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/

Science can be found everywhere, even in your favorite board games, books, and video games! In this fun-filled episode of In Plain English, I sat down with James Reed of Science Night, Maura Lydon of Her Dark Ministrations, and Max Wolslegel to discuss the science concepts embedded in our favorite nerdy hobbies!

Want to be on the podcast? We are looking for both expert and layperson guests for our upcoming episodes! Click here or email inplainenglishpod@gmail.com to get in touch!

In Plain English now has a Discord server! Join ⁠⁠here ⁠⁠to chat with other listeners, past experts, and guests about science, suggest new episode topics, and more!

Remember to follow In Plain English on ⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠to keep up with the latest announcements! If you are able, please consider ⁠⁠becoming a Patron⁠⁠ to help support In Plain English!

And check out our ⁠⁠Where to Listen⁠⁠ page to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform!

Intro/Outro music credit: Sam Brunwasser (⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/visualsnowbeats⁠⁠)

Logo credit: Biographics (Jessica Higginbotham, Tania Lintz, and Yolanda Campos Jurado)

Image Credit: NimoStar on DeviantArt

In April 2024, I attended the conference for the United States Association for the Study of Pain (USASP) in Seattle, Washington. This episode is the sixth in a series of interviews I conducted there, and features research on endogenous opioids - opioids that your brain makes - and the connection between pain and alcohol use disorder.

View the posters here: https://inplainenglishpod.org/2024/07/16/season-3-episode-23-interviews-in-pain-research-part-6/

Interview 1: Kathryn Braden, a postdoctoral fellow at Washington University, on how brainstem opioids affect pain sensation.

Interview 2: Yolanda Campos Jurado, a postdoctoral fellow at Washington University, on the connection between chronic pain and alcohol use disorder.

In Plain English has a Discord server! Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to chat with other listeners, past experts, and guests about science, suggest new episode topics, and more!

Remember to follow In Plain English on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to keep up with the latest announcements! If you are able, please consider ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠becoming a Patron⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to help support In Plain English!

And check out our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to Listen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ page to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform!

Intro/Outro music credit: Sam Brunwasser (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/visualsnowbeats⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

Logo Credit: BioGraphics (biographicsco@gmail.com)

Scientific rigor is an incredibly important topic...but what does rigor actually mean? And how can we create communities where rigor is the norm? Join Konrad Kording, Kaela Singleton, Arjun Raj, and me for the first ever In Plain English live show, where we discuss these issues and more!

Kaela Singleton is a Black, Samoan, Queer neuroscientist who founded the nonprofit Black in Neuro and directs the organization's Grants Management department. She completed her PhD in neuroscience at Georgetown and did a postdoc at Emory University.

Arjun Raj is a professor of Bioengineering and Genetics at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to developing new imaging techniques, his lab has a strong focus on science communication and open source resources. He also runs a blog discussing issues in scientific rigor and reproducibility.

Konrad Kording is a Professor of Psychology at UPenn and the team lead for Community for Rigor. His lab uses computational approaches to study the brain.

View on the website: https://inplainenglishpod.org/2024/07/02/season-3-episode-22-rigor-in-plain-english-live/

In Plain English now has a Discord server! Join ⁠⁠here ⁠⁠to chat with other listeners, past experts, and guests about science, suggest new episode topics, and more!

Remember to follow In Plain English on ⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠to keep up with the latest announcements! If you are able, please consider ⁠⁠becoming a Patron⁠⁠ to help support In Plain English!

And check out our ⁠⁠Where to Listen⁠⁠ page to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform!

Intro/Outro music credit: Sam Brunwasser (⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/visualsnowbeats⁠⁠)

Logo credit: Biographics (Jessica Higginbotham, Tania Lintz, and Yolanda Campos Jurado)

In April 2024, I attended the conference for the United States Association for the Study of Pain (USASP) in Seattle, Washington. This episode is the fifth in a series of interviews I conducted there, and features novel animal models for studying back pain, innovative research into diabetic nerve pain using human tissue, and early studies into the link between facial pain and nervous system dysregulation.

View the posters: https://inplainenglishpod.org/2024/06/18/season-3-episode-21-interviews-in-pain-research-part-5/

Interview 1: Aleyah Goins, a PhD student at the University of New Mexico, on a new mouse model for studying the role of the immune system in low back pain.

Interview 2: Ishwarya Sankaranarayanan, a postdoctoral fellow at UT Dallas, on how human tissue from organ donors can help us understand the underlying causes of diabetic nerve pain.

Interview 3: Hong Chen, an assistant professor at Ohio State University, on the connection between facial pain and nervous system dysfunction.

In Plain English has a Discord server! Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to chat with other listeners, past experts, and guests about science, suggest new episode topics, and more!

Remember to follow In Plain English on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to keep up with the latest announcements! If you are able, please consider ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠becoming a Patron⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to help support In Plain English!

And check out our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to Listen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ page to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform!

Intro/Outro music credit: Sam Brunwasser (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/visualsnowbeats⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

Logo Credit: BioGraphics (biographicsco@gmail.com)

In April 2024, I attended the conference for the United States Association for the Study of Pain (USASP) in Seattle, Washington. This episode is the fourth in a series of interviews I conducted there, and features research on the role of gene regulation in chronic pain, the intersection of HIV, sleep, and pain, and rates of opioid use disorder treatment among veterans.

Link to RSVP to the In Plain English Live Show tomorrow: https://bit.ly/3WDmdbd?r=qr

See the posters on the website: https://inplainenglishpod.org/2024/06/11/season-3-episode-20-interviews-in-pain-research-part-4/

Interview 1: Nathaniel Hernandez, a PhD candidate at Duke University, on the role of gene regulation in chronic primary pain syndromes like migraine headaches or fibromyalgia.

Interview 2: Shannon Gilstrap, a PhD student at the University of Alabama Birmingham, on the intersection between HIV, sleep, and chronic pain.

Interview 3: Jessica Wyse, a researcher at Oregon Health and Sciences University, on how previous use of opioids to treat chronic pain affects rates of medication treatment for opioid use disorder.

In Plain English has a Discord server! Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to chat with other listeners, past experts, and guests about science, suggest new episode topics, and more!

Remember to follow In Plain English on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to keep up with the latest announcements! If you are able, please consider ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠becoming a Patron⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to help support In Plain English!

And check out our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to Listen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ page to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform!

Intro/Outro music credit: Sam Brunwasser (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/visualsnowbeats⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

Logo Credit: BioGraphics (biographicsco@gmail.com)

In autoimmune disease, your own immune system turns against you. But advances in immunology research reveal a promising new kind of treatment: targeting rogue immune cells with...other immune cells! In this episode, expert Clarice Pavlak and guests Johari Hunt and Andrew Holder discuss how this treatment, called CAR-T cells, works, the wide range of diseases it could treat, and the benefits and drawbacks of personalized medicine.

Download the paper: https://inplainenglishpod.org/2024/06/04/season-3-episode-19-personalized-therapy-for-autoimmune-diseases/

Come see the In Plain English live show on June 12th! RSVP here: https://bit.ly/3WDmdbd?r=qr

In Plain English now has a Discord server! Join ⁠⁠here ⁠⁠to chat with other listeners, past experts, and guests about science, suggest new episode topics, and more!

Remember to follow In Plain English on ⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠to keep up with the latest announcements! If you are able, please consider ⁠⁠becoming a Patron⁠⁠ to help support In Plain English!

And check out our ⁠⁠Where to Listen⁠⁠ page to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform!

Intro/Outro music credit: Sam Brunwasser (⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/visualsnowbeats⁠⁠)

Logo credit: Biographics (Jessica Higginbotham, Tania Lintz, and Yolanda Campos Jurado)

In April 2024, I attended the conference for the United States Association for the Study of Pain (USASP) in Seattle, Washington. This episode is the third in a series of interviews I conducted there, and features research on Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, understanding arthritis using an "organ-on-a-chip", and how autoimmune diseases cause chronic pain.

See the posters here: inplainenglishpod.org/2024/05/21/season-3-episode-18-interviews-in-pain-research-part-3/

Interview 1: Amy Nippert, a researcher at Stanford, on the role of non-neuronal brain cells called astrocytes in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.

Interview 2: Matias Preisegger, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pittsburgh, on developing a joint-on-a-chip to study osteoarthritis.

Interview 3: Lubya Salih, a graduate student at St. Louis University, on how antibodies in autoimmune diseases cause chronic pain.

In Plain English has a Discord server! Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to chat with other listeners, past experts, and guests about science, suggest new episode topics, and more!

Remember to follow In Plain English on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠to keep up with the latest announcements! If you are able, please consider ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠becoming a Patron⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to help support In Plain English!

And check out our ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Where to Listen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ page to subscribe to our podcast on your favorite platform!

Intro/Outro music credit: Sam Brunwasser (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/visualsnowbeats⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)