September 25 - 26, 2025 • National Institutes of Health • Bethesda, Maryland
Advancing Outcome Measure Development and Translational Relevance
Since 2017, Pain in Animals Workshops (PAW) have been held every other year in partnership with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to bring individuals together who are working to better understand pain in animals and humans.
The Pain in Animals Workshop (PAW) meetings are held every other year in partnership with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), bringing key stakeholders together to better understand pain in animals and humans. The 2-day workshop will be held on Sept 25-26th and is open to academia, government, and industry experts in human and animal pain assessment, as well as analgesic intervention development.
Across varied topics, the primary goal of PAW is to bring together researchers, clinicians, academics, and regulatory and industry personnel from both human and animal pain assessment and analgesic backgrounds. Once together, these individuals can exchange and discuss information that will improve measurement of pain in animals, so facilitating the development of effective therapeutics in both animals and humans. Animal models, especially non-rodent models and naturally occurring diseases in animals, have great potential to enhance and improve the success of translational research and the development of pain therapeutics for humans. This will only be realized if we advance the measurement of pain in animals.
The 2025 Pain in Animals Workshop (PAW) on Sept 25th and 26th (Thursday/Friday) is a 2-day workshop that will focus on exploring and discussing these topics:
1. Current Perspectives: Non-rodent models
This topic will discuss the current view of non-rodent models from the NIH perspective, as well as showcase recent NIH funded/ongoing programs involving non-rodent models. This is a timely topic, as there is an increased number of Requests for Applications (RFAs) from the NIH specifically embracing the idea of non-rodent models. Therefore, it is critical to discuss current views on the successes and challenges of these studies so any necessary adaptations can be made to optimize their contribution to translational research. The insight generated will also benefit researchers considering the use of a comparative cross-species approach in their research.
2. Artificial Intelligence applied to the measurement of pain
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has, and will, infiltrate every aspect of our lives, as well as our research endeavors. There is interest in the application of AI to the assessment of pain. However, pain is inherently difficult to measure, and therefore AI does not immediately offer greater insight. This session will discuss the application of AI to the measurement of pain specifically and will discuss the type and quality of data needed (common data elements) to move the field forward. Tangible examples of the application of AI to the measurement of pain will be presented and discussed.
3. Evolutionary clues to pain mechanisms and novel measures
Responses to painful stimuli are similar across the animal kingdom. Many organisms have adapted their responses and physiology to survive in particular environmental conditions. The range of neurobiological complexity, the specific adaptions and the varied behavioral responses provide clues for understanding pain mechanisms and novel approaches to the measurement of pain across the species. These aspects will be discussed.
4. Breed, Race and Gender differences in pain sensitivity (perceptions and reality)
Across species there are strong perceptions about laboratory strain, breed, race and gender influences on pain sensitivity, as well as potential real differences. This session will explore these perceptions and differences, making attendees aware of these aspects and how they may affect translational pain research, as well as the use of analgesics in the clinical setting.
Workshop Output: following the presentations and discussion, summary communications will be written and submitted for publication.
Registration is for an in person only meeting at NIH campus
This meeting is being supported by the NIH, NINDS, and The Mayday Fund (https://maydayfund.org/), with additional support from the Comparative Pain Research and Education Center at NC State (https://cvm.ncsu.edu/cprec/)