Pain and Neuroscience

Research

Pain research at McGill is amongst the best in the world, based on a large critical mass of exceptional pain researchers, and on a tradition of outstanding accomplishments in the neurosciences. The legacy of Ron Melzack’s proposal of the gate-control theory of pain in 1965 continues with McGill pain studies appearing in the world’s most influential journals.

Knowledge translation goals

Our research will: (1) help in understanding the physiological basis of a number of unexplained chronic pain conditions, (2) provide new therapies for chronic and acute pain conditions, (3) provide novel animal models for pain conditions such as neuropathic pain, migraine, complex regional pain syndrome, functional abdominal pain, interstitial cystitis, back pain, fibromyalgia and vulvodynia, (4) help explain the influence of genetic, environmental and dietary factors in the development of chronic pain, and (5) understand the influence of psychological factors on pain.

Researchers

	Dr. Luda Diatchenko Pain Genetics Human Molecular Genetics Chronic Pain Conditions
	Dr. Mervyn Gornitsky Facial pain Saliva Scleroderma Xerostomia
	Dr. Richard Hovey Qualitative research Patient centred care Chronic illness Medical Education / Communication
	Dr. Arkady Khoutorsky Dysregulation of translational control and the development of chronic pain Extracellular matrix (ECM) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in the regulation of spinal cord plasticity Dysregulation of integrated stress response (ISR) pathway and pathophysiology of Fragile X syndrome
	Dr. Marc-Olivier Martel Acute pain Chronic pain Prescription opioid misuse & addiction Biopsychosocial factors
	Dr. Carol Meloto Orofacial pain Pain genetics Translational research Randomized clinical trials
	Dr. Laura Stone Chronic pain Low back pain Behavioral pharmacology
	Dr. Étienne Vachon-Presseau Coming soon
	Dr. Ana Velly, Associate Professor, Chair of Orofacial Pain Working Group of the Network for Canadian Oral Health Research (NCOHR) Pain Acute to chronic pain transition Biomarkers Opioids Epidemiology Randomized clinical trials Pharmacoepidemiology Statistical Analysis
	Dr. Ji Zhang Glial cell biology Nervous system Immune response Pain Behaviour

Associate Member/Adjunct Professor

	Dr. Samar Issa Khoury (Research Associate) Genetics (statistical genetics, functional genomics, big data) Pain (orofacial pain, chronic overlapping pain conditions, post-TBI pain) Sleep (genetics, sleep-pain interactions, sleep bruxism)
	Dr. Gilles Lavigne (Adjunct Professor; Associate Member, Université de Montréal) Clinical neurophysiology of sleep and pain Sleep bruxism Psychophysiology of vigilance and pain Orofacial pain and oral medicine
	Dr. Reza Sharif-Naeini (Associate Professor, Department of Physiology & Cell Information Systems Group) Neurophysiology Mechanotransduction Pain and mechanosensory neurons