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Pain Day 2026 Showcases Interdisciplinary Pain Research Across Pittsburgh

Seven adults stand in a line on a wooden stage floor, posed in front of a large illuminated image of a tall Art Deco–style building at night with trees in the foreground. The building is lit with warm lights and a blue beam shining upward into the evening sky. The group wears business-casual attire, and one person stands with a mobility aid. The setting appears to be an indoor event space or conference venue with a prominent architectural backdrop.The Pittsburgh Pain Consortium (PPC) hosted its Second Annual Pain Day on April 8, 2026, at The Assembly, drawing more than 200 investigators, clinicians, and trainees from across the region. The daylong event underscored the strength of Pittsburgh’s collaborative pain research ecosystem, featuring cross-disciplinary basic and clinical science from the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt), Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), and Duquesne University.

Pain Day 2026 centered on the PPC’s mission to advance and connect scholarship, innovation, and community engagement in pain research and care. Programming included scientific talks, a poster competition, networking opportunities, and keynote lectures from two internationally recognized leaders in the field. The PPC is a cross-institutional alliance that includes multiple Pitt-based centers, including the Pittsburgh Center for Pain Research (PCPR) in the Department of Neurobiology, the Center for Innovation in Pain Care (CIPC) in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, and Pittsburgh LB3P within the Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Orthopedics.

The event opened with welcoming remarks from PPC coordinators Benedict Alter, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor and Director of Translational Pain Research in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, and Rebecca Seal, PhD, Professor in the Department of Neurobiology, who reflected on the consortium’s growth since its inaugural Pain Day and outlined priorities for the year ahead.

A wide-angle view of a modern auditorium filled with rows of seated attendees facing a large projection screen. The audience sits in tiered wooden seating, some holding notebooks or phones. At the front of the room, a presenter stands near a podium while a slide with text and a diagram is displayed on the screen. The room features warm wood paneling, high ceilings with hanging lights, and a professional conference or lecture setting.Scientific sessions featured presentations from a broad range of pain investigators, including Trent Emerick, MD, MBA, FASA; Keith Vogt, MD, PhD, FASA; and Kristina Boyd (CIPC); Jami Saloman, PhD, and Sam Noh, PhD (PCPR); Andreas Pfenning, PhD (Carnegie Mellon University); Allison Bean, MD, PhD (LB3P); John Pollock, PhD (Duquesne University); and Karly Edwards, PhD (Pitt Department of Medicine). The program also spotlighted research from recipients of 2025 Pain Day poster awards: Andre Martel Matos, BS (Pitt Neurobiology), Min Gon Kim, PhD (CMU Biomedical Engineering), and Simran Kulkarni, BS (Pitt Bioengineering).

A networking luncheon in the Crane Shed allowed attendees to connect informally before the afternoon keynote sessions. This year’s keynote speakers included Beth Darnall, PhD, Stanford University School of Medicine, who presented “Scaling Brief Behavioral Treatment for Acute, Chronic, and Post-Surgical Pain: Evidence and Implementation,” and Clifford Woolf, MB, BCh, PhD, Harvard Medical School, who delivered a lecture titled “Spontaneous Neuropathic Pain.”

Anantha Shekhar, MD, PhD, Senior Vice Chancellor for the Health Sciences and John and Gertrude Petersen Dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, offered closing reflections on the national and global impact of Pittsburgh-based pain research.

Pain Day 2026 concluded with a poster session featuring 76 posters — 36 of which were selected for competitive awards and reviewed by 25 faculty judges. Outstanding presenters were recognized with Luster Awards in four categories:

  • Seven adults stand in a line on a wooden stage floor, posed in front of a large illuminated image of a tall Art Deco–style building at night with trees in the foreground. The building is lit with warm lights and a blue beam shining upward into the evening sky. The group wears business-casual attire, and one person stands with a mobility aid. The setting appears to be an indoor event space or conference venue with a prominent architectural backdrop.Pre-Clinical Research, Predoctoral - Teyah Spangler, Doctoral Student, Duquesne Dept. of Biological Sciences (Mentor: John Pollock): “Molecular Sex Differences in Nerve Injury: Neuroinflammation, Nanomedicine Treatment, and Regeneration”
  • Pre-Clinical Research, Postdoctoral - Myung-chul Sam Noh, Postdoctoral Fellow, Pitt Dept. of Neurobiology (Mentor: Rebecca Seal): “A Convergent Spinal Node for Mechanical Allodynia Resolves Within the Grpr+ Neuron Population”
  • Clinical Research, Predoctoral - Jeehyun Kim, Doctoral Student CMU Dept. of Biomedical Engineering (Mentor: Pulkit Grover): “Feasibility and Effects of Pulsed Transcranial Electrical Stimulation in People with Fibromyalgia: A Pilot Study in Nine Participants”
  • Clinical Research, Postdoctoral - Kierra Falbo, Postdoctoral Fellow, Pitt Dept. of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine (Mentor: Lee Fisher): “Refining Ecological Momentary Assessment for Phantom Limb Pain”

We extend our gratitude to the Pain Day Planning Committee for their hard work and dedication, and to all attendees for making Pain Day 2026 such a success. We look forward to seeing you at Pain Day 2027!

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