Massachusetts General Hospital

Instructor of Anesthesia
Research Areas

• The neural mechanism of opioid tolerance and the pain.
• The cellular mechanism of pain and depression.
• Developing chronic pain model in rodents.

Description of ResearchOur long term research interests involve the management of opioid therapy and how alterations in gene expression contribute to the chronic pain.  Our current research focuses on the regulation of gene signal pathway in chronic pain and opioid tolerance using animal models. Exploring the effect of gene expression on the behavioral interaction between pain and opioid tolerance could provide important insights into the role of opioid therapy for chronic pain management and this preclinical research may lead to future clinical studies on opioid tolerance and chronic pain management, promoting new pharmacotherapies that could improve the clinical effectiveness of opioid therapy.

Selected Publications

• Kim H, Chen L, Lim G, Sung B, Wang S, McCabe MF, Rusanescu G, Yang L, Tian Y, Mao J. Brain indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase contributes to the comorbidity of pain and depression. J Clin Invest.; 2012,122(8):2940-54.
• Tian Y, Wang S, Ma Y, Lim G, Kim H, Mao J. Leptin enhances NMDA-induced spinal excitation in rats: functional link between adipocytokine and neuropathic pain. Pain. 2011 Jun;152(6):1263-71
• Lim G, Wang S, Zhang Y, Tian Y, Mao J.  Spinal leptin contributes to the pathogenesis of neuropathic pain in rodents. J Clin Invest. 2009, 119(2):295-304.

Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine

Phone: 617-726-3030

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