Congratulations to Tyler Nelson, a Neurobiology PhD student working in the research lab of Bradley K. Taylor, PhD, who has been awarded an F31 fellowship award from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health for his project “Neuropeptide Y1 Receptor-Expressing Neurons in the Dorsal Horn and Neuropathic Pain.” Neuropathic pain is a form of chronic pain caused by a lesion or disease of the somatosensory system that affects millions of individuals worldwide. Imbalances between excitatory and inhibitory signaling within the dorsal horn of the spinal cord have been heavily implicated in the development, maintenance, and progression of neuropathic pain. Tyler’s study will use next-generation synapse quantification, electrophysiology, and cutting edge in vivo optogenetics to determine whether neuropathic injury increases the excitability of a distinct population of dorsal horn interneurons (those that contain the type 1 receptor for neuropeptide Y), ultimately leading to neuropathic pain.