# Core 1: Phenotyping and Outcomes Core

> **NIH NIH P50** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2021 · $172,682

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT 
PHENOTYPING AND OUTCOMES CORE (POC) 
 The University of Michigan Fibromyalgia CORT proposes that presence of centralized pain will render 
individuals less responsive to analgesic therapies aimed at peripheral/nociceptive pain (surgery, biologics, 
opioids) and that this centralized pain phenotype has stereotypical clinical and neurobiological features similar 
to FM even when it is co-morbid with other musculoskeletal pain conditions with disparate underlying pain 
mechanisms. The Specific Aims of the CORT supported by the POC are as follows: 1) To demonstrate that 
the current 2011 FM Survey Criteria serve as a strong surrogate of pain centralization and strongly predict non- 
responsiveness to therapies generally effective for treating peripherally-based pain, including a) surgery 
intended to relieve pain (hip arthroplasty, carpal tunnel release), b) administration of a biologic agent to treat an 
autoimmune disorder (rheumatoid arthritis), and c) acute perioperative administration of opioids; 2) To 
demonstrate that in all three cohorts individuals with the highest FM scores will have similar neurobiological 
findings of pain centralization on quantitative sensory testing (QST) and neuroimaging; 3) To develop and pilot 
test a shorter and more predictive self-report measure of pain centralization; and 4) To explore the clinical and 
mechanistic features of two important subsets of centralized pain: top-down (i.e. previously termed primary 
FM) vs. bottom-up (i.e. previously termed secondary FM). Specifically, the POC will be responsible for the 
following: (1) Assessment of treatment outcomes for each treatment cohort, (2) Phenotyping/characterization 
of each patient cohort, the FM control group, and the healthy control group, (3) Development of a latent 
construct of centralized pain based upon self-report, QST, and neuroimaging findings, (4) Development and 
validation of a new clinically applicable measure of centralization, and (5) Exploration of two potential subtypes 
of centralization along with the development of self-report items that may assess those subtypes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10266749
- **Project number:** 5P50AR070600-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** David A Williams
- **Activity code:** P50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $172,682
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-09-20 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10266749

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10266749, Core 1: Phenotyping and Outcomes Core (5P50AR070600-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10266749. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*