Department of Psychiatry

Description of Research Expertise

The Corder Lab at Penn seeks to decipher the neural basis of pain perception, investigate how pathological changes in brain networks drive chronic pain and opioid dependence, and develop novel therapeutic strategies. I am a neuroscientist and pain researcher focused on understanding how pain and motivated behaviors emerge from neural circuit activity. My research integrates in vivo calcium imaging, optogenetics, viral tool development, single-nuclei RNA sequencing, neuroanatomical tracing, and deep-learning behavior modeling to uncover how brain circuits encode pain, pleasure, and affective states in preclinical rodent models.

My lab combines miniscope imaging and machine learning to decode the neural dynamics of pain perception, identifying how nociceptive circuits undergo maladaptive changes leading to chronic pain. Pain is more than a sensory experience—it is an emotionally charged state that commands attention, alters cognition, and disrupts behavior. Our work aims to map the circuits and molecular mechanisms underlying this transition, providing a framework for developing new, translational pain therapies.

A major focus of my research is opioid pharmacology and addiction-related plasticity. In response to the Opioid Epidemic and the need for safer pain management strategies, my lab is investigating non-opioid analgesic therapies, circuit-level mechanisms of opioid action, and gene therapies for chronic pain. We have pioneered activity-dependent genetic tools for capturing pain-active neurons, developed next-generation circuit-based therapies, and identified new pathways for non-addictive pain relief.

By integrating systems neuroscience, computational modeling, and translational pharmacology, my lab aims to bridge basic discovery with therapeutic innovation, developing more effective, non-addictive treatments for chronic pain and opioid dependence. Beyond research, I am committed to mentoring the next generation of neuroscientists, with a strong record of trainee fellowships and mentoring, interdisciplinary collaboration, and leadership in neuroscience training.