Professor
Northwestern University
Chicago, Illinois, United States
The past 35 years of my life have been devoted to unraveling brain mechanisms that underlie acute and chronic pain and, more generally, how the brain dynamically processes information that gives rise to perception. I have used brain imaging technology to delineate brain biomarkers of chronic pain. These efforts have been quite successful, and our work has resulted in many significant advances in the field of pain research: the first identification of grey matter atrophy related to chronic pain, the first account of brain activity unique to spontaneous fluctuations of chronic pain, the first characterization of resting-state brain network abnormalities in chronic pain populations, the first determination of mesocorticolimbic biomarkers predicting future chronic pain, the first parallel human-rodent neuroimaging of the transition to chronic pain, the first demonstration that hippocampal synaptic plasticity and neurogenesis are critical for neuropathic pain, the first identification of brain biomarkers for placebo response propensity, and more. These observations have been replicated across multiple international laboratories. With over 37,000 citations, my h index is 85 and my work has been continuously funded by 6 NIH institutes (NINDS, NIDCR, NIDDK, NCCIH, NIDA, NIAMS) for > 2 decades.
Mechanisms of Cortical and Subcortical Plasticity in Chronic Pain
Saturday, January 24, 2026
8:05 AM - 8:20 AM PST
Panel Discussion and Audience Q&A with Speakers
Saturday, January 24, 2026
8:35 AM - 8:50 AM PST