Luana Colloca, MD, PhD, MS

Luana Colloca, MD, PhD, MS
  • Professor
    Pain and Translational Symptom Science
  • Director, Placebo Beyond Opinions Center
    Pain and Translational Symptom Science

MPower Professor
University of Maryland, Baltimore

Adjunct Professor
Department of Anesthesiology (School of Medicine)

Location:
Room 733, School of Nursing Building
Phone:
410-706-8244
Email:
Personal Website

Education

  • MD, Neurophysiology, University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro School of Medicine
  • PhD, University of Turin Medical School
  • MS, Master in Bioethics, University of Turin

Contracts, Fellowships, Grants, and Sponsored Research

  • Title:
    Chronic orofacial pain: genetics, cognitive-emotional factors, and endogenous modulatory systems
    Sponsoring Organization:
    NIH/NIDCR
    Role:
    Principal
  • Title:
    R13AA028424 - 3rd International conference of The Society for Interdisciplinary Placebo StudiesSIPS - Harnessing placebo mechanisms for optimal pain management and treatment of alcohol and other drug use disorders
    Sponsoring Organization:
    NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM (NIAAA)
    Role:
    Co-Principal
  • Title:
    R01AT010333-Neural correlates of hypoalgesia driven by observation
    Sponsoring Organization:
    National Center for Complementary & Integrative Health (NCCIH) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
    Role:
    Principal
  • Title:
    R01AT011347 - Neural Mechanisms of Immersive Virtual Reality in Chronic Pain
    Sponsoring Organization:
    NIH
    Role:
    Principal
  • Date:
    2022 - 2024
    Title:
    Award
    Sponsoring Organization:
    MPower the State
    Role:

Research Interests

  • Dr. Luana Colloca has conducted pioneering ground-breaking studies that have advanced scientific understanding of the psychoneurobiological bases of endogenous systems for pain modulation in humans. As a result, Dr. Colloca has developed an international reputation as a leading scientist for advancing knowledge of the neurobiological mechanisms of placebo and nocebo effects with an multifaced approach including psychopharmacological, neurobiological and behavioral approaches. Her research has been published in top-ranked international journals including Biological Psychiatry, Pain, JAMA, NEJM and Lancet Neurology. The impact of her innovative work is clear from her impressive citation rate and more than 230 invited lectures. Her research has been also featured on The National Geographic, The New Scientist, Washington Post, Science daily, Boston Globe, The New Yorker Time, Nature, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, News and World Reports, COSMOS (Australia), The Australian, and USA Today. Dr. Colloca has been honored with prestigious awards such as the the Dubner Award and Patrick Wall International Award from the International Association for Study of Pain (IASP). She serves on leadership roles internationally within the IASP (Chair of the PAIN and PLACEBO SIG) and the Society for Interdisciplinary Placebo Studies (SIPS, Treasurer) and locally as the CTSA TL1 Program Director at the University of Maryland. She is also a Section Editor for PAIN and PAIN Reports journals.

Publications

  • Colloca, L. (2019, January (1st Quarter/Winter) 6). The Placebo Effect in Pain Therapies.. Annual review of pharmacology and toxicology, 59, 191-211. doi:10.1146/annurev-pharmtox-010818-021542
  • Honzel, E., Murthi, S., Brawn-Cinani, B., Colloca, G., Kier, C., Varshney, A., et al (2019, February 25). Virtual Reality, Music and Pain: developing the premise for an interdisciplinary approach to pain management.. Pain. doi:10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001539
  • Pattullo, G. G. & Colloca, L. (2019, June 1). The opioid epidemic: could enhancing placebo effects be part of the solution?. British journal of anaesthesia, 122 (6), e209-e210. doi:10.1016/j.bja.2018.11.027
  • Colloca, L., Wang, Y., Martinez, P. E., Christy Chang, Y. P., Ryan, K. A., Hodgkinson, C., et al (2019, May 6). OPRM1 rs1799971 - COMT rs4680 - FAAH rs324420 genes interact with placebo procedures to induce hypoalgesia.. Pain. doi:10.1097/j.pain.0000000000001578
  • Colloca, L. & Howick, J. (2018, January (1st Quarter/Winter) 1). Placebos Without Deception: Outcomes, Mechanisms, and Ethics.. International review of neurobiology, 138, 219-240. doi:10.1016/bs.irn.2018.01.005
  • Colloca, L., Ludman, T., Bouhassira, D., Baron, R., Dickenson, A. H., Yarnitsky, D., et al (2017, February 16). Neuropathic pain.. Nature reviews. Disease primers, 3, 17002. doi:10.1038/nrdp.2017.2
  • Colloca, L. (2017, October (4th Quarter/Autumn) 6). Nocebo effects can make you feel pain.. Science (New York, N.Y.), 358 (6359), 44. doi:10.1126/science.aap8488
  • Colloca, L., Pine, D. S., Ernst, M., Miller, F. G. & Grillon, C. (2016, May 15). Vasopressin Boosts Placebo Analgesic Effects in Women: A Randomized Trial.. Biological psychiatry, 79 (10), 794-802. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.07.019
  • Colloca, L. & Finniss, D. (2012, February 8). Nocebo effects, patient-clinician communication, and therapeutic outcomes.. JAMA, 307 (6), 567-8. doi:10.1001/jama.2012.115
  • Colloca, L. & Barsky, A. J. (2020, February 6). Placebo and Nocebo Effects.. The New England journal of medicine, 382 (6), 554-561. doi:10.1056/NEJMra1907805

See a full list of published work.

Presentations

  • Year:
    2018
    Title:
    Are placebos the solution? Tackling the opioid epidemic in the next few decades - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPtKdtF05s8
    Conference/Meeting Name:
    TEDx talk University of Maryland
    Sponsoring Organization:
    University of Maryland School of Medicine and School of Nursing
    Location:
    Baltimore United States
  • Year:
    2020
    Title:
    Interview with Sheilah Kast for WYPR Radio - https://www.wypr.org/post/your-brain-pain

Areas of Specialization

  • Acute experimental pain; Brain mapping; Clinical and experimental; Chronic pain; Phenotypes of placebo responders; Placebo effects; Nocebo effects; Pain modulation mechanisms; Temporomandibular Disorders; Virtual Reality mechanisms.

Primary Teaching Areas

  • Pain mechanisms and Pain management.

Honors/Awards

  • Name:
    Patrick Wall International Award
    Sponsoring organization:
    International Association for Study of Pain
    Date:
    September 2016
  • Name:
    Stephen Milan Award
    Sponsoring organization:
    Temporomandibular Joint Ankylosis (TMJA)
    Date:
    September 2016
  • Name:
    Award for Neuroscientist
    Sponsoring organization:
    PsychoNeuroImmunology Research Society (PNIRS)
    Date:
    2006
  • Name:
    Award for Young Neuroscientist
    Sponsoring organization:
    American Psychosomatic Society (APS)
    Date:
    June 2006
  • Name:
    Dubner International Research Prize
    Sponsoring organization:
    International Association for Study of Pain (IASP)
    Date:
    May 2008
  • Name:
    Young Scientist Award
    Sponsoring organization:
    European Federation of IASP Chapter (EFIC)
    Date:
    2009
  • Name:
    Clinical Center High Performance Award
    Sponsoring organization:
    NIH
    Date:
    2010
  • Name:
    Gold medal for research
    Sponsoring organization:
    Italian Sport Federation (FCI)
    Date:
    December 2010
  • Name:
    Toekenningsbrief
    Sponsoring organization:
    Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie Van Wetenschappen (KNAW)
    Date:
    2018
  • Name:
    Distinguished Scholarship Award
    Sponsoring organization:
    University of Maryland School of Nursing
    Date:
    2017

Academic and Professional Activities

University

  • Organization:
    CTSA TL1 Pre- and Postdoctoral Training Program
    Role:
    Director
  • Date:
    2015 - Current
    Organization:
    GIPLS - PhD program
    Role:
    Examiner as a Faculty
  • Date:
    2017 - Current
    Organization:
    PhD Curriculum Committee
    Role:
    Board Member
  • Date:
    2017 - Current
    Organization:
    Institutional Review Board - University of Maryland
    Role:
    Voting IRB Member
  • Date:
    2018 - 2018
    Organization:
    Committee for faculty position
    Role:
    Chair Search Committee

Professional

  • Organization:
    Special Interest Groups - IASP
    Role:
    President
  • Date:
    2016 - Current
    Organization:
    PAIN
    Role:
    Associate Editor
  • Date:
    2014 - Current
    Organization:
    Society for Interdisciplinary Placebo Studies (SIPS)
    Role:
    Board of Directors