Bridging Identities: Perspectives from Pain Scientists with Lived Experience

Dr. Melissa Pielech is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist, person with lived experience with pediatric chronic pain, and Assistant Professor of Behavioral and Social Sciences at the Brown University School of Public Health and Warren Alpert Medical School. Over the past 10 years, Dr. Pielech has developed unique cross-cutting expertise in the etiology, co-occurrence, and treatment of both pain and substance use behaviors in adolescents and young adults. Her National Institutes of Health funded program of research focuses on: 1) patient-centered development and evaluation of interventions co-addressing pain and substance use, 2) addressing barriers to family involvement in youth substance use disorder treatment 3) pediatric opioid stewardship, and 4) increasing integration of substance use interventions in pediatric integrated care settings. Dr Pielech also provides clinical services to youth with substance use disorders at the Bradley Vista Intensive Outpatient Program as well as youth with persistent pain and somatic symptoms at Hasbro Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Ryan Wexler is a naturopathic physician-scientist and Assistant Professor at the National University of Natural Medicine whose research focuses on improving care for individuals with chronic low back pain and radiculopathy. His work integrates movement, mindfulness, and motivational approaches within multicomponent interventions. As a clinical trialist, he uses methods including wearable technology, quantitative sensory testing, motion analysis, and mixed methods to assess intervention outcomes. Dr. Wexler also collaborates with people with lived experience to ensure his interventions are relevant to real-world clinical care and patient priorities. 

Dr. Amanda Stone is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and a licensed clinical psychologist. Dr. Stone’s research has largely focused on parent-child dynamics surrounding pediatric pain and has been funded by a NIH K23 award as well as IASP Early Career Research Grant. Dr. Stone is an active participant in USASP and served as a founding co-chair of the Pediatric Pain SIG and is a current member of the PWLE Committee. Dr. Stone also has clinical experience providing care for individuals with chronic pain and co-occurring mental health disorders across the lifespan. Dr. Stone will be presenting virtually today due to a last-minute family emergency.

Dr. Michael “Alec” Owens is a Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Owens’ research focuses on exploring the intersection of pain and sleep among people living with chronic pain. Additionally, his research has branched out to include substance use including cannabis and its impact on symptom management.. The ultimate goal of Dr. Owens’ research is to elucidate health disparities, exploring mechanisms and novel interventions. Dr. Owens is also the Director of the Chronic Pain Psychology Clinic at UAB and a current co-chair of the Sleep and Pain SIG at USASP. 

Dr. De’Sha Wolf is a Social Scientist and Research Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at Portland State University. Her research niche focuses on identifying community-based solutions for young Black adults living with chronic pain using integrative medicine strategies. She is a K01 award recipient with funding from NCCIH to adapt the evidence-based Chronic Pain Self-Management Program for young Black adults in collaboration with patient, provider, and community partners. Dr. Wolf also serves as Co-Director of the Oregon Health & Science University CONNECT program, an evidence-based near-peer mentorship program supporting postdocs and early career faculty pursuing health research careers.

Michael S. Gold, Ph.D., is a Professor of Neurobiology at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Gold received his B.A. from UC Berkeley, Ph.D. from UCLA, and was postdoctoral fellow with Jon Levine at USCF.  The focus of Dr. Gold’s research is the neurobiology of pain.  He has made important contributions to injury-induced plasticity in nociceptive afferents, and their contribution to the manifestation of persistent pain. Toward this end, he has employed an array of approaches ranging from the study of isolated cells to the development of novel behavioral assays with which to assess the presence of persistent hypersensitivity, and more recently the study of clinical populations suffering from persistent pain. Dr. Gold is actively involved in the greater pain community most recently working to form the US Association for the Study of Pain.