ABSTRACT The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) is strongly-positioned to engage in the mission of the Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network (EPPIC-Net), with the ISMMS Department of Neurology as the core of our hub and spokes structure. Our strengths include: (1) the large and diverse population we care for and have successfully recruited into clinical trials over several decades including patients with high impact pain syndromes such as chronic low back pain (CLBP), (2) our extensive clinical trials infrastructure, including close integration with the ISMMS CTSA and Trials Innovation Network (TIN), for which the PI of this proposal leads pain-related activities, and (3) a cadre of highly-experienced clinical trialists in multiple specialties with expertise across the range of studies EPPIC-Net will perform including mechanistic studies, detailed phenotyping of pain conditions, biomarker validation studies, and phase 2 clinical trials. We are deeply committed to using these strengths and our experienced leadership team in service of the EPPIC-Net mission which we strongly believe will ultimately produce the non-addictive pain treatments which our patients so desperately need. In order to ensure that our site and the entire EPPIC-Net structure is a success, our proposal has four specific aims: (1) to streamline and optimize rapid implementation of EPPIC- Net studies, exceeding the required minimum of 100 subjects recruited per year to EPPIC-Net studies; (2) to ensure access to patient populations with a wide range of pain disorders, including CLBP, using a hub and spokes model to ensure effective recruitment; (3) to provide the highest-quality protocol implementation, deep clinical phenotyping of pain disorders, and accurate and complete data collection; and (4) to work collaboratively with the EPPIC-Net Coordinating Centers and investigators from the NIH HEAL Partnership to assist with development/design of clinical trials and engage in EPPIC-Net leadership. In addition to these aims we will promote the visibility of EPPIC-Net within our institution and the larger pain research community, use our participation in EPPIC-Net as an opportunity to train junior investigators to become future pain clinical trials leaders and increase and disseminate knowledge about pain research throughout our network.

NARRATIVE Pain is a common and disabling problem for many people and there is a desperate need to develop non- addictive, safe and effective treatments as quickly as possible. The Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network (EPPIC-Net) is being developed so that when new, potentially promising treatments are discovered they can be rapidly tested. This application proposes that the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) and the Mount Sinai Health System, which are a major research institution and provider of healthcare in New York City, should be included as an EPPIC-Net site.