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BIDDEFORD, Maine

Glenn Stevenson receives $366,000 NIH grant to investigate ways to enhance the effects of pain medications

Glenn W. Stevenson, Ph.D., UNE associate professor of psychology has received an NIH R15 renewal grant to evaluate and develop novel opioid compounds for the treatment of pain. The grant allows Stevenson’s lab to continue working to develop new ways to enhance the pain-relieving effects of prescription drugs like morphine and oxycontin, while simultaneously investigating ways to minimize side effects like respiratory depression and addiction.

The R15 mechanism is an Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) grant program at the National Institutes of Health that supports faculty at undergraduate institutions who are engaged in meritorious biomedical and behavioral research platforms, with the goal of exposing undergraduates to biomedical research.

The aims of the grant are to utilize mathematical pharmacology to (1) evaluate delta/mu opioid receptor interactions in novel assays of osteoarthritis pain-depressed behavior that were developed during the parent grant cycle (2007-2010), and to (2) evaluate delta/mu opioid receptor interactions on bone/joint pathology using state-of-the-art in vivo imaging technology.

This second round of funding to the Stevenson lab comes at a very difficult time for investigators as funding rates are at 12-16% for NIH. Drastic budget cuts to the NIH resulted in the agency losing $1.5 billion in funding this past fiscal year, and this loss was reflected in the agency cutting award monies for all funded grants. As a result of these budget cuts in Washington, Stevenson’s initial award of $416,000 was reduced to $366,000.

Stevenson, principal investigator of the grant, says, “We’ll be using novel behavioral strategies and high-tech imaging to determine optimum fixed-ratio mixtures of delta/mu drugs with the aim of producing synergistic pain-relieving effects with decreased side effects. The funding also ensures several more years of intensive experiential learning for my undergraduate students.”

The renewal grant enables Stevenson and his research team, including five undergraduate research assistants: Katherine Cone (Neuroscience/Med Bio, ’15), Phillip Atherton (Nursing, ’15), Emily Warner (Neuroscience, ’16), Rebecca Krivitsky (Neuroscience, ’16) and Travis Pitre (Neuroscience, ’16) to investigate the proposed aims outlined above.

Dr. Stevenson’s research broadly focuses on methods development, medications development, pain and addiction. Past NIH-funded projects characterized interactions among osteoarthritis, exercise and drug treatment, and evaluated addiction potential of novel delta opioid compounds for the treatment of pain. Following a 20-year career in the luxury hotel business, and a 10-year career as a professional musician in Boston, Stevenson joined the UNE faculty in 2005. He is currently the coordinator for the Neuroscience major, and is a member of the faculty of UNE’s Center for Excellence in the Neurosciences.

About the University of New England

The University of New England 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 flexible, accredited online degrees. 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.