, PhD, University of Pittsburgh, US (Moderator)

For its ninth episode, The Pain Beat brought together experts in how pain is measured clinically and experimentally. This multidisciplinary group discussed what is the difference between pain and nociception, why organisms experience pain and whether pain can be objectively measured since it is a subjective experience. Additionally, the group explored why researchers have relied on the measurement of nociception for so long and offer paths forward for the research community including a discussion of new technologies. Podcast participants include: Ishmail Abdus-Saboor, PhD, Columbia University, USCarl Saab, PhD, Case Western University, USVivianne Tawfik, MD, PhD, Stanford University, USMark Zylka, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USTayler Sheahan, PhD, University of Pittsburgh, US (Moderator)

For its eighth episode, The Pain Beat gathered together a group of pain researchers with expertise in the study of sex differences in pain. The group discussed their own discoveries of sex differences in pain in the course of their research, why pain investigators should pay attention to sex differences and how they should go about examining them, and much more. Podcast participants include:

Editor’s note: IASP will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2024. Even though the anniversary is still a few years away, it already has us thinking about the history of IASP and the evolution of pain research over the past five decades. So, we are providing a series of podcasts that will cover both of those topics, featuring senior leaders in the field who have made major contributions to pain research and care, including those with major roles at IASP. Our latest such podcast Marshall Devor, PhD. Devor is the Alpert Professor of Pain Research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel (HUJI). His research has focused on the neurobiology of neuropathic pain, and more recently also on mechanisms involved in loss of consciousness and pain-free surgery. His laboratory has published extensively in the pain field, with work of a notably integrative nature involving neurophysiology, computer simulations, neuroanatomy (light and electron microscopy), genetics, and behavioral models. Here, Devor speaks with freelancer writer Fred Schwaller, PhD, to discuss his career path, including his work as a postdoc with Pat Wall, some of the history of the pain field, and much more.

Editor’s note: Gregory Dussor, PhD, is Associate Professor and Eugene McDermott Endowed Fellow in the Department of Neuroscience and Center for Advanced Pain Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas. The focus of his work is the understanding of the pathophysiology of chronic headache disorders such as migraine, using a variety of preclinical models. In this podcast, Dr. Dussor speaks with PRF Correspondent Sarah D'Angelo, who recently graduated with a BS in biology from Rutgers University, Camden, New Jersey, US, to discuss his path to migraine research, mechanisms of migraine including differences between the sexes, the evolutionary purpose of migraine, and his much-ballyhooed performance in a video for Ted's Pain Cream.

Editor’s note: Fiona Boissonade, PhD, is Professor of Neuroscience and Director of Impact and External Engagement at the University of Sheffield School of Clinical Dentistry, UK. She is also an executive member of the University of Sheffield Neuroscience Institute and leads the Institute’s “Technology: Devices and autonomous systems” cross-cutting theme. Dr. Boissonade has a major research interest in the mechanisms of altered neuronal excitability that contribute to the development of chronic pain. Much of this research has been done at the academic-industrial interface. Collaborations with GSK, Pfizer, Daiichi Sankyo and Eli Lilly have funded a wide range of translational studies, using preclinical (in vitro and in vivo) models and human tissues to identify and validate a range of regulators of neuronal excitability as potential targets for the development of novel analgesics and anti-inflammatory therapeutics. Dr. Boissonade also has significant expertise in nerve regeneration. This work investigates methods of improving nerve repair through the use of a range of therapeutic agents, bioengineered conduits and cell therapies. Other projects include investigation of neuronal-stromal interactions in tumor progression and wound healing. In this podcast, Dr. Boissonade speaks with PRF Correspondent Frederick Jones, CASE PhD student, University of Leeds, UK, and Eli Lilly & Co, US, to discuss her work in the area of nerve repair and pain, the importance of bridging the translational divide in research, and more.