Genetic and environmental roots of chronic pain in children and teens
Genetic and Environmental Origins of the Development of Pain in Children
The project follows twin pairs during childhood and early adolescence to learn how genes, life stress, and emotional coping affect who develops ongoing pain.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Arizona State University-Tempe Campus NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Scottsdale, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11294165 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You and your child would join a group of 350 twin pairs from diverse communities who are being followed into adolescence. Researchers will check in at ages 14, 15, and 16 to track pain patterns, record stress exposure and emotional regulation, and collect biological samples for epigenetic testing. Comparing twins lets the team separate genetic from environmental effects while also looking for social supports that buffer risk. The aim is to find early signs and mechanisms that could point to better prevention or treatments for kids with persistent pain.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are adolescent twin pairs (and their parents) around ages 14–16 from the community, including those with histories of stress or emerging pain symptoms.
Not a fit: Children who are not twins, adults outside the study age range, or people with only short-term acute pain likely would not be eligible or directly helped by this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify early warning signs and protective factors that help prevent or better treat chronic pain in children and teens.
How similar studies have performed: Previous studies link early adversity to adult chronic pain, but long-term twin studies that combine genetics, stress exposure, emotion regulation, and epigenetics are relatively uncommon, making this approach fairly novel.
Where this research is happening
Scottsdale, United States
- Arizona State University-Tempe Campus — Scottsdale, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Davis, Mary Colleen — Arizona State University-Tempe Campus
- Study coordinator: Davis, Mary Colleen
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.