# Identifying  Differential Psychosocial  and  Neurobiological  Risk  Factors  of  the  Transition  from  Acute  to  Chronic  Pain  in Black  and  Non-­Hispanic  White  Adults

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT STORRS · 2023 · $43,905

## Abstract

Abstract
Low back pain affects an estimated 65 million individuals in the United States, and Black Americans are
disproportionately affected by the detrimental consequences of pain, including a higher incidence of converting
to chronic pain, reduced functional capacity, mood, and quality of life compared to Non-Hispanic whites
(NHWs). Empirical evidence regarding the Conserved Transcriptional Response to Adversity (CTRA) suggests
that adverse psychosocial conditions, such as perceived stress due to experienced discrimination or low
socioeconomic status, cause increased expression of genes involved in inflammation and stress-related
pathways. While these pathways theoretically overlap with those that influence the transition from acute to
chronic pain, the CTRA has never been systematically examined in Black individuals who are at risk of a
chronic pain trajectory. This F31 application was designed to provide the applicant with the knowledge and
skills to establish a research trajectory in pain-related health disparities. He has garnered the support of a
highly engaged and productive mentorship team to fulfill his traineeship goals and accomplish the study aims.
The applicant’s overall goals are to: 1) gain a deep understanding of the methods and measures used in pain
research; 2) build expertise in health disparities theory and measures; 3) acquire genomics knowledge and
principles for carrying out rigorous laboratory techniques with next generation technologies; 4) perform the
sequencing pipeline, statistical analysis and interpretation of multi-omic data; and, 5) advance and integrate
knowledge of the psychosocial and neurobiological mechanisms of the transition from acute to chronic low
back pain in Black Americans.
The proposed study is a secondary analysis of a completed inception cohort
study (R01NR013932; n=220) that tracked individuals at the onset of acute low back pain and followed them
every six weeks for six months. The applicant will randomly select 40 Black and 40 NHW participants (20 men
and 20 women each for a total of 80 participants) who developed chronic low back pain. Preserved whole
blood samples that were drawn into PAXgene tubes and immediately frozen at -80oC will be processed
(baseline acute low back pain and at 6-months/chronic low back pain) for RNA and DNA-methylation (DNAm)
sequencing to assess gene x environment interactions. The study aims are to: 1) Identify differences in
psychosocial (pain severity and interference, mood, perceived stress, work satisfaction) and neurobiological
(quantitative sensory testing) factors; and, 2) Examine differential mRNA expression and DNAm profiles
between Black and NHW participants with low back pain at acute onset and at 6-months follow-up. Race x sex
comparisons will also be conducted. The proposed study will provide a first-step toward establishing the
applicant’s program of research, and will identify unique factors that influence pain-related health disparities in
Black indivi...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10576262
- **Project number:** 5F31NR019939-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT STORRS
- **Principal Investigator:** Bright Eze
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $43,905
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-02-25 → 2024-02-24

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10576262

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10576262, Identifying  Differential Psychosocial  and  Neurobiological  Risk  Factors  of  the  Transition  from  Acute  to  Chronic  Pain  in Black  and  Non-­Hispanic  White  Adults (5F31NR019939-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10576262. Licensed CC0.

---

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