Project Grant R01AT013604

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health under the Department of Health and Human Services, awarded the University of Maryland, Baltimore $4.929 million on September 1, 2026, under the Drug Use and Addiction Research Programs (CFDA 93.279) to develop and validate a multi-omic, psychosocial, and environmental model of individual differences in pain and placebo responses.

The project investigates chronic pain conditions, particularly temporomandibular disorder (TMD), focusing on variability in pain sensitivity, treatment responses, and comorbidities including depression and anxiety. The research employs machine learning approaches—supervised methods such as random forests and XGBoost, and unsupervised methods including Gaussian mixture models and hierarchical clustering—to identify and predict pain phenotypes and placebo response variability. The study will analyze clinical data from 402 individuals with chronic TMD pain and 400 healthy controls to uncover interactions between omic variability, socioeconomic position, and placebo responses, then develop personalized predictive models for pain management.

The award addresses gaps in understanding how endogenous pain modulation and placebo hypoalgesia depend on psychological, genetic, and environmental factors, and how pain catastrophizing dimensions mediate relationships between psychological factors and chronic pain severity. The period of performance runs through August 31, 2030, with place of performance in Baltimore, Maryland.