This description is taken from the R01 version of this FOA. Participating ICs are NINR, NIA, NIAMS, NIDDK, NIDA, NIDCR, NINDS, NCCIH, and NIMHD.
The NIH Pain Consortium was established in 1996 to enhance pain research and promote collaboration among researchers across the many NIH ICs that have programs and activities addressing pain. Currently, the research interests of twenty-one NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices are represented in the Consortium. Although these combined efforts have resulted in great scientific progress, the understanding and treatment of pain remains incomplete. In 2011, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released its report, “Relieving Pain in America”, which outlined the state of pain prevention, care, and research, and provided a blueprint to guide efforts to transform pain care in the United States. The core recommendations of the IOM report led to development of the National Pain Strategy (NPS), which was released by HHS in 2016. The NPS outlines the federal government’s first coordinated plan for reducing the burden of chronic pain that affects millions of Americans. NIH is responsive to and in alignment with the NPS and the IOM report, and continues to be committed to supporting research to advance the scientific understanding of pain and the treatments available to those suffering in pain.
The NIH Pain Consortium supports research on all conditions in which pain is a prominent feature. Of interest are diseases, such as cancer, that of themselves or their treatment may result in pain. Many primary conditions, whether acute (such as injury), recurring (such as migraine), or chronic (such as arthritis) are significantly complicated by co-morbid pain disorders. Some pain conditions are unassociated with other primary diagnoses. Chronic pain is widely believed to represent a disease itself, causing long-term detrimental physiologic changes and requiring unique assessments and treatments. The areas of research detailed below and the following acute and chronic pain conditions are of special interest but do not comprise a comprehensive or complete listing of research areas relevant to this FOA.
- Inflammatory Pain
- Visceral pain
- Chronic urologic pelvic pain syndromes
- Neuropathic pain
- Spinal cord injury pain
- Headache
- Musculoskeletal pain, including back pain
- Cancer related pain (e.g. pain due to metastasis or primary disease)
- Cardiovascular pain disorders
- Chemotherapy-induced neuropathies and other related toxicities (e.g. aromatase inhibitor-induced arthralgias).
- Fibromyalgia
- Temporomandibular joint and muscle disorders
- Pain associated with HIV/AIDS
- Pain associated with osteoporosis
- Pain associated with communication disorders (e.g., otitis media, tinnitus, burning mouth syndrome, dysphagia)
- Pain at the end of life
- Pain in older persons with multiple chronic conditions
- Pain in people with drug and alcohol addictions
- Pain in persons with neuromuscular conditions
- Pain in preterm neonates exposed to multiple medical interventions and/or procedures
- Skin disorders and pain
- Orofacial pain
Research Objectives
New and innovative advances are needed in every area of pain research, from the microperspective of molecular sciences to the macro perspective of behavioral/social sciences. Although great strides have been made in some areas, such as the neural pathways of pain, chronic pain and the challenge of its treatment have remained uniquely individual and largely unsolved. Applications that seek to improve the understanding of the causes, costs, and societal effects of both acute and chronic pain and the relationships between the two are highly encouraged. Studies on the mechanisms underlying the transition from acute to chronic pain are also needed. Additionally, applications that link such understandings to the development of better approaches to therapeutic interventions, including complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) interventions, and self-management of acute and chronic pain are in keeping with the current translational focus of NIH and are encouraged.
The following topic areas are not intended to be comprehensive or exhaustive. Synergistic studies that reach across two or more of these areas are encouraged. Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research is especially encouraged, as is research that involves specific cooperation between basic and clinical scientists, incorporates longitudinal and innovative clinical trial designs, and uses comparative effectiveness research techniques. These pain research areas also cut across ICs and programs and should not be viewed as restricted to only one specific IC.
- Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Pain
- Genetics of Pain
- Biobehavioral Pain
- Models of Pain
- Diagnosis and Assessment of Pain
- Pain Management
- Epidemiology of Pain
- Health Disparities
- Translational Pain Research
Deadlines: standard dates apply
URLs:
- R01 version: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-16-188.html
- R21 version: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-16-187.html
Filed Under: Funding Opportunities