Michelle Failla
Different responses to pain may influence how pain is managed in a clinical setting. Dr. Michelle Failla’s research focuses on understanding the role of social communication in pain responses and management. She is particularly interested in studying pain in populations with differences in social communication, across the lifespan, from autism spectrum disorder to Alzheimer’s Disease. She works to understand how altered neural processing of pain may contribute to differences in expression or experience of pain. She uses a variety of techniques such as psychophysics, neuroimaging, behavioral testing, and big-data approaches to investigate responses to physical pain. Dr. Failla’s work aims to improve pain management for populations where pain communication could potentially impact care.
Dr. Failla earned a B.S. in Biology from Truman State University. She earned her PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Pittsburgh Center for Neuroscience with Dr. Amy Wagner and completed her postdoctoral training at Vanderbilt University Medical Center with Dr. Carissa Cascio in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science.
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Hyeryeong Lee, a first-year PhD student from South Korea, previously worked in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), caring for critically ill children.
The children and nurses in the PICU inspired her. “One particularly memorable moment was when a child who had been hospitalized in the PICU for a long time stopped by the PICU to say hello to us in good health after being discharged. The moment truly supported the impact of our work and brought me joy,” Lee said.
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