research

Since opening the Abdus-Saboor lab in 2018, we have focused on how the nervous system encodes pain and social touch based on sensory stimuli applied to the skin. We are integrating the peripheral and central nervous systems, seeking to uncover genes and neural circuits for somatosensation from the skin and other organs to interconnected networks across the brain. Using both mice and naked-mole rats, we are elucidating the “body-brain axis” – taking a wholistic approach that combines high-resolution behavioral mapping, brain and periphery imaging, and neural circuit manipulations.

We acknowledge support from the following programs: