Funded Projects

NOFO Title: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Encourage Eligible NIH HEAL Initiative Awardees to Apply for Administrative Supplements to Support Career Enhancement Related to Clinical Research on Pain
NOFO Number: NOT-NS-22-087
Summary:

Understanding the mechanisms underlying the transition to chronic pain is key to mitigating the dual epidemics of chronic pain and opioid use in the United States. As part of the National Institutes of Health-funded Acute to Chronic Pain Signatures Program, the Data Integration and Resource Center aims to This project will support a post-doctoral trainee to develop the skills and knowledge needed to pursue a successful career in clinical pain research. The research will involve integrating imaging, physiology, -omics, behavioral, and clinical data to develop biosignatures for the transition from acute to chronic pain, toward understanding how the nervous and immune systems affect post-surgical pain and opioid use.

NOFO Title: Discovery of Biomarkers, Biomarker Signatures, and Endpoints for Pain (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Optional)
NOFO Number: RFA-NS-18-041

NOFO Title: Notice of Special Interest to Encourage Eligible NIH HEAL Initiative Awardees to Apply for PA-20-222: Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Admin Supp - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: NOT-NS-20-107
Summary:

Social determinants of heath may affect breast cancer diagnosis and disease staging at time of mastectomy. It is unclear if socioeconomic factors such as annual income, marital status/single parent household, number of children, distance from the hospital, and other life stressors facing individuals from under-resourced populations affect development of postmastectomy pain syndrome or response to the drug ketamine. This research will analyze these factors toward mitigating post-mastectomy pain. This analysis will also serve as the basis for further research to define pathways that minimize health disparities plays in the development of chronic, post-surgical pain. The ultimate goal of this research is to normalize risk for chronic pain after breast surgery.

 

NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) regarding the Availability of Administrative Supplements to Support Strategies to Increase Participant Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement in Clinical Studies
NOFO Number: NOT-NS-21-025
Summary:

Mindfulness has been shown to be effective in treating chronic low back pain, but it has not been embedded into routine clinical care. The OPTIMUM study (Optimizing Pain Treatment In Medical settings Using Mindfulness) will address barriers to delivering mindfulness in primary care and determine the effectiveness in this setting. This project extends the stakeholder engagement efforts of the OPTIMUM study by increasing the size and responsibilities of the Community Advisory Board, adding focus groups for participants in both study arms, and collecting stories from study nonparticipants about their experience seeking care for chronic low back pain and their views on participating in research. This expanded effort will optimize recruitment of a diverse and underrepresented sample, maximize retention, and prepare for future implementation and dissemination.

NOFO Title: Notice of Special Interest to Encourage Eligible NIH HEAL Initiative Awardees to Apply for PA-20-222: Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Admin Supp - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: NOT-NS-20-107
Summary:

Knee osteoarthritis is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide, particularly among older adults. Despite multiple guidelines for care, most patients do not receive adequate treatment, and about 30% are prescribed long-term opioids. This award will be used to recruit and support an early career faculty member from a group underrepresented in biomedicine. This research, part of the Pain Management Effectiveness Research Network will evaluate conservative and more aggressive treatments for knee osteoarthritis and determine which individual-level factors contribute to treatment outcomes.

NOFO Title: Notice of Special Interest to Encourage Eligible NIH HEAL Initiative Awardees to Apply for PA-20-222: Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Admin Supp - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: NOT-NS-20-107
Summary:

Although digital health technologies are now widely available for both therapeutic and monitoring applications, there are wide variations in patient knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and preferences regarding their uptake and effectiveness. There are also sociodemographic variations in willingness to participate in digital health research studies, both for chronic pain and other common disorders. However, few efforts have systematically examined patient-level predictors of digital health uptake and benefit among diverse individuals who experience chronic pain. This research will employ mixed methods to examine variations in engagement and benefit among diverse participants in a large clinical trial examining the benefits of virtual reality for treatment of chronic lower back pain.

NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) regarding the Availability of Administrative Supplements to Support Strategies to Reduce Stigma in Pain Management and Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) and Treatment
NOFO Number: NOT-OD-20-101
Summary:

Patients with chronic low back pain, often have depressive and anxiety symptoms and use opioids all of which are associated with stigma. In turn stigma leads to decreased treatment seeking and adherence, increased depression and pain, and poor treatment outcomes. Intersection of these health-related stigmas may have synergistic effects. This study aims to enhance the findings of a clinical trial to test antidepressant medication and Enhanced Fear Avoidance Rehabilitation in patients with chronic low back pain and high levels of depression and anxiety. The effects of these intersecting types of stigma on the efficacy of the interventions will be evaluated to better understand the needs of the patient population and to inform development of a stigma reducing intervention that can be implemented care providers.

NOFO Title: Notice of Special Interest to Encourage Eligible NIH HEAL Initiative Awardees to Apply for PA-20-222: Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Admin Supp - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: NOT-NS-20-107
Summary:

Cancer remains a leading cause of death among Hispanic/Latino populations in the United States. Compared with non-Hispanic Whites, Hispanic/Latino cancer patients are more likely to experience poor quality of life and inadequate cancer-related care, including less effective pain relief and poor patient‒provider communication. Additionally, Hispanic/Latino populations often have inadequate access to pain treatment, due to both social disparities and language barriers. However, most behavioral and psychosocial oncology research continues to focus on non-Hispanic Whites, and empirically validated and effective treatment interventions, particularly psychosocial interventions, are often not available in Spanish. This project will generate a Spanish-language version of the painTRAINER internet-based coping skills training program that is both linguistically and culturally sensitive and will evaluate its feasibility and acceptability in Hispanic/Latino patients with persistent cancer-related pain.

NOFO Title: NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) Research Bases (UG1 Clinical Trial Required)
NOFO Number: RFA-CA-18-015
Summary:

Pain Coping Skills Training (PCST) uses a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) approach to teach patients cognitive and behavioral coping skills shown to reduce pain and pain interference (e.g., relaxation, distraction, cognitive restructuring, activity pacing). Randomized controlled trials show that PCST and similar CBT-based interventions, when delivered in a traditional in-person format, can improve pain and functioning in people with cancer and other conditions. Yet these interventions are underused in clinical care due to barriers such as high resource costs, a shortage of therapists trained to deliver them, and travel requirements for patients. This trial aims to deliver evidence-based behavioral pain interventions such as PCST with methods capable of overcoming barriers currently limiting patient access. This will be investigated using a two-arm trial comparing pain relief with the following interventions: painTRAINER in clinic with eight web-based follow-up sessions; enhanced usual care.

NOFO Title: CTSA Network - Trial Innovation Centers (TICs) (U24)
NOFO Number: RFA-TR-15-002

NOFO Title: Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) Network Recruitment Innovation Centers (RICs)(U24)
NOFO Number: RFA-TR-15-004

NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) regarding the Availability of Administrative Supplements to Support Strategies to Increase Participant Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement in Clinical Studies
NOFO Number: NOT-NS-21-025
Summary:

A main goal of the NIH HEAL Initiative and the Early Phase Pain Intervention Clinical Network (EPPIC-Net) is to improve pain management by discovering and validating biomarkers and non-opioid pain medications. This award will leverage the resources at the University of Washington’s EPPIC-Net’s Specialized Clinical Centers by implementing and evaluating strategies to improve the engagement, recruitment, and retention of individuals from underserved racial/ethnic minority populations to participate in EPPIC-Net clinical trials. The site’s network spans multiple states and specialties, allowing access to geographically and demographically diverse patient populations, including underrepresented and underserved populations.