Using non-invasive functional neuroimaging techniques such as electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), combined with novel techniques to selectively activate specific classes of nociceptive afferents, the research performed by the team of André Mouraux (IONS/COSY) follows two main axes. First, to understand how the human brain processes nociceptive sensory input and how this leads to the perception of pain. Second, to understand the plastic changes in nociceptive pathways that occur after inflammation, injury or sustained nociceptive input that induce peripheral and central sensitization and may underlie the development of chronic pain in humans.

The main objective of my research is to characterize how transient and sustained pain are represented in the human brain, taking advantage of the high temporal and spatial resolution of intracerebral electroencephalography (iEEG). I am particularly interested in investigating the role of the human insula in nociception and pain perception, as several findings suggest that this brain region plays a crucial role in the integration of sensory, affective, and cognitive dimensions of pain.

The main research interest of the team led by Valery Legrain (IoNS/COSY) is to understand the cognitive mechanisms modulating the link between nociception and the conscious perception of pain, and the neurobiological substrates of these cognitive mechanisms. Three lines of research are developed. First, the group's researchers seek to understand and describe the cognitive factors that help modulate nociceptive responses and pain perception (e.g. selective attention, executive functions, multisensory interaction, and hypnosis). They also study whether cognitive functions could prevent the development of central sensitization to pain. Second, the group studies how pain and the central sensitization it can induce disrupt cognitive functioning (i.e. attention, memory, body and spatial representation). The third line of research aims to understand how pain interacts with other sensory modalities, such as vision and proprioception, in order to mentally represent the peripersonal space and to facilitate reaction against potentially damaging stimuli. These topics are studied in healthy volunteers on experimentally-induced pain as well as in patients suffering from chronic pain (e.g. complex regional pain syndrome, fibromyalgia). Different approaches are used: neurophysiology (EEG, ESG, EMG, ERPs, TMS), psychophysics (threshold measurement, mental chronometry) and neuropsychology (study of patients with sensory-motor or attentional deficits).

My research project involves looking for recurrent TRP ion channel mutations in patients suffering from severe chronic pain, in order to understand whether there is a genetic predisposition to the development of the pain conditions, and to develop personalized therapies to normalize the activity of the mutant channels. To this end, I combine the most advanced state-of-the-art techniques for the biophysical and pharmacological study of ion channels, including electrophysiology, fluorescence spectroscopy, biochemistry, structural modelling. I have also a wide experience in ion channel drug discovery and in the development of genetically modified mouse models for in vivo experiments.

The research group of Prof. Emmanuel Hermans (IONS/CEMO) has a long-standing expertise in the use of animal models to study the neuroinflammation and plastic changes of the central nervous system induced by neurotrauma, and its involvement in the development of neuropathic pain. His laboratory has experience in the production of animal models of neuropathic pain, the techniques used to study the pain behaviour of these animals, and the immune-histological techniques to characterize the glial activation and changes in nociceptive pathways at peripheral, spinal and supra-spinal level.

Anaesthesiologist and pain specialist at the Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc. Head of the Transitional Pain Clinic. Her team studies acute postoperative pain mechanisms and management as well as the prevention of persistent pain after surgery. Member of various scientific societies, past-Chairperson of the Acute and Chronic Pain Scientific Committee of the European Society of Anesthesiology. Involved in the IASP Task Force mandated by the WHO to develop a new pragmatic classification of chronic pain (including chronic post-surgical and post-traumatic pain) to be included in the revised version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD11). Currently collaborates to several international studies supported by European grants.

The chronic pain center of the Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc is a multidisciplinary unit for the assessment and treatment of chronic pain. Headed by Prof. Anne Berquin, it brings together medical specialists in physical medicine and rehabilitation, anesthesiology, neurology, psychiatry, neurosurgery, clinical psychologists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, nurses, and social workers.

The Department of Anaesthesiology of the Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc is involved in several clinical research projects focusing on post-operative pain and its treatment. There are 24 operating rooms at CUSL and, in 2017, a total of 20,338 surgical interventions were carried out. Within the department, the transitional post-surgical pain consultation is headed by Prof. Patricia Lavand’homme.

The Reference Center for Refractory Epilepsy of the Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc is headed by Profs. Susana Ferrao Santos (neurologist and head coordinator of the epilepsy surgery program) and Prof. Riëm El Tahry (neurologist and head of the epileptology research laboratory at IoNS). The unit conducts basic and applied research on the treatment of refractory epilepsy including neurostimulation. The unit also provides access to intracerebral EEG for basic research.

Professor Emeritus.