Giving Voice to Women’s Health: Chen named Mayday Fellow to improve pain care

The College of Nursing proudly announces that Chen X. Chen, PhD, RN, MBBS, FAAN, Gladys E. Sorensen Endowed Professor and CHaT Center Director, has been selected as one of only 12 experts for the Mayday Fund’s prestigious 2025–2026 Mayday Pain & Society Fellowship: Communicating Science & Improving Care. Chen, the only nurse scientist selected for this year’s fellowship, joins an esteemed group of fellows from across the U.S. and Canada, chosen from a competitive pool of 43 applicants. The fellowship provides top pain researchers and clinicians with advanced training in communication and advocacy, helping them translate scientific discoveries into improved patient care.

For Chen, the fellowship is a valuable opportunity to advance her career mission: transforming how dysmenorrhea (menstrual pain) is understood and treated. Despite being a common women’s health condition, dysmenorrhea is often ignored. “This silence,” Chen says, “has serious consequences; it limits research, reduces treatment options, and perpetuates stigma.” By enhancing her communication skills for sharing research with the public, Chen aims to raise public awareness of dysmenorrhea and advocate for increased funding and improved care.

“Dr. Chen’s selection as a Mayday Fellow is a tremendous honor for her and our college,” said Brian Ahn, PhD, dean of the College of Nursing. “Her groundbreaking work on dysmenorrhea exemplifies the kind of innovative, impactful research that changes lives. This fellowship will amplify her voice as both a scientist and an advocate, advancing our shared mission to improve health and well-being through nursing science.”

Chen has dedicated her career to studying dysmenorrhea. Recognizing its prevalence and its potential to increase the risk for other chronic pain conditions, she has challenged the historical dismissal of dysmenorrhea by the scientific and clinical communities. Her work focuses on measuring the effects of dysmenorrhea, uncovering its mechanisms, and improving management strategies. Her goal is to promote person-centered and equitable care for dysmenorrhea, ultimately improving quality of life and reducing future pain risks. 

Through the fellowship, Chen also aims to develop evidence-based resources that support dysmenorrhea management and make reliable information more accessible and engaging. “I hope to strengthen my ability to engage the public, media, and healthcare professionals to raise awareness about dysmenorrhea with accurate, science-based knowledge. My research has revealed strong public interest in learning about menstrual pain,” she explains, “yet misinformation remains widespread.”

Chen will attend a three-day communications workshop in Washington, D.C., this November to learn strategies for communicating science, engaging policymakers, and advocating for improvements in pain care. After the workshop, she will receive one-on-one coaching to support her advocacy goals, focusing on sharing research on pain and treatments, improving pain care in health systems, enhancing clinician training, and reducing disparities in pain care across populations.

Mentorship is another area where Chen intends to use her fellowship experience. She has mentored many students across nursing, biomedical science, public health, psychology, computer science, informatics, and engineering, helping them develop research ideas, analyze data critically, and communicate their findings effectively. By enhancing her science communication skills, she aims to share these insights with her students. “I want to motivate and empower them to engage the public with their scientific work,” says Chen. “I hope that, by engaging the public more effectively as scientists, people will come to see research not merely as an academic pursuit, but as a powerful tool for societal good.”

The Mayday Fund has encouraged pain experts to take on public leadership roles to alleviate human suffering from pain through research and policy reform. From 2004 to 2015, it trained 60 fellows in public engagement. Believing that effective communication enhances advocacy, the Fund relaunched the fellowship in 2018 to cultivate a new generation of pain experts. Since then, over 48 additional fellows have joined the program. Chen now joins a network of over 108 fellows from a range of fields. “These advocates and leaders are pushing the boundaries of how we understand and treat pain,” the Mayday Fund notes.

Chen’s selection as a Mayday Fellow highlights both the urgency of her research and her dedication to changing how dysmenorrhea is understood, treated, and discussed. This fellowship will not only help her expand the impact of her work but also inspire a new generation of researchers and clinicians to challenge stigma, promote equity, and ensure that the voices of those living with pain are heard.