Papers of the Week

Ronald Dubner (1934-2023) was a “giant” in the field of pain. His more than 5 decades of research programs at the US National Institutes of Health and the University of Maryland resulted in important discoveries that considerably advanced our understanding of the neural and nonneural processes underlying acute and chronic pain and their behavioral and clinical correlates. Through his multidisciplinary and translational research approaches, his novel findings as well as his training as a dentist and neuroscientist, Ron was able to bring to the attention of the pain field the clinical implications of these findings and thereby positively influence the clinical management of pain. Also especially notable were his mentorship of numerous pain scientists and clinicians, many of whom went on to develop their own research programs that significantly benefitted the pain field. Ron also played leadership roles in the International Association for the Study of Pain and other scientific organizations, and his editorial positions for the Pain journal significantly and positively influenced the journal’s stature and its impact on the pain field. This article, which is part of the journal’s series this year that is celebrating its 50th anniversary, highlights Ron’s research and related activities during his years at the National Institutes of Health and University of Maryland and includes comments that Ron himself made about these activities. The article also considers his background and personal attributes that underpinned the many contributions that Ron Dubner made to the pain field, including those to the International Association for the Study of Pain and Pain.