H.O.P.E. Lab

(Headache & Orofacial Pain Effort Lab)

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ABOUT


Techno-innovations in pain research, therapeutics, and education.

Directed by Dr. Alexandre F. DaSilva, H.O.P.E. (Headache & Orofacial Pain Effort) is a multidisciplinary collaborative effort to investigate the brain as a research and therapeutic target for chronic trigeminal pain disorders, including primary headaches (e.g. migraine), TMJD and trigeminal neuropathic pain.

The fact that many therapeutic modalities for chronic pain, which focus on peripheral mechanisms, do not provide relief for treatment-resistant patients raises the possibility that the cause for the chronicity of these debilitating disorders may lie in the brain itself. One hypothesis is that functional and structural dysfunction of specific cortical areas (e.g. SI, DLPFC), even at molecular level (e.g. opioidergic and gabanergic mechanisms), may be responsible for the persistence and intensification of the pain suffering.

Together with collaborators from University of Michigan and other academic institutions, we use state-of-the-art neuroimaging techniques (fMRI, PET, MRS, DTI, and MRI-based morphometry) to study neuroplasticity, and to investigate novel therapeutic approaches and mechanisms (e.g. non-invasive brain stimulation) in chronic trigeminal pain disorders.

CURRENT STUDIES

Chronic Migraine - HUM00165387

Investigation of the Central Kappa-Opioid Mechanisms in Migraine (in vivo)
Volunteers needed for a research study using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and a new investigational Positron Emission Tomography (PET) radiotracer in people who suffer from migraine headaches and in healthy controls to identify factors that may be correlated with the severity of migraine attacks. We are seeking males and females between the ages of 18 and 65. Participation involves 3 study visits over the course of one week.
For more information please contact the study team at (734)763-8469 or ContactHOPE@umich.edu

Chronic Migraine Clinical Trial - HUM00213295

Investigation and Modulation of the Central Mu-Opioid Mechanism in Migraine (in vivo)
Volunteers needed for a research study using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) in people who suffer from chronic migraine to identify factors that may be correlated with the severity of migraine attacks. This will also include a non-invasive treatment called high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) in order to study the effects a mild electrical stimulation of the brain may have on migraine-related mechanisms. We are seeking males and females between the ages of 18 and 65 who have chronic migraine. For more information please contact the study team at (734)763-8469 or ContactHOPE@umich.edu.

Fibromyalgia - HUM00180975

Explosive Synchronization of Brain Network Activity in Chronic Pain Aim 3: The purpose of this study is to help researchers learn more about brain networks that may be associated with Fibromyalgia. We are recruiting FEMALES (age 19 - 75) with Fibromyalgia to participate in this study which involves receiving ten non-invasive brain stimulation treatments. Participation includes 15 in-person visits over a 3 month period.
For more information please contact the study team at (734)763-8469 or ContactHOPE@umich.edu

DIRECTOR

Alexandre Dasilva DDS, DMedSc

Alexandre DaSilva, DDS, DMedSc
Director and Founder, Headache & Orofacial Pain Effort (H.O.P.E.) Lab
Director, Learning Health Systems
Associate Professor of Dentistry, Biologic and Materials Sciences & Prosthodontics

adasilva@umich.edu | 734-615-3807 | Download CV

Dr. Alexandre DaSilva is an Associate Professor at the Biologic & Materials Sciences Department at the University of Michigan Dental School. He has received his Doctorate in Medical Science (DMSc) degree in Oral Biology with clinical training in trigeminal pain at Harvard University. His thesis subject was on somatotopic (fMRI) activation in the human trigeminal pain pathway. This training was followed by a post-doctoral fellowship on migraine neuroimaging at the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, to investigate subcortical and cortical neuroplasticity in migraine patients. He was also an Instructor in the Psychiatric Department at Harvard University/McLean Hospital, as well as, an Assistant Clinical Investigator at the Forsyth Institute in Boston. During his training, he collaborated with his colleagues on innovative neuroimaging and non-invasive brain stimulation projects for chronic TMJD, trigeminal neuropathic pain and migraine.

He is currently the Director of H.O.P.E. (Headache & Orofacial Pain Effort), which is a multidisciplinary collaborative effort to investigate the brain as a research and therapeutic target for chronic trigeminal pain disorders. The fact that many therapeutic modalities for chronic pain, which focus on peripheral mechanisms, do not provide relief for treatment-resistant patients raises the possibility that the cause for the chronicity of these debilitating disorders may lie in the brain itself. One hypothesis is that functional and structural dysfunction of specific cortical areas (e.g. SI, DLPFC), even at a molecular level (e.g. opioidergic and gabanergic mechanisms), may be responsible for the persistence and intensification of the pain suffering. Together with collaborators from the University of Michigan and other academic institutions, we use state-of-the-art neuroimaging techniques (fMRI, PET, MRS, DTI, and MRI-based morphometry) to study neuroplasticity, and to investigate novel therapeutic approaches and mechanisms in chronic trigeminal pain disorders, including TMD the main focus.

PUBLICATIONS


View the complete listing of publications.


BOOKS, CHAPTERS, AND ESSAYS

DaSilva AFM and Hadjikhani N. Contributing author – essay: “Human Thalamic Response to Experimental Pain (Neuroimaging)” in the section “Nociceptive Processing in the Thalamus “ by Dr. Vania Apkarian, Encyclopedic Reference of Pain. Editor Schmidt RF and Willis WD, Springer-Verlag – October 2006.
DaSilva AFM and Acquadro MA. Chapter: “Orofacial Pain” in the handbook The Massachusetts General Hospital Handbook of Pain Management – Third Edition. Editor Dr. Jane Ballantyne, Linppincott Williams & Wilkins – 2005.
Borsook D, Moulton E, Scrivani S, DaSilva AFM, Becerra L. Chapter: “Imaging the Trigeminal System in Health and Disease”. Textbook: Head, Face and Neck Pain: Science, Evaluation, and Management. Mehta N, Maloney G, Bana D, Scrivani SJ. WJ Wiley. Accepted for publication.
DaSilva AFM, Bivins D, Acquadro MA. Chapter: “Neuropathic Facial Pain”. Textbook: Head, Face and Neck Pain: Science, Evaluation, and Management. Mehta N, Maloney G, Bana D, Scrivani SJ. WJ Wiley – Accepted for publication.

TEAM

ALEXANDRE F. DaSILVA, DDS, DMSc
Alexandre F. DaSilva, DDS, DMSc
Director and Founder, H.O.P.E. Lab

adasilva@umich.edu

Theodora Danciu
Theodora Danciu, DMD, DMSc
Oral Pathologist

tdanciu@umich.edu

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Jacqueline Dobson
Clinical Research Coordinator Hlth

jdobs@umich.edu

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Xiaosu Frank Hu, MSc, PhD
Assistant Research Scientist

xiaosuhu@umich.edu

dajung kim
Dajung Kim, PhD
Research Fellow

dajungk@umich.edu

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Majid Saberi
Research Fellow

majidsa@umich.edu

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Samuel Uribe Botero
Clinical Subjects Coordinator

samuelub@umich.edu

Ayesha Kousar
Ayesha Kousar
Clinical Subjects Coordinator

akousar@umich.edu

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Suchitra Pudipeddi
Programmer

psuchi@umich.edu

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Ty Bie
Programmer

txbie@umich.edu

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Alexis Barritt
Student Volunteer

barrittl@umich.edu

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Nupur Shah
Student volunteer

shahnu@umich.edu

Avni Kinra
Avni Kinra
Student volunteer

avnik@umich.edu

FORMER LAB MEMBERS

Susie Davenport
Graduate Resident

Hafsa Affendi
Private practice

Sindhu Kannappan, DDS
Graduate Resident

Chidinma Okafor
Graduate Resident Orthodontics MS

Thiago Nascimento, DDS, MMedSc, MS
Private Practice

Ifeyinwa Arinze
MFA Student, NYU Tisch School of the Arts

Conrad Chrabol, MD
Medical University of Warsaw

Misty DeBoer
Communications Coordinator - Institute for Central American Development Studies (ICADS) - Costa Rica

Isaac Dripps, PhD
Research Fellow

Andrea Kadima

Chelsea Cummiford Kaplan, PhD
Research Investigator

Leen Khatib, DDS
Private practice

Nellie Kippley
Nephrology Physician Assistant

Michael Krivichkin

Sarah Lucas

Ilkka Martikainen, MD, PhD
University of Turku, Finland

Alexandra Martella, DDS, MS
Private practice

JJ Ubonwan Sae-Ung, DDS
Private practice

David Schwitzer, DDS
OMFS Resident, UT Southwestern

Rebecca Toback
Medical student, University of Michigan

Hendrik Van Holsbeeck, DDS
Private practice

Nathan Wigington, DDS
Private practice

Mary Catherine Bender, DDS
Graduate Orthodontics Resident

Brenda de Souza Moura, DDS, MS
Research Assistant

Manyoel Lim, PhD
Research Fellow

Hassan Jassar, PhD
Research Fellow

Dalya Saleem, BSPH
Clinical Subjects Coordinator

Danielle Kristal
Graduate Resident

Vivian Finotti Ribeiro Oliveira
GVisiting Scholar, Nurse/Postdoctoral Fellow at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP)

MEDIA

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN NEWS SERVICE COVERAGE


SELECTED MEDIA COVERAGE OF OUR WORK

CBS News: Migraines prompt colorful tweets.

Plus coverage in: Metro, Slate, Financial Express, NBC, CBS, BBC, Scientific American Mind Magazine, Reuters, Forbes, Washington Post, The Guardian, The Telegraph, CBC, Medical News Today, Delhi Daily News, Free Press Journal, The News International, RedOrbit, Detroit Free Press, UPI, and others.


SELECTED INTERVIEWS

2010 Science News Magazine: “Why It’s So Hard to Tell Which Tooth Has the Ache” by Sarah Sanders.

2012 Science Daily: “Technology eases migraine pain in the deep brain”

2014 Los Angeles Times: “Tweeting a Killer Migraine in Real Time” by Mary MacVean

2014 USA Today: "Worst: Migraine sufferers share pain on Twitter” by Kim Painter

2014 San Francisco Chronicle: “Migraine pain isn't enough to keep sufferers from Twitter” by Kathryn Roethel

2014 Scientific American Mind (10th anniversary special issue): “Your Electric Pharmacy: Next Generation Treatments” by Marom Bikson and Peter Toshev.

2014 WDIV, NBC TV Channel affiliate: “Live in the D: Inside U of M's 3D lab” by FrankMcGeorge

2014 Medical News Today: “Migraines: unique data collected from sufferers sharing pain on Twitter” by Mary Ellis

2014 Medical News Today: “Migraines: unique data collected from sufferers sharing pain on Twitter” by Mary Ellis

2014 Popular Mechanics: “Virtual Surgery: Training Med Students on a 3D Cadaver” by Charles Q. Choi

2014 Al Jazeera America News: “Cutting Edge Virtual Cadavers Help Medical Students Train” by Tonya Mosley

2014 Science Update Podcast: “A 3-D hologram of a human cadaver brings med-school dissection to the 21st century.” By Bob Hirshon

2014 WWJ Newsradio CBS radio affiliated: “Migraine twitter” by Sean Lee

2014 The Michigan Daily: “Virtual reality device allows students inside look at anatomy” by Kaitlin Zurdosky


INTERNATIONAL INTERVIEWS

2001 Globo Reporter (Brazil): “The Brain with Pain.”

2013 Veja.com (Brazil): “Brazilian Doctor Creates a 3D Imaging of a Migrainous Brain” by Vivian Elias

2014 Folha de São Paulo (Brazil): “American University Develop Virtual Autopsy in 3D Guided by Joystick” by Claudia Collucci

2014 Journal da Band (Brazil): “3D Autopsy Helps Future Doctors”

CONTACT

H.O.P.E. Lab: The Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience Institute (MBNI)
205 Zina Pitcher Pl, Room 1026
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5720
(734)763-8469 | ContactHOPE@umich.edu
Biologic and Materials Sciences & Prosthodontics Office
1011 N. University Ave., Room 1014A
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1078
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