Earlier this summer, I participated in a science communication program in combination with the ⁠Pain Research Forum⁠ and the ⁠North American Pain School⁠. As part of this program, I had the honor of interviewing ⁠Jessica Merlin⁠ – a clinical pain researcher focusing on the intersection of chronic pain and opioid misuse/use disorder across populations and settings. During their wide-ranging conversation, Merlin detailed her nonlinear career path, her beginnings in research in chronic pain of HIV patients, and her current passion of providing palliative care in addiction treatment settings.

Jessica Merlin, MD, PhD, is a professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, USA. Merlin is a prolific pain researcher who has authored more than 110 original, peer-reviewed articles addressing pain management in populations with substance misuse/use disorder. She is an active clinician, including as co-director of a palliative care program for individuals with serious illness who also have a substance use disorder.

For more from the Pain Research Forum, including other interviews from my fellow PRF-NAPS Correspondents, visit their website: https://www.iasp-pain.org/publications/pain-research-forum/

“Running Towards the Fire”: A Conversation with Jessica Merlin