Ben Alter

Neuroscience has a species problem If neuroscience is serious about building general principles of brain function, cross-species dialogue must become a core organizing principle.

Nice viewpoint. Certainly relevant in pain research

www.thetransmitter.org/animal-model...

Gabapentin has been an effective medication for many people living with pain. It is particularly helpful for neuropathic pain when used thoughtfully.

Calling all osteoarthritis pain researchers - still a few months until the deadline for our @oacjournal.bsky.social special issue on Pain Mechanisms in Osteoarthritis 👇 #PainResearch #Neuroskyence 🧠 🧪

Join @iasp.bsky.social’s #NeuPSIG and Courtney Bannerman on 18 Feb to discuss Xu et al’s results in @nature.com that mitochondrial transfer from glia to neurons protects against peripheral neuropathy bit.ly/46hu5D2 Register here bit.ly/4tiPRQM #journalclub #PRF

Read more via @PittAnesthesiology:
🔗 www.anesthesiology.pitt.edu/news/dr-ben-...
Thanks to #NIH and collaborators.

#PainResearch #Osteoarthritis #ALTERNEUROLAB

Big news from the lab! 🧠🦵
Honored to receive an NIH HEAL Initiative R01 to investigate whole-person mechanisms in knee osteoarthritis. This work aims to bridge pain science, aging, and systems biology to improve outcomes for millions.

Ben Alter, Rebecca Seal, and Sylvia Lin interacting during Pain Day 2025.

Poster presentations in the Connolly Ballroom at Alumni Hall during Pain Day 2025.

Audience members at Pain Day 2025 during the Q&A session.

Dr. David Julius delivering the Keynote Lecture at Pain Day 2025.

🔬💡 Over 200 researchers came together for the inaugural Pain Day at the University of Pittsburgh - a celebration of cutting-edge research, innovation, and collaboration across Pittsburgh: www.anesthesiology.pitt.edu/news/inaugur...

Graphic featuring a photo of Dr. Keith Vogt and the logos of the University of Pittsburgh Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine and the NCCIH.

Exciting news! 🎉 Our department has received a grant from NCCIH to study how auriculotherapy can relieve chronic low back pain. Led by Dr. Keith Vogt, this cutting-edge research could pave the way for safer, non-opioid pain treatments for pain patients: www.anesthesiology.pitt.edu/news/departm...

Thanks @hstratton.bsky.social for posting about it and being a part of our amazing group of researchers at Pitt tackling the problem of pain.

Online Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for Emotion Dysregulation in Chronic Pain This randomized clinical trial evaluates the efficacy of a hybrid self-directed and therapist-guided therapy for emotional dysregulation in adults with chronic pain.

link to paper: jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

I was excited to hear about a new behavioral treatment for chronic pain developed by researchers in Australia -- dialectical behavior therapy adapted to chronic pain. Thanks to @sutherlandphd.bsky.social for covering this development.

FDA approves first new type of pain medication in 25 years | CNN A new pain relief drug, suzetrigine, is a prescription pill that’s taken every 12 hours after a larger starter dose. It will be sold under the brand name Journavx.

It is accomplished www.cnn.com/2025/01/30/h...

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

The Society for Neuroscience calls for lifting the freeze on federal grants
www.sfn.org/publications...

White House Orders Pause in All Federal Grants and Loans

All Democrats in Congress and the Senate will fight this—it’s illegal. But Republican lawmakers NEED to hear from their constituents! Priority order: call, then email. Be clear about how this will hurt education, the economy, and health! 🧪

www.nytimes.com/live/2025/01...

Just finished my weekly Monday clinic and I want everyone to know that I literally have the nicest patients ever.

Pain Medicine is an underrated specialty- highly recommend 😊

Trump hits NIH with ‘devastating’ freezes on meetings, travel, communications, and hiring Researchers facing “a lot of uncertainty, fear, and panic”

www.science.org/content/arti...

All NIH study sections canceled indefinitely. This will halt science and devastate research budgets in universities.

Translational pain neuroscience focusing on central mechanisms of musculoskeletal pain. #brain #fNIRS #QST #clinicaltrials

A picture of the earth showing the pacific ocean. You can see hawaii and New Zealand. Also the edge of antarctica, australia, and north and south america...but barely.

It’s interesting that the emojis show the earth from three angles 🌎 🌍 🌏 but not the fourth.

Though 🔵 is a fair approximation of what it would look like.

People underestimate the Pacific.

We are hiring ! We are recruiting a scientist that is interested in studying the brain mechanisms supporting cannabis-based analgesia. Reach out for more details and please share

Talk about living your #science! When devotion to #research leaves a permanent mark—definitely filing this under: ‘Do what you love, love what you do!' 💪💚

Me me me! 😁

(Pain Medicine doc + translational neuroscience... UCSF alum, currently at UPitt)