Research
Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine
Jacques E. Chelly, MD, PhD, MBA
The Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine’s mission is to develop research and educational programs leading to the implementation of clinical innovation initiatives to integrate complementary and alternative medicine patient care with a special emphasis on pain.
NIH Specialized Clinical Trials Center
Ajay D. Wasan, MD, MSc
Dr. Wasan’s work, which has benefited significantly from funding through the NIH HEAL Initiative Program, involves several clinical trials in chronic pain and the development of better medical informatics tools to guide treatment decision making in chronic pain management.
Neuroscience Studies
Benedict Alter, MD, PhD
Dr. Alter's research explores how the brain modulates pain and how endogenous pain dampening systems can be systematically leveraged for novel pain therapies.
Receptor Engineering, Non-Opioid Analgesic Development, and Drug Mechanisms
Yan Xu, PhD
The research in Dr. Xu's laboratory focuses on receptor engineering, development of new non-opioid analgesics, design of new therapeutic strategies to treat neuronal injuries during and after global cerebral ischemia, and the mechanisms underlying the actions of low-affinity neurological drugs such as general anesthetics and alcohols.
Transition of Acute Pain to Chronic Pain
Bradley K. Taylor, PhD
Dr. Taylor’s laboratory investigates the mechanisms through which inflammation or injury produces changes in the peripheral nerves, spinal cord, and brain, leading to a transition from acute pain to chronic pain.