Medical College of Wisconsin
Press Release

Local Pain Management Researchers Receive Grants from the National Institutes of Health ‘Helping to End Addiction Long-Term’ Initiative

These awards are part of 375 grant awards across 41 states made by the NIH this year as a part of the Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative to apply scientific solutions to reverse the national opioid crisis.

By - Oct 18th, 2019 12:08 pm

Milwaukee, Oct. 18, 2019 – Five researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) have been awarded more than $4 million by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for research projects that aim to improve treatments for chronic pain, curb the rates of opioid use disorder and overdose and achieve long-term recovery from opioid addiction. These awards are part of 375 grant awards across 41 states made by the NIH this year as a part of the Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative (HEAL) to apply scientific solutions to reverse the national opioid crisis.

Amanda Brandow, DO, associate professor of pediatrics and hematology/oncology/bone marrow transplantation, and Julie Panepinto, MD, professor of pediatrics and hematology/oncology/bone marrow transplantation received $2.6 million in funding for their work to advance pain management in sickle cell disease. Carol Everson, PhD, professor of medicine and cell biology, neurobiology & anatomy; Christopher Olsen, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology & toxicology, and Hershel Raff, PhD, professor of medicine, surgery and physiology, were awarded $1.5 million in support of the project on sleep deficiency as a risk factor and therapeutic target in opioid addiction and relapse.

The NIH launched the HEAL Initiative in April 2018 to improve the prevention and treatment strategies for opioid misuse and addiction to enhance pain management. This initiative aims to take a multi-pronged approach to improve treatments for chronic pain, curb the rates of opioid use disorder and overdose and achieve long-term recovery from opioid addiction.

About the Medical College of Wisconsin

With a history dating back to 1893, The Medical College of Wisconsin is dedicated to leadership and excellence in education, patient care, research and community engagement.  More than 1,400 students are enrolled in MCW’s medical school and graduate school programs in Milwaukee, Green Bay, and Central Wisconsin in. MCW’s School of Pharmacy opened in 2017. A major national research center, MCW is the largest research institution in the Milwaukee metro area and second largest in Wisconsin. In the last ten years, faculty received more than $1.5 billion in external support for research, teaching, training and related purposes. This total includes highly competitive research and training awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Annually, MCW faculty direct or collaborate on more than 3,100 research studies, including clinical trials. Additionally, more than 1,600 physicians provide care in virtually every specialty of medicine for more than $2.8 million patients annually.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.

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