IASP Pain Research Forum Podcasts – Details, episodes & analysis

During the 2024 North American Pain School (NAPS), five pain researchers participated in the PRF-NAPS 2024 Correspondents Program. In this episode of the IASP-PRF Podcast, PRF Correspondent Madelene Ho spoke with Calia Torres – a passionate pain researcher and former NAPSter. In their thought-provoking conversation, Torres discussed her academic background, her transition from the role of trainee to mentor, and her current research about economic and cultural disparities in pain care – particularly psychosocial interventions for understudied and underserved populations, including sickle-cell patient populations.

Podcast participants include: 

• Calia Torres, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA
• Madelene Ho, University of Alberta, Canada

Editor’s note: During the International Symposium on Pediatric Pain 2023 (ISPP), five pain researchers participated in the PRF-ISPP 2023 Correspondents Program – made possible by generous contributions from Solutions for Kids in Pain (SKIP) and the Centre for Pediatric Pain Research (CPPR). As we prepare for ISPP 2025 – taking place 17-20 June 2025 in Glasgow, UK – we’re taking a look back at some highlights of ISPP 2023, and some of the people who made them possible.  

 In this episode of the IASP-PRF Podcast, PRF Correspondent Adewale Fadaka spoke with Elliot J. Krane – a prolific pain researcher and co-founder of one of the first pain centers for children in North America.  During their wide-ranging conversation, Krane discussed his background in pain research, how he felt to receive the Distinguished Career Award at ISPP 2023, and shared some advice for early-career researchers. 

Podcast participants include:

• Elliot J. Krane, PhD, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA, USA
• Adewale Fadaka, PhD, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Cincinnati, OH, USA

This 15th 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, FRS, University of California, San Francisco, USA
• Diana Bautista, PhD, University of California, Berkeley, USA
• Alexander Chesler, PhD, National Institutes of Health, Maryland, USA
• Ellen Lumpkin, PhD, University of California, Berkeley, USA
• Tayler Sheahan, PhD, University of Pittsburgh, USA (Host)

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 14th 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, PhD, Scripps Research, California, USA
• Bertrand Coste, PhD, Aix-Marseille University, France
• Tayler Sheahan, PhD, University of Pittsburgh, USA (Host)

This 13th 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, PhD, University of California, San Francisco, USA
• Michael Caterina, MD, PhD, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Maryland, USA
• Tayler Sheahan, PhD, University of Pittsburgh, USA (Host)

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, PhD, Centre for Pain IMPACT at NeuRA, Sydney, Australia, and the Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute at Curtin University, Perth, Australia
• Aidan Cashin, PhD, Centre for Pain IMPACT at NeuRA, Sydney, Australia, and the University of New South Wales
• Edel O’Hagan, PhD, Centre for Pain IMPACT at NeuRA, Sydney, Australia, and the Westmead Applied Research Centre at the University of Sydney, Australia
• James McAuley, PhD, Centre for Pain IMPACT at NeuRA, Sydney, Australia, and the University of New South Wales
• Lincoln Tracy, PhD, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia (Host)

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.

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, Australia
• Edgar T. Walters, PhD, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, USA
• Robyn Crook, PhD, San Francisco State University, California, USA
• Ewan St. John Smith, PhD, University of Cambridge, UK
• Ted Price, PhD, University of Texas at Dallas, USA (Moderator)
• Peter Grace, PhD, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA (Host)