# Interdisciplinary Research Training in Pain and/or Substance Use Disorders

> **NIH NIH T32** · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $458,612

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract:
This competing application seeks an additional five years (Years 6-10) of support for a post-doctoral research
training program in pain and substance use disorders. The magnitude of these two problems in the US is
astounding. More than 100 million Americans have pain that persists for weeks to years and over 20 million
meet diagnostic criteria for an alcohol/drug use disorder. According to the National Academy of Medicine’s
(NAM) report, Relieving Pain in America and the Surgeon General’s report Facing Addiction, these problems
cost society almost $1 trillion annually. Contemporary neurobiologic, psychological, and epidemiologic
research as well as the tragic experience of the opioid addiction epidemic show a clear intersection of pain and
SUDs. Two of the NAM committee’s recommendations for improving research at a national level are (1)
increase support for interdisciplinary research in pain, and (2) increase the training of pain researchers.
Similarly, NIDA’s strategic goals and the Surgeon General’s report call for the multidisciplinary training of
scientists to address the complexities of SUD research.
In this proposal, we describe a collaborative, postdoctoral (PhD, MD/PhD and MD), interdisciplinary training
program that will produce scientists with rigorous grounding in pain and SUD research. The accomplished
faculty are all committed to interdisciplinary collaboration and mentorship across their substantive areas of
expertise, which range from cells-to-society. The training program includes both required and elective
coursework, mentored research experiences, an individual integrated research project, seminars, and
exposure to professional development skills, including grant proposal and manuscript writing. The training
program housed in the Division of Pain Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Stanford University School of
Medicine, is intended to develop postdoctoral trainees’ skills, so that they will become independent
investigators in the fields of pain, SUD and their intersection. The training program will be led by Dr. Sean
Mackey, in collaboration with a steering committee comprising senior scientist/mentors. They will oversee the
training, scientific, and administrative aspects of the program, including a rigorous process of internal and
external evaluation. In summary, this training program will bring together a talented group of post-doctoral
trainees, an accomplished team of interdisciplinary mentors, an effective administrative structure, and a world-
class research environment at Stanford University. The combination of talent and environment will launch the
next generation of researchers who will advance our scientific knowledge and practice of pain and substance
use disorders.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10149268
- **Project number:** 5T32DA035165-09
- **Recipient organization:** STANFORD UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** SEAN C MACKEY
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $458,612
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2013-07-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10149268

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10149268, Interdisciplinary Research Training in Pain and/or Substance Use Disorders (5T32DA035165-09). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10149268. Licensed CC0.

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