Commentary: Dennis D. Drotar Distinguished Research Award: Innovations in pediatric chronic pain research.

Abstract

It is an honor to receive the Dennis D. Drotar Distinguished Research Award from the Society of Pediatric Psychology (SPP). It is a privilege to be recognized by my colleagues in SPP for my scholarship in the field. But, perhaps more importantly, this award has a very special personal meaning to me because it is named as a tribute to my own mentor who helped launch my career in pediatric psychology. At the 2014 SPP annual conference in Philadelphia, I presented an award address chronicling the coming of age of pediatric chronic pain research over the course of my career. In this commentary, I continue with this theme by discussing highlights from my training and early career that were influential in shaping innovation in my program of research in pediatric chronic pain over the past two decades. First, I discuss my early introduction to pediatric pain, interdisciplinary research, and intervention research that provided essential core preparation and background for my research career. Second, I focus on developing innovative research in my early career including responding to key opportunities and societal advances. Third, I provide perspective on sustaining a research program and staying innovative over the course of one’s career. Although pediatric pain is the focus of my research program, the examples can be generalized to other areas of pediatric psychology research.