PPSG Staff

Jody P. Moen, BA
Communications Coordinator
Pain & Policy Studies Group

Jody Moen has been the Communications Coordinator for the Pain & Policy Studies Group since 2001. In her position, Ms. Moen acts as liaison for the PPSG communications team, managing dissemination of information via the PPSG website, Facebook, blog, Twitter and through email communications to large U.S. and international audiences.

Ms. Moen assists with coordination of the PPSG's International Pain Policy Fellowship program and also operates as a faculty member for the current 2008 Fellows from Jamaica and Guatemala by assisting with action plans to address barriers to opioid access and by providing technical assistance. (more)

New PPSG staff member!
Marty Skemp Brown, MBA-HCA Policy Analyst Pain & Policy Studies Group Marty Skemp Brown is a Policy Analyst and Grants Manager at the Pain & Policy Studies Group (PPSG), located within the Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Ms. Skemp Brown joined the PPSG full time in August 2011 but has been working in the pain field for 13 years. (more)

		James F. Cleary, MD, FRCAP, FAChPM. Director, Pain & Policy Studies Group Director, WHO Collaborating Center for Pain Policy and Palliative Care Associate Professor of Medicine (Division of Hematology/Oncology) Director of Palliative Care Program Program Leader of Cancer Control Program University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center After receiving his medical degree from the University of Adelaide Medical School, South Australia, Dr. Cleary did his Internal Medicine Residency and Oncology fellowship at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and three years of research in opioid pharmacology at the University of Adelaide. He moved to the University of Wisconsin in 1994, where he has developed global ties in Palliative Care. (more)

Aaron M. Gilson, MS, MSSW, PhD Research Program Manager Pain & Policy Studies Group Aaron M. Gilson is Research Program Manager at the Pain & Policy Studies Group (PPSG), a division of the Carbone Cancer Center at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. The mission of the PPSG is to improve policies that affect pain management for people with cancer and other chronic conditions. This work is accomplished through a program of policy research, education, and communications. (more)

		Karen M. Ryan, MA Policy Program Manager Pain & Policy Studies Group Karen Ryan is Policy Program Manager at the Pain & Policy Studies Group (PPSG), located within the Carbone Cancer Center at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Ms. Ryan has been working in the pain field for 15 years, first with the Pain Research Group in the Department of Neurology, and then subsequently with the PPSG in the Carbone Cancer Center. (more)

David Joranson, MSSW Founder, Distinguished Scientist Pain & Policy Studies Group David Joranson recently retired as Director of the Pain & Policy Studies Group (PPSG) and continues work on special projects. David came to the pain field from a career in administration of controlled substances policy and diversion control programs. He co-founded the National Association of State Controlled Substances Authorities and the Wisconsin Cancer Pain Initiative, and helped to design a White House Conference on prescription drug misuse, abuse and diversion. As a drug regulator, he became concerned about the regulatory environment for use of essential medications to relieve cancer pain. (more)

		Martha Maurer, MSSW, MPH, PhD Assistant Scientist Pain & Policy Studies Group Martha Maurer, Assistant Scientist, has been working with the Pain & Policy Studies Group (PPSG) for 12 years. She has had experience working with both the U.S. and International Programs. Dr. Maurer’s experience with the U.S. Program at the PPSG has involved policy analysis, evaluation and being a member of a team that performs content analyses of policies and integrates the results into an historical policy context. She was instrumental in developing several editions of “Achieving Balance in Federal & State Pain Policy,” reports which have been used by healthcare professionals and state policy-makers to improve their policy environment related to pain management. She was also involved in producing a report that summarized policy data in an effort to rank states according to their pain policy environments. Currently, Dr. Maurer continues her involvement with the U.S. Program as part of the research team evaluating changes in state pain policies over the last decade.(more)

Asra Husain, JD, MA Policy Researcher Pain & Policy Studies Group Asra Husain, J.D., M.A., is a Policy Researcher at the Pain & Policy Studies Group (PPSG)/WHO Collaborating Center (WHOCC) for Pain Policy and Palliative Care, a division of the Carbone Cancer Center at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. She has worked on policy issues ranging from immigration to health care access to opioid availability and accessibility for eight years. At PPSG, Ms. Husain is involved in efforts to promote the medical use of opioid medications for both pain treatment and opioid substitution therapy. She is a member of the team offering technical assistance to the PPSG International Pain Policy Fellows and others regarding pain policy internationally through workshops and conferences. (more)

		Jody P. Moen, BA Communications Coordinator Pain & Policy Studies Group Jody Moen has been the Communications Coordinator for the Pain & Policy Studies Group since 2001. In her position, Ms. Moen acts as liaison for the PPSG communications team, managing dissemination of information via the PPSG website, Facebook, blog, Twitter and through email communications to large U.S. and international audiences. Ms. Moen assists with coordination of the PPSG's International Pain Policy Fellowship program and also operates as a faculty member for the current 2008 Fellows from Jamaica and Guatemala by assisting with action plans to address barriers to opioid access and by providing technical assistance. (more)