Pain: Basic Science

BIOGRAPHY

Academic position:
Assistant Professor

Research interests:
Cellular and molecular processes through which nociceptors respond to painful force, heat, cold and chemicals

Any other information:
Our goal is to clarify the cellular and molecular processes through which nociceptors respond to painful force, heat, cold and chemicals. We record the physiological responses of identified nociceptors and use immunocytochemical techniques to define specific sub-populations of pain-sensing neurons. These functional techniques are used to analyze knockout mice, transgenic mice and animal models of painful conditions such as peripheral inflammation, nerve injury and diabetic neuropathy. Our unique combination of functional, cellular and molecular techniques allows us to identify the receptors and ion channels and intracellular signaling pathways that underlie the pain that occurs with injury and disease. We hope to determine neural targets that can be used for development of novel pain therapies that have fewer side effects.