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)
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
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