Pain continues to be a significant health care problem because of its prevalence, its impact on
those who suffer, and the absence of consistently effective therapeutic options devoid of
deleterious consequences. These issues will only be compounded with the aging of the US
population and the increased incidence of pain in those over 60 years old. Any progress in
addressing this growing problem will take a concerted effort from the basic scientists diligently
working to understand pain mechanisms to the health care providers struggling to manage pain
in their patients with limited tools and resources. It not only takes a sustained effort from those
already working to address this problem, but from subsequent generations of pain scientists as
well. The US Association for the Study of Pain (USASP) was formed to address these issues
and continues to develop ways of doing so. One of our solutions to advance pain science is an
annual scientific meeting organized to facilitate the dissemination of the latest advances in pain
science and the interdisciplinary discussion of these advances, as well as the career
development and mentoring of pain scientists and health care providers with a focus on early
career scholars. To maximize our ability to achieve these goals, the USASP and the scientific
meeting are organized around principles of diversity, equity and inclusion, where all interested in
addressing the complex problem of pain are welcomed to participate. This application is for
funds to support early career investigators to attend the USASP annual scientific meetings in
2024 thru 2028. Consistent with the broader goals of the USASP for the scientific meeting, the
Specific Aims of this proposal are to 1) Provide Early Career Pain Scholars with a national
forum in which to learn about and discuss pain research findings that shape the direction of the
field; 2) Facilitate networking and career development for Early Career Pain Scholars with
different pain science stakeholders (researchers, policymakers, clinicians, and patients); and 3)
Foster dialogue and collaboration between multiple pain science disciplines to develop
innovative translational strategies to address current challenges in pain research and
management. As the connections made early in a career pay dividends over the long term, we
seek support for 60 Early Career Pain Scholars to participate in the yearly (2024-2028)
conference, building a workforce that will contribute to pain science and ultimately safe and
effective pain management in the future.