Plenary VII

Despite major advances in pain science, children and adolescents with chronic pain continue to face limited access to effective, personalized care. Dr. Simons will present a roadmap for reimagining pediatric pain care that integrates mechanistic insight with patient-centered innovation. Drawing on findings from multisite trials, neuroimaging studies, and biomarker discovery efforts such as the SPRINT and TRAC-Pain initiatives, she will highlight how biological, psychological, and social mechanisms interact to shape pain trajectories. She share emerging evidence on how precision interventions—such as graded exposure therapy tailored by response—can improve outcomes by targeting fear, function, and resilience. Finally, she will discuss how youth and family partnership, digital tools, and real-world data can accelerate the translation of mechanistic discoveries into scalable solutions that meet the needs of diverse pediatric populations.