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Researcher | Research Overview

After receiving a Master in molecular and cellular neuroscience, I performed a Ph.D. in pain physiology in the University of Paris VI (Pierre et Marie Curie, UPMC). In 2008, I joined Clifford’s lab where I have been studying the neural plasticity caused by peripheral nerve injury. I am very interested by the changes occurring in the sensory system upon nerve damage: how the neurons attempt to regenerate; the maladaptive changes that can lead to neuropathic pain and the physiological consequences of chronic pain symptoms. My research focus on three main topics:

 

  • Understand the mechanisms driving the regeneration of sensory neurons after peripheral nerve injury, with an emphasis on assessing functional recovery. I am using a combination of imaging, genetic and behavioral tools to determine how different sensory modalities recover after peripheral nerve injury.
  • Identify the factors responsible for the development of neuropathic pain after peripheral injury and develop strategies to alleviate pain hypersensitivity. My effort focuses on the role tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) in neuropathic pain.
  • Determine how chronic pain affects sleep architecture and vice-versa if sleep disturbances can worsen neuropathic pain symptoms and be a risk factor for developing chronic pain. In collaboration with Chloe Alexandre at BIDMC, we are monitoring sleep using EEG/EMG recordings in various transgenic mouse lines after peripheral nerve injury.
     

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Video commentary of Latremoliere et al., 2015 (Neuron 86; 6; 1393-1406)