Mayday Fellows
The Mayday Pain & Society Fellowship: Communicating Science & Improving Care
About the Fellowship
The MAYDAY Fund has long encouraged pain experts to assume public leadership roles to help end human suffering from pain through public discourse about research, best practices in care and policy. From 2004 to 2015, this public engagement and leadership training was provided through the “Mayday Pain & Society Fellowship: A Media and Policy Initiative,” which provided 60 Fellows with communication and public outreach skills. This initiative was based on the belief that experts would increase their effectiveness in advancing the field of pain management and ensuring better care for patients by enhancing their communication skills.
Building on this experience, The MAYDAY Fund is launching a new Fellowship in 2018 to build the next generation of pain experts who can provide evidence-based and solutions-focused information about pain care and treatment, as well as promising research emerging in the field.
The new Fellowship will provide a three-day communication workshop in Washington, D.C., for clinicians and researchers based in the United States or Canada who are passionate about improving pain care and who are dedicated to building communications skills and strategies aimed to reduce human suffering from acute and chronic pain. The Fund will seek applicants working on research and evidence-based approaches to advance what is known about pain and how to best care for it. Targeted work might include: sharing critical research on the science of pain and on emerging evidence-based treatments, fixes to how pain is addressed in the health care system, training for frontline clinicians, sharing critical research on the science of pain and on emerging evidence-based treatments, and on addressing the disparities in care.
The application criteria and Fellowship requirements are included in the application below.
Training & Coaching
The 2025-2026 Mayday Fellows will participate in a three-day training workshop held in Washington, D.C., from Sunday, November 2nd, through Wednesday, November 5th, 2025. Following the workshop, each Fellow will receive five hours of coaching support from a member of the coaching faculty at Burness to identify communications activities that they will complete within one year of the training.
There are no tuition costs. All travel, seminars, and communications coaching will be covered by The MAYDAY Fund.
Apply Now
The Mayday Fellowship is no longer accepting applications for 2025-2026. Please check back for more information about future application periods.
View the press release announcing the 2025-26 Mayday Fellows here.
Mayday Fellows
2025-26 Mayday Fellows
Chen X. Chen, PhD, RN, MBBS, FAAN
Professor & Sorensen Endowed Professor, University of Arizona College of Nursing
Rena “Liz” Courtney, PhD
Program Director, PREVAIL Center for Chronic Pain, Salem VA Health Care System; Faculty, VISN 6 MIRECC; Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Yenisel Cruz-Almeida, PhD
Professor, Department of Community Dentistry and Behavioral Science (College of Dentistry) and Department of Behavioral Sciences, Neuroscience and Epidemiology (College of Medicine), University of Florida; Associate Director, Pain Research & Intervention Center of Excellence
Natoshia R. Cunningham, PhD
Associate Professor, Pediatric Psychologist, Department of Family Medicine, Michigan State University
Jennifer Daly-Cyr
Co-host of the Action on Pain podcast; Board member, Pain Ontario; Person with Lived Pain Experience
Tori Etheridge, B.kin., MPT
Provincial Clinical Lead of Initiatives and Innovation for Pain Care BC; Clinical Assistant Professor, University of British Columbia
Burel Goodin, PhD
Professor of Anesthesiology, Washington University in St. Louis; President of the U.S. Association for the Study of Pain
Simon Haroutounian, PhD, MSc.Pharm
Professor of Anesthesiology, Chief, Division of Clinical and Translational Research, Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University School of Medicine; Chief of Clinical Research, Washington University Pain Center
Lisa LaRowe, PhD
Director of Pain and Symptom Research, Center for Optimal Aging and Serious Illness, Massachusetts General Hospital; Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Justina Marianayagam
Pediatrics Resident Physician, University of British Columbia, BC Children’s Hospital; Co-Chair of the Governance Council, Solutions for Kids in Pain
Gabrielle Pagé, PhD, Rpsych
Associate Professor, Université de Montréal; Principal Scientist, Research Center of the Centre hospitalier de l’Universtié de Montréal
Emily Wakefield, PsyD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Connecticut Children’s & University of Connecticut School of Medicine
2024-25 Mayday Fellows
Mark Bicket, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan; Co-Director, Overdose Prevention Engagement Network
Rachael Bosma, PhD
Co-Director, University of Toronto Centre for the Study of Pain, Research Lead, Women’s College Hospital; Chair of the Board of Directors, Pain Ontario
Michael Burton, PhD
Eugene McDermott Distinguished Associate Professor, The University of Texas at Dallas
Beth Darnall, PhD
Professor, Stanford University School of Medicine; Director, Stanford Pain Relief Innovations Lab
Salman Hirani, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Division of Pain Medicine; Director of Innovation and Board of Directors, American Academy of Pain Medicine
Lisa Isaac, MD
Staff Anesthesiologist, Department of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, Hospital for Sick Children; Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
Abirami Kandasamy, PhD, C. Psych, MA
Co-Lead, Pediatric Pain Program; Adjunct Clinical Professor Children’s Hospital, London Health Sciences, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University
Rajesh Khanna, PhD, MSc
Richard and Thelma O.C. Barney Term Professor of Pharmacology & Therapeutics; Director, Pain and Addiction Therapeutics (PATH) Collaboratory, University of Florida
Karim Ladha, MD, MSc
Evelyn Bateman Recipe Chair in Ambulatory Anesthesia and Women’s Health, Women’s College Hospital; Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Toronto
Laura Simons, PhD
Professor of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine (Pediatric), Stanford University Medical School
Jaris Swidrovich, BSP, PharmD, PhD
Assistant Professor and Indigenous Engagement Lead, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto
Zina Trost, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A & M University
Past Fellows
You can view a complete list of past Fellows here.
Advisory Committee
A multi-disciplinary Advisory Committee, comprising leaders working in the United States and Canada, will evaluate applicants with a clear passion for communicating evidence-based pain management strategies or research on basic and translational science to address pain. The Committee seeks those who want to bring their expertise to bear on public discourse, policy discussions, or in support of more research to improve knowledge about and access to pain treatment. The Advisory Committee is selected by the staff of the Mayday Fund in consultation with staff at Burness. Burness is responsible for the recruitment, selection and management of the Fellowship. The Advisory Committee is responsible for the selection of Fellows, and the staff and Board of the Mayday Fund do not weigh in on the selection of Fellows.
Advisory Committee For 2025-2026 Fellowship:
Samina Ali, MD
Professor, Pediatrics & Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta; Chair, Pediatric Emergency Research Canada (PERC); Western Canada Hub Lead, Solutions for Kids in Pain (SKIP); Research Director, Pediatric Emergency Medicine, University of Alberta; 2019 Mayday Fellow
Christine Chambers, PhD, RPsych
Professor, Departments of Psychology & Neuroscience and Pediatrics, Dalhousie University; Scientific Director, Solutions for Kids in Pain (SKIP); 2012 Mayday Fellow
Hance Clarke, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine and Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto; President, Canadian Pain Society; Staff Anesthesiologist, Director Pain Services Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network; Canada Research Chair – Chronic Pain, Mental Health & Substance Use; 2019 Mayday Fellow
Renee C.B. Manworren, PhD, APRN, FAAN
Elizabeth C. Poster Endowed Professor and PhD Program Director, College of Nursing and Health Innovation, The University of Texas at Arlington; 2012 Mayday Fellow
Linda Porter, PhD
Former Director, Office of Pain Policy and Planning, National Institutes of Health; Co-chair, Federal Pain Research Strategy and National Pain Strategy, Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee, National Institutes of Health
Gregory Terman, MD, PhD
Professor, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine and the Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Washington; 2011 Mayday Fellow
Erin Y. Young, PhD
Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology, Pain and Perioperative Medicine; Director, Clinician Scientist and Research Track; Medical Student Research Liaison; Department of Anesthesiology, University of Kansas Medical Center; 2019 Mayday Fellow