MNPARC Core Personnel
Dr. Jeff Boissoneault
Co-Director, MNPARC
Dr. Jeff Boissoneault, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Minnesota and serves as Co-Director of MNPARC. He also leads the Minnesota Alcohol and Pain Lab (MAPL), where his work centers on understanding the complex, bidirectional relationships between pain and alcohol use by integrating behavioral science, psychophysiology, and neuroimaging methods in human laboratory studies. Dr. Boissoneault’s research explores how pain influences drinking behavior and how alcohol affects pain perception and related neurobehavioral processes, with the ultimate goal of informing better prevention and treatment strategies for pain and alcohol use disorder. He earned his doctorate in cognitive and behavioral neuroscience from the University of Florida and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in pain research at the University of Florida’s Pain Research and Intervention Center of Excellence.
Visit the MAPL website
Dr. Anna Lee
Co-Director, MNPARC
Dr. Anna Lee, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Minnesota, where she serves as Co-Director of MNPARC. Her multidisciplinary research program focuses on the molecular and neural mechanisms underlying alcohol use disorder, with particular emphasis on how cholinergic signaling and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subtypes regulate alcohol withdrawal and negative affect. Using genetic, pharmacological, and behavioral approaches in preclinical models, Dr. Lee’s work aims to uncover novel molecular targets that could inform better interventions for alcohol use disorder. She earned her B.S. in Pharmacology from the University of Alberta and her Ph.D. in Pharmacology & Toxicology from the University of Toronto, followed by postdoctoral training at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center at the University of California, San Francisco, before establishing her laboratory at the University of Minnesota.
Visit the Lee lab website
Dr. Laura Stone
Executive Member, MNPARC
Dr. Laura Stone, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Minnesota, and an executive member of MNPARC. She leads the Stone Pain Lab, which investigates fundamental mechanisms of chronic pain and seeks new strategies for its treatment. Her research integrates pre-clinical models and human studies to elucidate the biological drivers of low back, musculoskeletal and neuropathic pain. Areas of focus include the epigenetic regulation of persistent pain, and the integration of pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches to pain management with an eye toward improving therapeutic outcomes while minimizing side effects. Dr. Stone is an inventor on 7 patents, has co-authored over 80 manuscripts and founded the Quebec Back Pain Study, which now has over 7000 participants. Stone received her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of California–San Diego and her PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Minnesota, followed by postdoctoral training at Oregon Health & Science University. She held a faculty position at McGill University, Canada, before returning to the University of Minnesota in 2020.
Visit the Stone lab website
Dr. Lucy Vulchanova
Executive Member, MNPARC
Dr. Lucy Vulchanova, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota, and an executive member of MNPARC. The Vulchanova lab focuses on understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie pain mechanisms, aimed at elucidating how changes in sensory neurons, and central and spinal pain circuits contribute to chronic pain states, with the goal of identifying novel, non-addictive targets for pain treatments. Dr. Vulchanova’s work spans investigations of neuropeptide signaling, neuro-immune interactions, and sensory neuron plasticity in models of neuropathic and persistent pain. Dr. Vulchanova earned her PhD in neuroscience from the University of Minnesota.