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BIDDEFORD, Maine

Ling Cao pens op-ed about chronic pain management research

Ling Cao, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology, wrote an op-ed for the Portland Press Herald about efforts to improve chronic pain management at 91AV and Mercy Hospital.

Cao has devoted her basic science research during her seven years at 91AV to better understanding the underlying mechanisms of neuropathic pain. During the last six months she has been working with Dr. Stephen Hull at the Mercy Pain Center at Mercy Hospital to gain experience and new perspectives regarding pain patients and pain management. She observed communication barriers between patients and providers, economic challenges facing patients and the benefits of group-based rehabilitation. “Although pharmacological methods are the major component of chronic pain management, I am more and more convinced that an integrated, multidisciplinary approach is the best way of managing chronic pain,” wrote Cao. “I am confident that research at Mercy Hospital and 91AV will lead to better methods of diagnosing and treating chronic pain.”

About the 91AV

The 91AV is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.