Research News

Faculty Awarded NIH Grant to Study Pain Signaling Mechanisms

Congratulations to Drs. Christopher Donnelly and Shad Smith on receiving a $2,132,329 grant to discover new insights into the divergent pathophysiological mechanisms of chronic pain and its associated comorbidities in males and females.

Dr. Acker Awarded NIH Grant for HIPPIE Study

Congratulations to Leah Acker, MD, PhD, on receiving a $322,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to investigate the role of the aging brain-heart-immune axis in postoperative delirium.

Dr. Smith Awarded NIH Grant to Study TMD Therapies

Congratulations to Shad Smith, PhD, on receiving a $402,487 grant from the National Institutes of Health for his project that uses single-cell omics approaches to develop new therapies for chronic pain disorders, such as temporomandibular disorders.

Dr. Wischmeyer Awarded DoD Grant to Improve Trauma Care

Congratulations to Paul Wischmeyer, MD, EDIC, FASPEN, FCCM, on being awarded a $2,203,452 Department of Defense grant for his study that aims to improve the quality of life for both military and civilian survivors of trauma.

Dr. Donnelly Awarded NIH Grant for Cancer Pain Research

Congratulations to Christopher Donnelly, DDS, PhD, on receiving a $3,311,196 R01 grant for his project that aims to refine the use of STING pathway agonists as a therapeutic treatment for cancer pain through neuro-immune signaling.

Dr. Gasier Awarded Naval Research Grant

Congratulations to Heath Gasier, PhD, on receiving an $844,714 grant to determine how hyperbaric oxygen and the neurotransmitter, GABA, influence repeated exposure-sensitivity to oxidative tissue injury.

Dr. Acker Earns Neuroscience Research Accolade

Congratulations to Leah Acker, MD, PhD, on being named the 2022 recipient of the William L. Young Neuroscience Research Award for her project that focuses on electroencephalography changes in anxious older adults awaiting surgery.