Sandra Poulson

Hi I'm Sandra. I earned a B.S. in Biology and a M.A. in STEM Education from the University of Texas at Austin, I worked at Stanford University as Life Science Research Professional from 2014 to 2017, then I earned a M.A. in Psychology from the University of Toronto in 2018. Using a mouse model of socially enhanced pain I developed under supervisor Loren Martin, I study neural mechanisms of contextual pain facilitation. The social context is rich with information, including whether danger is nearby. Interestingly, in both humans and rodents, behaviors indicating pain in others can enhance our own pain experience. Yet the brain regions and peptide signals that drive this phenomenon are unknown. Uncovering mechanisms behind contextually and socially enhanced pain will lead to a better understanding of factors that worsen pain for some chronic pain patients, as well as deepen our knowledge of social aspects of the biopsychosocial model of pain.

Look, I have too dark of humor to be given a talkshow. But let's say someone wanted to tank their channel, I'd probably invite someone like diorama artist Lisa Wood or definitely Amy Sedaris. We'd have a good time.

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