Jessica Merlin, MD
University of Pittsburgh

Dr. Merlin is an Associate Professor in the division of General Internal Medicine and section of Palliative Care and Medical Ethics at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) and Director of Pitt’s CHAllenges in Managing and Preventing Pain (CHAMPP) clinical research center. She is a physician and is board certified in internal medicine, infectious disease, palliative care, and addiction medicine. She is also a PhD-trained behavioral scientist and NIH-funded clinician-investigator. Her program of research focuses on the intersection of chronic pain and opioid misuse/use disorder across populations and settings, especially in individuals with serious illnesses like advanced cancer. To that end, she is the MPI of the NIH-funded Tailored Retention and Engagement for Equitable Treatment of Opioid use disorder and Pain (TREETOP) clinical research center, one of four NIH-funded centers focusing on the intersection of pain and opioid use disorder in the US, and the MPI of an R01 to investigate opioid benefits, risks, and decision making in individuals with advanced cancer. Her work in this area is widely published, and she serves as a scientific mentor to many PhD students, post-doctoral fellows, and faculty with similar interests. Clinically, she co-directs the Palliative Recovery Engagement Program, a palliative care clinic embedded in an office-based addiction treatment program, where she sees patients with serious illness, particularly advanced cancer, who also have pain and opioid misuse/use disorder. She has been recognized nationally with a Sojourn Scholars Leadership Award from the Cambia Health Foundation, and with research awards American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, American Pain Society, and Association for Multidisciplinary Education and Research in Substance use and Addiction. She was recently awarded the 2022 Society of General Internal Medicine Mid-Career Research Mentorship award.