The Journey to Pain Research
As an undergraduate student at Illinois College, Burel Goodin, Ph.D., was drawn to both biology and psychology. He majored in the former and minored in the latter and, along the way, uncovered fascinating points of intersection between the two disciplines.
“I started to inquire more about fields of study and potential job opportunities that really brought together biology and psychology,” said Goodin.
After earning a B.S. in Biology, Goodin sought out graduate programs that would offer him opportunities to research topics that touched both fields of study. Over time, he found his way to pain science and pain research.
“Ultimately, I landed at mental health with an emphasis on neuroscience… and [eventually] pain. It was a natural fit—I found it fascinating,” said Goodin. “You can’t make pain go away. It serves an adaptive purpose. The chronic aspect—you want to try make that go away or make it more manageable.”
As he dug deeper into chronic pain, his research uncovered troubling disparities. According to Goodin, “the prevalence rates of developing a chronic pain condition are often equal across racial groups.” That said, often, the burden disproportionality impacts minoritized and minority communities. Goodin was concerned by these findings and was determined to figure out his role as a scientist in the field.
“I wanted to understand and better characterize how disparities come about and how they manifest,” said Goodin.
While researching disparities in pain science, Goodin identified a set of concerning findings related to determinants. Specifically, he identified social determinants that created barriers—especially financial barriers—for minority and minoritized communities seeking continued access to care providers for chronic pain. Social issues—particularly racism, sexism, and agism—manifest these treatment disparities, says Goodin.
Building a Career at UAB
Goodin continued his pain research through a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Florida and, near the end of that fellowship, he accepted a position at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2012.
“I was impressed… by the vision of the Department of Psychology,” said Goodin. “They were trying to increase their thumbprint with pain science and also moving into the intersection of pain and addiction science.”
After arriving at UAB, Goodin identified a vast landscape of new interdisciplinary resources and partners across the campus. He embraced these opportunities and, eventually, became the co-director for the Center for Addiction and Pain Prevention and Intervention (CAPPI) alongside Karen Cropsey, Psy.D., professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology in the Heersink School of Medicine.
A Call to Action
In recent years, Goodin has turned his attention to the conduct of pain research—specifically, the ways in which language within the field can perpetuate racist ideologies. It’s not enough to be non-racist, says Goodin. Instead, more emphasis needs to be placed on anti-racism.
“To be anti-racist is it to be actively against racism and trying to do things to draw attention to it and to have difficult conversations [about it]. If it’s making people uncomfortable, then that’s how I know we’re doing it right,” said Goodin.
His commitment to action is clear in a series of three new papers that the Journal of Pain published earlier this year. The name of the first manuscript communicates a powerful message that reflects Goodin’s priorities: “Confronting Racism in Pain Research: A Call to Action.”
“The first paper is really a call-to-action—this is what’s been going on, this is why it’s troubling, and we want folks to do better,” said Goodin. “[Also], we want it to be a blueprint for other fields beyond pain.”
In total, numerous co-authors from across the globe came together to contribute insights and research to the three manuscripts, including two additional faculty members from UAB: Calia Morias, Psy.D., assistant professor in the Department of Medicine, and Edwin Aroke, Ph.D., associate professor in the School of Nursing. For Goodin, this interdisciplinary collaboration is essential to the effort of making pain research more equitable.
When summarizing the research, Goodin seems particularly passionate about the paper entitled, “Confronting Racism in all Forms of Pain Research: A Shared Commitment for Engagement, Diversity, and Dissemination.” Through this paper, Goodin and his co-authors advocate for expanding the number of seats at the table in the field of pain research and inviting more people to that table.
“How do we engage those in the field, as well as the communities that our field represents and that we care about,” said Goodin. “How do we make it more inclusive?”
So, moving forward, Goodin and his colleagues plan to prioritize these questions, especially when developing outreach efforts and designing studies (which is the focus of the third paper). Simply stated, representation matters, says Goodin.
For those who are interested in exploring all three manuscripts, you can access them by visiting the following links:
