We are pleased to announce that Benedict Alter, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor and Director of Translational Pain Research in our department, has been awarded a new R01 research grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), jointly supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). The project is funded through the NIH HEAL (Helping to End Addiction Long-term®) Initiative, a cross-agency effort to improve prevention and treatment strategies for pain and opioid misuse.
The interdisciplinary grant “Leveraging Inter-Individual Differences in Walking Pain and Impairment to Elucidate Whole-Person Mechanisms of Knee Osteoarthritis,” has received $4.9 million in total support and will run from September 19, 2025, through August 31, 2029. Key co-investigators on the project include:
- April Chambers, PhD, Pitt Bioengineering, who will help with biomechanical measures of gait
- Ted Huppert, PhD, Pitt Electrical and Computer Engineering, a neuroscientist with expertise in fNIRS analysis
- F. Bilge Ergen, MD, Pitt Radiology, a musculoskeletal radiologist with expertise in knee imaging
- Guan Yu, PhD, Pitt Biostatistics, a statistician with expertise in advanced analysis
- Ajay D. Wasan, MD, MSc, MA, Professor and Vice Chair for Pain Medicine and Co-Director of the Center for Innovation in Pain Care in our department, an expert on clinical trials in chronic musculoskeletal pain
The grant will support Dr. Alter’s study “INdividual DIfferences in Gait and Osteoarthritis pain (INDIGO).” INDIGO will focus on uncovering the biopsychosocial mechanisms that contribute to the substantial variability in pain and functional impairment experienced by individuals with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Despite OA being one of the leading causes of disability worldwide, patients report markedly different levels of pain during movement, particularly walking, with little understanding of what drives these individual differences.
This observational study will employ advanced imaging, gait biomechanics, psychological assessments, and machine learning to analyze data from a large cohort of knee OA patients. The goal is to identify whole-person factors, spanning biological, psychological, and social domains, that influence walking pain and functional limitations. Insights from this study may lead to new therapeutic targets and help personalize interventions aimed at preserving physical activity, thereby improving long-term outcomes and reducing morbidity and mortality associated with OA.
Congratulations to Dr. Alter on this achievement and for advancing research at the intersection of pain science, physical function, and personalized medicine.