About

I am always most proud of the accomplishments of my trainees because it means that I’ve instilled in them an enthusiasm for research and have taught them a thing or two along the way. 

My Research

The primary goal of our lab’s research is to improve our understanding of the underlying mechanisms driving the development of chronic pain following trauma exposure and to use this understanding to develop novel therapeutics that prevent the transition from acute to chronic pain in men and women trauma survivors. Secondarily, we are interested in identifying clinical risk prediction tools that identify high-risk individuals early after traumatic stress exposure to target them for interventions. We work towards these goals using both the analysis of longitudinal observational human cohort studies and back-translational studies in animal models, molecular, and cell culture studies. We are also performing our first randomized clinical trial testing whether a new therapeutic strategy that was identified via translational studies in our lab is effective at preventing chronic pain development following traumatic stress exposure. We have a lively, motivated, and excited group of trainees making it all possible and are always eager to meet new faces!