NCCIH Hosts Interactive Pain Lectures

Pain is a multifaceted phenomenon and the most common reason people seek medical attention. To help improve understanding of the dynamics of pain, from physiological initiation to the coping behaviors of patients and everything in between, join the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) for the Interactive Pain Lecture Series. 

Designed for participants in the Intramural Research Training Award program, the lectures will provide a solid foundation about the concepts and facts of this challenging subject. The series is divided into 18 one-hour sessions and runs through June 28 on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month. 

“There hasn’t been anything out there to serve as an introduction for learners about the complexities of pain to make it understandable and approachable,” explained Dr. Misha Backonja, supervisory physician in the NCCIH Clinical Investigations Branch. “Our goal for each session is to inspire curiosity and motivate participants to want to further explore pain as a topic in their own research.” 

Each session will be a hybrid of in-person participation on the NIH campus and online remote participation. An outline of the session’s presentation will be available to the registered audience at the beginning of each week.

Each session will begin with a 20- to 25-minute lecture about one of the pain core curriculum topics, followed by a panel discussion and Q&As. Volunteer postbacs will introduce the topics, presenters and discussants, as well as moderate the discussions. Everyone attending, in person or remotely, will be invited to participate. 

For more information, contact Backonja at misha.backonja@nih.gov or go to https://bit.ly/3X8xflb.