We wish to investigate the role of a specific gene in visceral pain sensation and perception. This gene, Nav1.8 has a known change present in 10% of the population which may affect the way we feel inflammatory pain in the gut. This is an important symptom in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Some patients feel high levels of pain we would like to control, other patients feel little to no pain in the presence of very active disease, which can lead to dangerously under-treated disease. In this study, we will use healthy volunteers as well as IBD patients, and test their sensitivity using rectal balloon dilation. Research subjects will be asked to fast, skipping solid foods and opaque liquids for 6 hours before the testing. Usually this means skipping 1 meal. At the beginning of the study visit. they will use an over the counter enema to clear their rectum of any stool. Healthy control subjects that have never had a colonoscopy before and all IBD patients will undergo a very brief proctoscopy to either verify rectal health or check for any IBD disease activity. Healthy controls that have had a prior colonoscopy within the last 5 years will skip that prior step. Then a trained physician on the research team will insert a thin, lubricated tube into the rectum, which will be inflated to specific pressures. Most of these tests will be designed to measure any change in sensation, then the need to use the toilet, followed by urgent need or discomfort, and lastly the lower threshold of pain. Test subjects will be able to stop testing at any time, should they become too uncomfortable. The testing takes between 1 and 1 and a half hours, and volunteers are compensated $200 for their time.

To simulate abdominal pain, we use a thin tube placed in the rectum that inflates a small balloon to very precise and safe pressures. Our bodies interpret these pressures (in ascending order) as the need to go to the bathroom; first just a little, then with increasing urgency and eventually discomfort and pain. During these experiments, we only measure the lower threshold of pain, and stop immediately when you tell us to stop. We have significant experience using this approach and we have found it consistently informative while causing the least amount of discomfort possible. The whole thing takes about an hour and we’re paying volunteers $200 for participating. We'll ask that you skip a meal before the study visit, and perform an over-the-counter enema at the start of the visit.

$200

The objective of the study is to evaluate the condition of the patellar tendon with Ultrasound imaging. Ultrasound imaging will be explored as an accessible and non-invasive imaging modality to quantify tendon parameters (length, thickness, width, and neovascularization). Participants will sign informed consent and participate in an imaging session that will last approximately two hours. If the Ultrasound measurements prove feasible, they will provide insight into the biomechanical and biological mechanisms that contribute to tendon injury. It is important to understand how these parameters change among patients and healthy individuals with varying degrees of activity levels.

There will be one ultrasound session that will last approximately 2 hours. Ultrasound imaging will be performed at 342 Leonhard Building.

$20 gift card

This is a survey and interview study recruiting patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). Participants will answer questionnaires and complete a remote interview about health care experiences, pain, and discrimination. Natural language processing of interview transcripts will be used to quantify linguistic features indicative of subjective associations between individual experiences of racial discrimination and sickle cell pain.

Participants will be asked to fill out questionnaires and answer questions during an interview.

$50

Menthol, capsaicin, and camphor are active ingredients often found in over-the-counter pain relief creams and gels. These ingredients typically work by interacting with certain receptors in the skin that are sensitive to temperature changes. There is limited information on how combining menthol with other substances that target similar receptors affects the body. These naturally occurring substances found in plants can widen small blood vessels in the skin through specific processes controlled by nerves in the skin. This study aims to understand how menthol, camphor, and capsaicin individually and together affect sensory function and blood flow in the skin. Additionally, as people age, their skin's nerve and blood vessel function tends to decrease. The study also seeks to explore how aging impacts the effects of these substances on sensory perception and how nerves and blood vessels work together in the skin.

There will be a screening visit and then 6 experiment visits where different topical analgesics will be applied to the forearm skin. We will measure skin blood flow.

240

This study is recruiting ONLY Medical and Nursing students. The study examines how these trainees assess pain during simulated patient interactions. Participants will watch videos of patients experiencing different levels of pain while undergoing functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to monitor brain activity. The goal is to explore the neurological and behavioral processes involved in clinical decision-making

Participants (ONLY Medical and Nursing students) will complete pre-visit questionnaires at home, engage in simulated clinical interactions during a single fMRI session, and fill out post-visit questionnaires immediately after the MRI task. This study is designed to assess their clinical decision-making in response to pain scenarios.

55$/ hour + $150 commute from Hershey

This study is trying to understand more about factors that cause pain in people who have had experiences of discrimination.

2 in-person visits 3-4 hours each plus at-home online questionnaires In-person visits will involve: 1. Sensory and pain testing 2. Physical function testing 3. Blood draw 4. MRI scan 5. Questionnaires

Up to $250