Harvard Precision Center for Human Chronic Pain
Harvard PRECISION Human Pain Center
Using advanced single-cell and tissue methods to map pain-sensing cells and improve understanding of chronic pain for people, including those with phantom limb pain.
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-11163242 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers will collect high-quality human pain-related tissue and clinical information from people with chronic pain, including those with painful neuromas after amputation. They will apply single-cell gene and multi-omic technologies plus spatial transcriptomics to identify human nociceptor subtypes and how gene patterns vary across people and conditions. The Center includes dedicated cores for tissue procurement, cutting-edge laboratory assays, data integration and sharing, and coordination across the PRECISION Human Pain Network. The resulting datasets will be made available to guide future treatments and clinical trials.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are adults with chronic, localized pain—especially people with painful neuromas or phantom limb pain—who are willing to provide tissue samples or clinical data.
Not a fit: People with generalized pain from systemic illnesses that do not involve local nociceptors, or those unable or unwilling to donate tissue or travel to the study site, may not receive direct benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal human-specific pain targets and help develop more effective, personalized treatments for chronic pain.
How similar studies have performed: Early single-cell studies of human sensory tissue have shown important differences from animal models, but translating these findings into new treatments remains an emerging effort.
Where this research is happening
Boston, United States
- Brigham and Women's Hospital — Boston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Renthal, William Russell — Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Study coordinator: Renthal, William Russell
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.