Elizabeth Leimer, MD, PhD, a T32 Postdoctoral Scholar and Clinical Assistant Professor in our department, has been awarded a Mentored Research Training Grant (MRTG) from the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER).
Dr. Leimer’s project, “Brainstem Mechanisms in a New Model of Chronic Low Back Pain,” will investigate how specific brainstem circuits may contribute to the development and persistence of chronic low back pain (cLBP), a condition affecting over 600 million people globally and the leading cause of years lived with disability.
The study will leverage a recently developed and clinically relevant model of lumbar spine instability that replicates key features of spinal degeneration and pain. Dr. Leimer’s research will focus on the rostral ventral medulla (RVM), a critical brainstem region involved in pain modulation, and its mu-opioid receptor (MOR)-expressing neurons. Her work will assess whether activity in these neurons is required to initiate and sustain pain behaviors associated with chronic spinal degeneration. The project also aims to clarify how the timing and severity of spinal degeneration relate to changes in behavioral and neuronal markers of pain.
By integrating advanced chemogenetic tools and behavioral analyses, this research seeks to uncover novel mechanisms of chronic pain and inform future non-opioid therapeutic strategies.
Congratulations to Dr. Leimer!