Dr. Nelson and the PASS lab team are broadly interested in the psychological and neurobiological correlates of psychological stress as it relates to chronic pain and pain-related impairment. Current studies are funded via internal (Boston Children's Hospital) and external (National Institutes of Health) mechanisms and aim to examine salivary and brain-based mechanisms of stress in chronic widespread pain, the conceptualization of chronic pain as a source of toxic stress, and the application of stress-based non-pharmacological intervention to pediatric pain. In addition to these studies, the PASS lab team holds active collaborations with national and internal pain researchers in related areas, and a passion for researching disparities in healthcare and pain-related stress in underrepresented populations, specifically minoritized youth and their families.