Research Opportunities in Pain Management

The Department of Anesthesiology, Preoperative and Pain Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital is involved in laboratory and clinical research at the forefront of academic medicine, including in the area of pain management.

The mission of this research is to understand the mechanisms of disease that underlay the causes and conditions during and after surgical anesthesia and other operative procedures, and to apply this understanding to develop new and better treatments and thus to advance the clinical practice of anesthesia.

Research in the Department is funded primarily through grants from the National Institutes of Health, and is conducted by both basic scientists and by clinical anesthesiologists. The organization of the basic research laboratories reflects the focused interest of the department in the problematic areas of surgical anesthesia, in chronic and acute pain and in other medical problems not always directly related to anesthesia.

Strong Collaborations

Departmental investigators often collaborate with researchers in other departments at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, at Harvard Medical School and other teaching hospitals, and with many nationally and internationally known researchers at other institutions.

In several research projects, successful efforts have supported collaborations between industry and departmental investigators, both at the lab bench and in the operating room. These activities have not only brought additional resources to the department and the hospital but have also facilitated a strong translational pathway for the development of new drugs and procedures.

Residents who are interested in laboratory and clinical research are encouraged to participate in the department's world-renowned research activities. Please see our Research website for more information.

Learn more about Brigham and Women's Hospital


For over a century, a leader in patient care, medical education and research, with expertise in virtually every specialty of medicine and surgery.

About BWH