Luis Villanueva

Luis Villanueva, DDS, PhD, DSc, Director of Research, CNRS, France

In the last four decades, Dr Villanueva worked as full-time researcher in Pain Neurobiology at the French National Institute of Health (INSERM). His research interests have centered on translational studies of  central nervous system mechanisms involved in pain modulation. His doctoral dissertations were devoted to studies of the functional architecture of descending bulbo-spinal systems involved in pain modulation,  termed Diffuse Noxious Inhibitory Controls (DNIC/CPM). Dr Villanueva developed afterwards his own independent research program on pain networks plasticity, by combining in vivo electrophysiology with high-resolution neuroanatomical imaging. He discovered the Subnucleus Reticularis Dorsalis, a brainstem region involved in DNIC/CPM. He developed an innovative research program devoted to the assessment of central, maladaptive mechanisms of pain modulation elicited by dysfunctions of spinal, trigeminal, hypothalamic, and cortical networks. He discovered a thalamic relay that conveys noxious inputs from the whole-body surface to the rodent’s neocortex layer I, implicated in cortical rhythmicity changes elicited by painful inputs. He demonstrated that corticothalamic networks originating in the cortical pain matrix are involved in a selective discrimination of tactile versus noxious inputs. He also identified a hypothalamic link of trigemino-vascular sensitization via pain/stress comorbidity mechanisms, that triggers migraine and cluster headaches. His recent studies combining high-resolution assessing of neurovascular coupling and electrophysiological activities has revealed a direct link between visual cortex disturbances elicited by spreading depolarization and cortical ophthalmic fields sensitization mechanisms involved in migraine attacks. His research projects have resulted in more than 80 manuscripts published in peer-reviewed journals. Dr Villanueva was the Chair of EFIC Committee on Research, Co-Coordinator of the EFIC Krakow School on Translational Pain Research, Member of the Editorial Board of the European Journal of Pain, and Coordinator of ECOS-Nord life sciences exchange programs between France and Latin America.