My career goal is to identify brain mechanisms involved in the chronicity of painful Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD). I expect that this knowledge will support the development of improved diagnostic and prognostic markers to be used in individualized preventive and treatment strategies, leading to reduced health care costs and better quality of life for patients.

To achieve this goal, I employ a systems neuroscience approach using diverse methods such as psychophysics – including quantitative sensory testing (QST) and endogenous pain modulation (EPM) testing - and multi-modal neuroimaging to comprehensively assess somatosensory function and its related brain mechanisms in patients suffering from orofacial pain (OFP) conditions, with a focus on chronic TMD pain.