MODEL DEVELOPMENT AND PHENOTYPING CORE PROJECT ABSTRACT In the United States, 70% of deaths annually can be attributed to chronic conditions. One of the most frequent and debilitating is pain, which can either occur as a symptom of chronic illness or as a primary problem. According to the recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) report on Relieving Pain in America (2011), chronic pain is a public health epidemic affecting more than 116 million Americans and costing more than $600 billion per year in healthcare expenses and lost work productivity?despite advances in pharmacological treatment, most people do not obtain adequate pain relief. Recently, various types of self-management strategies have been tested for chronic pain management, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), non-pharmacologic treatments (e.g., heat, cold, acupuncture, etc.) and physical activity. However, much like pharmacogenomic influences on individual response to drug treatment, self-management intervention trials have demonstrated mixed results in that some, but not all, study participants respond or participate. This could be due to many factors, including the omics mechanisms that underlie an individual's resilience, motivation and/or capability to engage in self-management behaviors that provide a symptom benefit. Moreover, the omics mechanisms underlying the relative success or failure of self-management interventions on an individual level have been understudied. Guided by an adapted National Institutes of Health Symptom Science (NIHSS) model, we propose to develop the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) Omics Associated with Self-management Interventions for Symptoms (OASIS) Center. The science of the Center will focus on our hypothesis that genomic, transcriptomic, epigenomic and proteomic outcomes (hereafter referred to as ?omics?), mediated by psychosocial factors and sex differences and/or moderated by the environment, predict individual resilience, motivation and capability to engage in and participate in self-management behaviors (physical activity) and response to interventions designed to improve chronic pain. The Model Development and Phenotyping Core (MDPC) will provide specific technologies including rodent behavioral testing instruments for nociception, neuromuscular function, sensory and motor fiber function, activity, cognition, depression, and anxiety. Clinical testing instruments include a Medoc Pathway (thermal sensory testing), Medoc pressure algometer, Neurometer (sensory fiber function), von Frey filaments, weighted probes, grip dynamometer, balance, and gait analysis. The MDPC will also provide training and support for the proper handling and husbandry of animals, use of the instruments, and analysis of the data. In consultation with the MDPC Directors, the pilot PIs will refine their research plans and study designs, select appropriate behavioral assays, and develop optimal experimental protocols to maximize the quality of their study results. The goal of the MDPC is to augment the success of the pilot projects by ensuring optimal model selection, assay selection, and data interpretation/analysis. To achieve the MDPC goals, we propose the following specific aims, including (1) Provide expertise in and support for the development and behavioral phenotyping of animal models of chronic pain, (2) Provide expertise in and support for the development of clinical experimental pain models, clinical behavioral testing, and phenotyping of chronic pain patients and (3) Provide instruments, space, and resources that can be used by the OASIS pilots and future studies of self-management of chronic pain.
