The bony skeleton is one of the most common sites of metastatic spread of cancer and a signific...ant source of morbidity in cancer patients, causing pain and pathological fracture, impaired ambulatory ability and poorer quality of life.

In our continuous investigation of the mechanism of metastasis in spine tumors and of developing animal models and treatments, our team seeks to understand how cancer cells metastasize to the bony spine.

Our laboratory develops novel techniques to evaluate our animal models of metastatic spine disease. view more

Research in the Steven Cohen Lab focuses on pain—including fibromyalgia and neuropathic pain—wi...th many studies investigating the causes and treatment of injuries among U.S. soldiers related to these topics. view more

Research in the Steven Levin Lab focuses on chemical neurolysis, epiduroscopy (and training for... physicians), opioid administration, and the use of alternative therapies for pain management. In collaboration with the American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics and with funding from a Donahue Foundation Grant, we study social and ethical considerations in pain management. We have also been involved in clinical trials of novel analgesics. view more

The studies of the Functional Neurosurgery Lab currently test whether neural activity related t...o the experimental vigilance and conditioned expectation toward pain can be described by interrelated networks in the brain. These two psychological dimensions play an important role in chronic pain syndromes, but their neuroscience is poorly understood. Our studies of spike trains and LFPs utilize an anatomically focused platform with high temporal resolution, which complements fMRI studies surveying the whole brain at lower resolution. This platform to analyze the oscillatory power of structures in the brain, and functional connections (interactions and synchrony and causal interactions) between these structures based upon signals recorded directly from the waking human brain during surgery for epilepsy and movement disorders, e.g. tremor. Our studies have demonstrated that behaviors related to vigilance and expectation are related to electrical signals from the cortex and subcortical structures.

These projects are based upon the combined expertise of Dr. Nathan Crone in recordings and clinical management of the patients studied; Dr. Anna Korzeniewska in the analyses of signals recorded from the brain; Drs. Claudia Campbell, Luana Colloca and Rick Gracely in the clinical psychology and cognitive neurology of the expectation of pain and chronic pain; Dr. Joel Greenspan in quantitative sensory testing; and Dr. Martin Lindquist in the statistical techniques. Dr. Lenz has conducted studies of this type for more than thirty years with continuous NIH funding. view more

Five to 35 percent of spine fusionprocedures fail, even when using the gold standard treatment ...of grafting bone from the patient's own iliac crest. Fusion failure, otherwise known as pseudoarthrosis, is a major cause of failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) and results in significant pain and disability, increasing the need for additional procedures and driving up health care costs. The ultimate goal of the Spinal Fusion Laboratory is to eliminate pseudoarthrosis by using animal models to study various strategies for improving spinal fusion outcomes, including delivery of various growth factors and biological agents; stem cell therapies and tissue engineering approaches. view more

Research is the Yun Guan Lab explores the peripheral, spinal and supraspinal mechanisms of chro...nic pain. Our long-term goal is to develop better strategies and novel targets for treatment of pathological pain conditions. Our team’s multidisciplinary research uses electrophysiological, molecular biological, immunocytochemical and behavioral pharmacological approaches to study neurobiological mechanisms of pain and hyperalgesia that occur following tissue or nerve injury. view more