Personalized pain prevention around surgery
Official title: Personalizing Perioperative Preventive Analgesia: Translational Studies Investigating the Biopsychosocial Underpinnings of Enhanced Pain Propensity
Funded at Stanford University · NIH-11477963 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project tests ways to tailor pain-prevention treatments for people having surgery to reduce the chance of long-lasting post-surgical pain.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Stanford University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Stanford, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2018 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $432,740 |
| NIH project number | 7R35GM128691-09 |
| Project ID | NIH-11477963 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults scheduled for elective surgery who can attend pre- and post-operative testing visits and follow-up appointments are the best candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not having surgery, who cannot travel to the study center, or who cannot undergo standard pain testing are unlikely to benefit directly from participation.
What this research studies
If you join, researchers will measure your pain before, during, and after surgery and follow you over time to see who develops persistent pain. They use lab pain tests that measure how strongly your nervous system amplifies pain signals, alongside questionnaires and clinical data. The team identifies people at higher risk and explores giving personalized pain-prevention strategies around the time of surgery. The goal is to stop normal short-term surgical pain from turning into chronic pain for as many people as possible.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reduce the number of people who develop long-lasting post-surgical pain and lower prolonged opioid use.
How similar studies have gone: Basic and animal studies have identified mechanisms of pain chronification and early human work is promising, but preventative approaches have not yet consistently stopped persistent post-surgical pain.
Where this research is happening
-
Stanford University
Stanford, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Schreiber, Kristin — Stanford University
- Study coordinator: Schreiber, Kristin
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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.