QEII Awards Administered by RHSE
In 1998, the Ontario government introduced the Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarships in Science and Technology (QEII-GSST), a merit-based scholarship program targeted specifically toward graduate students in science and technology. The QEII-GSST (formerly known as OGSST) program is designed to encourage excellence in graduate studies in science and technology. The program is supported through funds provided by the Province of Ontario and by funds raised by the University of Toronto from the private sector. The province allocates QEII-GSST awards to universities by specifying the number of awards that each university may offer its students annually.
Official award offers will be made by the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) and communicated to awardees starting July 2025. The same application is used for both the 2025-26 Ontario Graduate Scholarships and QEII-GSST. Please read the application instructions carefully and review the FAQs.
CPN Professional Development and Training Award
The 2nd Professional Development & Training Award has now opened. This is an award opportunity that is specific to Trainees and People with Lived Experience within CPN. Deadline to apply is February 21st. See application link below for more details.
Apply here to CPN Professional Development & Training Award
If you have any questions, please contact us at cpn@mcmaster.ca
Upcoming Webinar - Trainee Forum for Enhancing Success in Basic and Translational Pain Research
Trainee Forum for Enhancing Success in Basic and Translational Pain Research
Tuesday, January 21, 2025 4:00 PM EST Register Here!
Join us for an insightful discussion offering advice on obtaining meaningful data, publishing impactful papers, securing research funding, and advancing your career trajectory. This session will have a particular focus on challenges and opportunities for visceral pain researchers, while also addressing broader topics relevant to pain researchers across disciplines. The mentors will share guidance tailored to basic, translational, and clinical research, enriched by their own experiences and professional journeys. Ample Q&A time will be provided for trainees and mentors seeking to enhance their research and career-development paths.Upcoming Webinar:
Trainee Forum for Enhancing Success in Basic and Translational Pain Research
Tuesday, January 21, 2025 4:00 PM EST Register Here!
Upcoming Talk - Vanessa Blackstone
Vanessa Blackstone is a therapist based in Los Angeles and a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. She serves as the Executive Director of the Pain Psychology Centre leading a team of 45 clinicians specializing in chronic pain, neuroplastic pain, and related symptoms. Vanessa has trained hundreds of providers in PRT and is deeply committed to advancing innovative approaches to pain recovery. Vanessa is the co-author of The Pain Reprocessing Therapy Workbook. Book signings will be available at the end of the lecture. Please purchase and bring your copy from retailers.
She is the co-author of The Pain Reprocessing Therapy Workbook, which provides evidence-based tools for patients and clinicians to address chronic pain through the mind-body connection.
Objectives:
1.Understand how PRT applies neuroplasticity to address chronic pain.
2.Gain insights from case studies on diverse symptom presentations and nervous system dynamics. 3.Learn practical strategies for integrating PRT into multidisciplinary care to improve patient outcomes.
- Hosted by the Rehabilitation Pain Service at UHN
- In person only, 550 University Avenue, Lecture theatre, basement of Toronto Rehab Institute.
- Monday, January 27, 2025, 4-5 pm
- SPACES ARE LIMITED. RSVP here!
Upcoming Talk - Luana Colloca
The Krembil Brain Institute (KBI) Neuroscience rounds are excited to welcome Dr. Luana Colloca as our esteemed speaker for our upcoming session. Please join us on Thursday, January 23rd from 8 to 9 am EST.
Dr. Colloca is an MPower Distinguished Professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and the Director of the Placebo Beyond Opinion Center at the University of Maryland School of Nursing. Dr. Colloca has conducted studies on the behavioral, neural, and pharmacological mechanisms of pain modulation related to placebo and nocebo effects. Her lab has also developed an interest in virtual reality as a non-pharmacological approach to relieving pain and other symptoms. She has published in top-ranked international journals, including Biological Psychiatry, Annual Reviews of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Nature Reviews Rheumatology, Pain, Nature Neuroscience, JAMA, The Lancet Neurology, Science, and The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). Her research has been cited over 19,800 times (H-index 64) and has been featured in National Geographic, The New Scientist, The Washington Post, Science Daily, The Boston Globe, The New Yorker, Nature, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, and USA Today. Dr. Colloca has received the Dubner and Patrick Wall awards from the International Association for the Study of Pain and the UMB 2024 Researcher of the Year award, among others. She is committed to science dissemination, including podcasts (one with Jason Alexander of Seinfeld) and a TEDx talk.
Understanding the Impact of Chronic Back Pain: Sara Guilcher in the New York Times
Our colleague Dr. Sara Guilcher was recently interviewed in a significant article examining chronic back pain in society, prompted by recent events in New York involving the CEO UnitedHealthcare. The circumstances are tragic. The coverage has sparked an important conversation about chronic pain and its far-reaching effects.
The article highlights that approximately 16 million adults in the United States experience persistent back pain that interferes with daily activities, making it one of the most common medical challenges and the leading cause of disability worldwide according to the WHO. Similarly, chronic pain affects 1 in 5
The piece emphasizes how chronic back pain can fundamentally affect every aspect of a person's life - from emotional wellbeing and sleep to work and social relationships. It features insights from multiple medical experts, including Dr. Guilcher, discussing the often-overlooked psychological and social impacts of chronic pain conditions.
POR-Mitacs Fellowship
PASSERELLE, SPOR National Training Entity, and Mitacs invite undergraduate, college and graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows from all disciplines to participate in this 2nd edition of the PatientOriented Research (POR)-Mitacs Fellowship Program.
PASSERELLE, SPOR National Training Entity aims to collectively grow, support, and sustain the capacity for a collaborative, interdisciplinary, and innovative patient-oriented research (POR) environment capable of addressing evolving healthcare questions and contributing to enhancing patients’ healthcare experience and well-being. In support of this goal, a POR-Mitacs Fellowship Program was established to provide a mechanism to support projects that integrate the principles of POR and provide fellows with training, networking and mentoring opportunities that foster the development of POR and professional skills that are applicable across diverse career trajectories.
If you are interested in applying, contact your local Mitacs Advisor and PASSERELLE at info@passerelle-nte.ca to learn more or discuss the next steps. The Mitacs Advisor will be able to clarify the application process and requirements. Please see here for more information.
Job Posting - Post Doctoral Researcher - UHN
Dr. Andrea Furlan is hiring a Postdoctoral Researcher to start in January 2025. The successful candidate will work with a multidisciplinary team of clinicians and educators to develop and update materials for guideline implementation. The candidate will gain skills in implementation science, continuing medical education, and the appropriate use of opioids for chronic non-cancer pain. Please see the Job ad here.
#NPAW November 3-9
National Pain Awareness week: November 3-9, 2024
Dear Members,
National Pain Awareness Week (NPAW) is just around the corner, from November 3 - 9, 2024. The University of Toronto Centre for the Study of Pain (UTCSP) and its members are leaders in pain research, education, and knowledge translation, and are championing many of the NPAW events. You can get involved too, by helping to spread the word, attending the UTCSP NPAW talk, and exploring a variety of in-person and virtual events focused on advancing the understanding of pain and the pain experience.
