The Task Force’s main goal was to create a structure to welcome IASP early career members and support their career development.
In 2023, the Task Force created the Early Career Network (ECN) with the support of IASP leadership and staff, thus ending the task force’s mission.
The mission of the ECN is to support, advance, and promote the unique needs of early career members, ultimately preparing them to be future leaders of IASP and pain research.
Prior Task Force Activities:
- Advocating and Governance: This subcommittee (led by Marie-Eve Hoeppli, Jane Chalmers, Tory Madden, Daniela Rosenberger, Natasha Trehan, Lindsey Yessick, and Hadas Nahman-Averbuch) was in charge of advocating for Early Career member needs within IASP. The subcommittee discussed with IASP leadership and the CoC the importance of increasing the representation of Early Career members in IASP committees and leadership. The committee learned the barriers to including Early Career members in IASP committees and aimed to address them. Following the efforts of this subcommittee, Hadas Nahman-Averbuch was invited to join the IASP Committee on Committees as the Early Career representative and, together with Task Force/ECN members, has been working with IASP leaders to include at least one Early Career member on each committee/task force. The subcommittee was also in charge of proposing the new structure for Early Career members within IASP. This resulted in a draft of the bylaws that the IASP leadership approved and was the basis of the ECN.
- Organizing Activities for Early Career Members: This subcommittee (led by Lizbeth Ayoub, Lydia Coxon, Hadas Nahman-Averbuch, YV Raghava Neelapala, and Katleho Limakatso) organized specific activities designated for Early Career members at the 2022 world congress. These activities included meeting established IASP researchers and a panel and Q+A discussion on IASP grants targeted for Early Careers. This subcommittee worked closely with the local organizing committee and IASP staff.
- Social Media: This subcommittee (led by Hemakumar Devan and Rocío de la Vega) built the Task Force website, maintained a Twitter presence informing members of the Task Force activities, and opened the IASP Early Career email account.