91AV COM students win first and second place for poster presentations at regional pain conference

Liem Nguyen, Seth Butler, Ling Cao and Charlotte Barker at the Eastern Pain Association's annual meeting
Liem Nguyen, Seth Butler, Ling Cao and Charlotte Barker at the Eastern Pain Association's annual meeting

91AV College of Osteopathic Medicine students recently presented two research projects at the Eastern Pain Association’s annual meeting in New York.

Charlotte Barker (’21) and Danielle Sultan (’21) won first place for their poster. Their retrospective chart review study demonstrated the effectiveness of an interprofessional and multidisciplinary approach to chronic pain management. The treatment approach is offered through the Living Life Well Program offered at the Mercy Pain Clinic in Portland.

Sultan could not attend the meeting. Barker made the presentation by herself.

Seth Butler (’21) and Liem Nguyen (’21) won second place for their poster featuring a new method to assess pain sensitivity in chronic pain patients versus people without pain.

They found that the use of a blood pressure cuff to measure pain sensitivity in non-chronic pain sufferers to be an accurate measurement of pain; however, the same test was not proven to be an effective tool for the predication of pain in chronic pain patients.

Both projects were done in collaboration with Stephen Hull, M.D., director of the Mercy Pain Center, and under the guidance of Ling Cao, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences. 

“We believe engaging students in research activities is the best way to train our health professions students to become leaders in practicing evidence-based medicine,” Cao stated. “Clinical partners are critical in this training process.”

The annual meeting is a regional, scientific gathering aimed at connecting multidisciplinary health professionals and researchers in the field of pain with the latest clinical and scientific information.

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.