Collecting human nerve tissue to study chronic pain
Human Tissue Procurement and Processing Core
This project collects and processes nerve and ganglia tissue from donors and people with chronic pain so researchers can learn how pain works in humans.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Brigham and Women's Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11163267 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
From the patient's perspective, the team obtains dorsal root ganglia, trigeminal ganglia, and sciatic nerve tissue through an established rapid autopsy program and from consenting chronic pain patients. All collections are done with informed consent under an IRB-approved protocol and the Core has already collected samples from more than 25 donors. The tissue is processed quickly and prepared for single-nucleus genomics and physiology experiments to identify human-specific pain cells and molecular signals. The Core provides these high-quality samples to researchers working to translate findings into new pain treatments.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are people with chronic neuropathic pain who are willing to provide informed consent for tissue donation, including post-mortem donation coordinated with the hospital program.
Not a fit: Patients seeking immediate treatment or those without chronic neuropathic pain are unlikely to receive direct, personal medical benefit from participating in this tissue-procurement effort.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal human-specific pain targets that lead to safer, more effective therapies for chronic pain.
How similar studies have performed: Similar efforts have begun successfully processing human dorsal root ganglia for single-nucleus genomic assays, but translating those discoveries into treatments is still at an early stage.
Where this research is happening
Boston, United States
- Brigham and Women's Hospital — Boston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Eberlin, Kyle — Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Study coordinator: Eberlin, Kyle
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.