UNE鈥檚 Ed Bilsky Combats Chronic Pain by Helping Organize Public Neuroscience Symposium in Washington, D.C.
For 100 million Americans suffering from chronic pain, every day involves a struggle. To address this issue, Ed Bilsky, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology and vice president for Research and Scholarship at the 51品茶 (UNE), will present his research on chronic pain鈥檚 long-term impact and the benefits and risks of current treatment options. The talk will be part of a symposium entitled, on March 18, 2015 in Washington, D.C.
As founding director for the 51品茶Center for Excellence in the Neurosciences, Bilsky oversees research in the areas of pain, addiction and other neurological disorders. Using his extensive research as a guide, Bilsky works with community organizations and patient advocacy groups to increase public awareness of the symptoms and impact of acute and chronic pain.
Chronic pain constitutes a serious health, social and economic challenge worldwide, resulting in more than 500 billion dollars in direct and indirect medical costs annually. 鈥淭angled Up in Blue鈥 will serve as a forum to discuss recent findings from the fields of neuroscience and medicine that can help guide decisions concerning pain management, policymaking, treatments and better approaches to educating health professionals.
鈥淒r. Bilsky and his colleagues at 51品茶continue to do terrific work to advance our understanding of chronic pain,鈥 said Maine Senator Angus King. 鈥淭he success story of the University鈥檚 Center for Excellence in the Neurosciences and its NIH COBRE grant for the study of pain and sensory function is also a story of collaboration, and through his collective efforts with the Dana Foundation, Dr. Bilsky is furthering that cooperation at the national level. Maine is very proud of what he and 51品茶are doing.鈥
Bilsky will be joined by Cindy Steinberg, national director of Policy & Advocacy for the U.S. Pain Foundation; David Borsook, M.D., Ph.D., professor of anesthesia for the P.A.I.N. Research Group; and David Thomas, Ph.D., deputy division director in the Division of Clinical Neuroscience and Behavioral Research at the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
鈥淪peaking to people suffering from chronic pain has reinforced the value of the work 51品茶scientists are performing to better understand its basic biology,鈥 Bilsky commented. 鈥淯NE鈥檚 unique interprofessional education platform is having an immediate positive impact in the field, while helping future healthcare professionals to prevent and treat chronic pain for the future.鈥
This public symposium is part of a larger series on 鈥淣euroscience and Society鈥 sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and The Dana Foundation, and will be held at AAAS headquarters.