Department of Medicine
Faculty Profiles by Division

Division of General Internal Medicine

Faculty Profiles
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photo Jessica S. Merlin, MD, PhD, MBA

General Internal Medicine

Professor of Medicine with Tenure

Associate Program Director for Research, Internal Medicine Residency

Director, Challenges in Managing and Preventing Pain (CHAMPP) Clinical Research Center

Email: merlinjs@upmc.edu
Contact
 
E-mail: merlinjs@upmc.edu
Education and Training
Education
BS, Biology with an additional major in History and Policy, Carnegie Mellon University, 2000
MD, University of Pennsylvania, 2005
MBA, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 2005
PhD, Health Behavior, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2017
Training
Residency, Internal Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 2008
Fellowship, Infectious Diseases, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 2010
Fellowship, Palliative Care, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, 2011
Research Interest
Dr. Merlin is an infectious diseases and palliative care physician and an Associate Professor in General Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt). Dr. Merlin is an independent NIH-funded clinician-investigator. In 2018 she completed an NIH K23 career development award to develop and test a behavioral intervention for chronic pain in patients with HIV during which she also received her PhD in health behavior, and was then awarded an R01 to test its efficacy and mechanisms. She is a national research and thought leader in the field of chronic pain in people living with HIV, and also has active programs of research in opioid misuse and opioid use disorder in patients with serious illness and medical cannabis. She has held several prominent national leadership positions; currently, she is a board member-at-large for the Association of Medical Education and Research in Substance Abuse (AMERSA), and was the founding co-chair of the American Pain Society (APS) primary care shared interest group from 2014-2019. She has been recognized nationally for her work with three Young Investigator awards from AMERSA, APS, and the American Association of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM), and as an Inspirational Leader Under 40 Award by AAHPM. She is an active scientific mentor to trainees at the doctoral, post-doctoral, and junior faculty level, as is the Director of Mentoring for Pitt’s Institute for Clinical Research Education as well as the Associate Program Director for Research for Pitt’s Internal Medicine residency and incoming director of the GIM research fellowship.
Clinical Interest
Dr. Merlin is a physician and is board certified in internal medicine, infectious disease, palliative care, and addiction medicine, and runs a pain and palliative care clinic embedded in an HIV patient-centered medical home. Her clinical interest is in chronic pain in people living with HIV (PLWH) and other medically and psychiatrically complex patient populations. While on faculty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) from 2011-2017, she developed and ran the HIV Pain/Palliative Care clinic, which was embedded UAB's HIV Patient Centered Medical Home. This multidisciplinary clinic included a nurse practitioner, nurse, social worker, physical therapist, and pharmacist, and a total of 24 palliative care fellows in chronic pain care during her tenure. At Pitt, she leads the pain clinic at the Pittsburgh AIDS Center for Treatment (PACT) started by Dr. Bob Arnold.

Dr. Merlin also attends for one month per year on the inpatient general medicine service.
Educational Interest
Dr. Merlin is an active scientific mentor to trainees at the doctoral, post-doctoral, and junior faculty level, and is the Director of Mentoring for Pitt's Institute for Clinical Research Education as well as the Associate Program Director for Research for Pitt's Internal Medicine residency and incoming director of the General Internal Medicine research fellowship. She lectures to medical students, residents, fellows, and other physicians about chronic pain in primary care, and in patients with medical and psychiatric comorbidities. She is a frequent lecturer at the International AIDS Society-USA, AIDS Education and Training Center, and Ryan White conferences around the US.
Publications
For my complete bibliography, Click Here.
Selected Publications:
Ho, J., Jones, K. F., Sager, Z., Neale, K., Childers, J. W., Loggers, E., Merlin, J. S. Barriers to Buprenorphine Prescribing for Opioid Use Disorder in Hospice and Palliative Care. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2022; 64(2): 119-127.
Fitzgerald Jones, K., Khodyakov, D., Arnold, R., Bulls, H., Dao, E., Kapo, J., Meier, D., Paice, J., Liebschutz, J., Ritchie, C., Merlin, J. Consensus-Based Guidance on Opioid Management in Individuals With Advanced Cancer-Related Pain and Opioid Misuse or Use Disorder. JAMA Oncol. 2022; 8(8): 1107-1114.
Merlin, J. S., Althouse, A., Feldman, R., Arnsten, J. H., Bulls, H. W., Liebschutz, J. M., Nugent, S. M., Orris, S. R., Rohac, R., Starrels, J. L., Morasco, B. J., Kansagara, D. Analysis of State Cannabis Laws and Dispensary Staff Recommendations to Adults Purchasing Medical Cannabis. JAMA Netw Open. 2021; 4(9): e2124511.
Merlin, J. S., Kohdyakov, D., Arnold, R., Bulls, H. W., Dao, E., Kapo, J., King, C., Meier, D., Paice, J., Ritchie, C., Liebschutz, J. M. Expert Panel Consensus on Management of Advanced Cancer-Related Pain in Individuals With Opioid Use Disorder. JAMA Netw Open. 2021; 4(12): e2139968.
Sponsored Research/Activities
Title: Consensus-based algorithms to address opioid misuse behaviors among individuals prescribed long-term opioid therapy: developing implementation strategies and pilot testing
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding Agency: National Agency for Drug Abuse
Grant Number: R34 DA050004
Start Year: 2020
End Year: 2023
Title: Consensus-based approaches to managing opioids, including opioid misuse and addiction, in ambulatory palliative care: development and dissemination
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding Agency: Cambia Health Foundation
Grant Number: RES
Start Year: 2019
End Year: 2021
Title: Evaluation of the Efficacy and Mechanism of a Novel Intervention for Chronic Pain Tailored to People Living with HIV
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding Agency: National Institute of Mental Health
Grant Number: R01 MH115754
Start Year: 2018
End Year: 2023
Title: Determinants and outcomes of nicotine metabolism ratio in HIV + Smokers
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding Agency: University of Pennsylvania / National Heart, Lung, & Blood Institute
Grant Number: R01 HL151292
Start Year: 2020
End Year: 2023
Title: Appalachian Node
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding Agency: National Agency for Drug Abuse
Grant Number: UG1 DA049436
Start Year: 2019
End Year: 2024
Title: Spinal Manipulation and Patient Self-Management to Prevent Acute to Chronic Back Pain (PACBACK)
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding Agency: University of Minnesota/ National Institute of Health
Grant Number: R01 AT008769
Start Year: 2019
End Year: 2022
Notable Achievements
Young Investigator Award, American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, 2011
Hospice and Palliative Medicine Inspirational Leader Under 40, American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, 2014
Sojourns Scholar, Cambia Health Foundation, 2019
Mid-Career Research Mentorship Award, Society of General Internal Medicine, 2022
Director's Award for Mentorship, Helping to End Addiction Long-Term (HEAL)
John S. Liebeskind Early Career Scholar Award, American Pain Society
New Investigator Award, Association for Multidisciplinary Education and Research in Substance Use and Addiction (AMERSA)

Division Websites

Cardiology

Endocrinology and Metabolism

Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition

General Internal Medicine

Geriatric Medicine
Hematology/Oncology

Infectious Diseases

Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine

Renal-Electrolyte

Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology

Contact

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