Steven Z. George PT, PhD
Dr. George is an
assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy and a member of the
leadership committee for the Brooks Center for Rehabilitation Studies at the
University of Florida. He received his BS in Physical Therapy from West
Virginia University in 1994 and practiced at the University of Pittsburgh
Medical Center for 7 years, primarily in outpatient settings. Dr. George
completed his MS in Musculoskeletal Physical Therapy from the University of
Pittsburgh in 1997 and his PhD in Rehabilitation Science from the University of
Pittsburgh in 2002. He completed a post-doctoral fellowship in pain research
and rehabilitation outcomes from the University of Florida in 2004.
Dr. George’s primary
research interest involves the utilization of biopsychosocial models for the
prevention and treatment of disability from musculoskeletal pain. He has
received competitive research grants supporting his work in this area from the
National Institutes of Health, the Foundation for Physical Therapy, the
Department of Defense, and the University of Florida. He has presented his
clinical research findings at several scientific meetings, including the
Combined Sections meeting of the American Physical Therapy Association and
annual meetings for the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar
Spine, the American Pain Society, and the American Congress of Rehabilitation
Medicine. Dr. George has published 3 book chapters and 20 peer-review articles
in respected journals like Spine, Physical Therapy, Pain, Journal of
Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, Archives of Physical Medicine and
Rehabilitation, European Journal of Pain, and Clinical Journal of Pain. He also
is a frequent manuscript reviewer for several journals related to rehabilitation
and pain research. He has been recognized for his clinical research efforts
with the Rose Excellence in Research Award from the Orthopaedic Section of the
American Physical Therapy Association and the Jack Walker Award from the
American Physical Therapy Association.
Jason G Craggs, PhD
Prior to graduate
school I spent several years working as a psychometrist in the Neuropsychology
departments of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF) and Rainbow Babies and
Children’s Hospital (RB&C) working as a psychometrist. These experiences
guided my research interests in brain behavior relationships, research
methodology, statistics and neuroimaging. My knowledge and skill in these areas
as well as psychometric theory improved while attaining a M.A. degree from the
University of Memphis. My doctoral training was completed at the University of
Georgia. While there, my research focused on using neuroimaging data to better
understand the relationships between structural and functional abnormalities.
This line of inquiry inherently encouraged the development and assessment of
novel statistical approaches to assess brain-behavior relationships.
Because the brain is
a dynamic system in a constant state of flux, the final years of my graduate
training focused on modeling systems. This interest ultimately resulted in the
attainment of a Fulbright grant for the study of Structural Equation Modeling
(SEM) in Oslo, Norway. The year spent in Norway allowed me to focus on the
various applications of SEM, including the ability to combine behavioral and
neuroimaging (structural and functional) data in order to assess the
interaction between structure and function and its influence on behavior.
Upon returning from
Norway, I have worked to develop proficiency in fMRI paradigm development and
implementation, various scanning techniques, and computer programming. These
skills have allowed me to use a variety of software packages for the analysis
of neuroimaging data. At present, I am developing an increasing understanding
of the pain/brain/behavior relationships with the goal of creating a career
long fundable line of research in the field of pain.
Email me at: jcraggs@phhp.ufl.edu
Adam Hirsh
Adam Hirsh, M.S. - Adam
joined our center in 2002 with a research background in the psychobiology of
drug use. He has been actively involved in center investigations of brain
imaging and placebo, pain-related attentional modulation, psychophysics, pain
coping and catastrophizing, and treatment outcomes. His master's thesis
examined patient satisfaction as an outcome measure following multidisciplinary
treatment for chronic pain. Adam is currently working on the application of
novel virtual technology for use in investigating factors that influence pain
assessment and decision making in the pharmacologic management of pain. Dr. Hirsh will graduate in Ugust 2008
and start a Post-doc at the University of Washington
Ashraf F. Alqudah
Ashraf joined the lab
in 2001. He is an international student from Jordan. Currently working on sex
and ethnic differences in perceiving other's pain; pain-related coping; and
pain-related negative mood, differences in the likelihood to recommend
pain-related medical help to patients of the same and of different sex and
ethnicities, and gender and ethnic differences in willingness to report their
own pain. Dr. Al qudah recently
accepted a position at the University of Jordan where he serves as an Assistant
Professor in the Department of Psychology.
Erin O’Brien
I earned my B.S. in
Psychology and M.S. in Experimental Psychology at Saint Joseph’s University in
Philadelphia, PA and worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator at the
University of Pennsylvania for 2 years before joining the lab in 2003. My dissertation
research will examine sleep disturbances among various populations of chronic
pain patients. My previous work in the lab has examined gender differences in
pain, placebo response, and the influence of psychological variables on the
pain experience. Additional interests include the relationship between sleep
and pain processing, and functional imaging of pain. Dr. O’Brien will graduate in August 2008 and will begin a
Post-doc at Brown University.
Corey McCulloch
Robert Corey
McCulloch graduated from the University of Mississippi (Oxford, Mississippi) in
May 2004, where he received bachelor’s degrees in psychology and sociology.
While at the University of Mississippi, Corey held research assistant positions
in the Departments of Environmental Toxicology (2000-2002), Pharmacognosy
(2002-2004), and Psychology (2002-2004). In August 2004, Corey began his
doctoral training in the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology and
joined the Center for Pain Research and Behavioral Health. Corey received his
M.S. in May 2006 from the University of Florida. His master’s thesis examined
the association of mood, pain, and cognitive performance in individuals
receiving opioid medications for chronic low back pain. While in the lab, Corey
has also worked on research examining placebo response in IBS patients. His
future research will investigate the role of somatic focus in placebo
responding. Corey starts his
Clinical Internship at UCSD in July 2008.
LAUREN A. STUTTS,
M.S.
Lauren Stutts received
her B.S. degree in Psychology with a concentration in Medical Humanities from
Davidson College in 2005. At Davidson, she conducted grant-funded research
investigating the effect of chronic illness and psychogenic bodily reactions in
pediatric and adult populations.
Lauren joined the doctoral program at the University of Florida in
2005. She worked for the cardiac
psychology research team for her first two years, and her Master’s thesis
investigated the psychological aspects of cardiac device recall in implantable
cardioverter defibrillator patients.
In May 2007, she joined the pain research team and is currently working
on her dissertation investigating patient and healthcare student
characteristics on pain assessment using virtual human technology. She also is involved in research
exploring patient-centered outcomes in different pain populations.
D. Price, Ph.D.
Dr. Price is
internationally known as one of the leading experts in pain perception, pain
psychophysics, and the physiology of pain. He is an active collaborator in our
laboratory, with interests in pain-related affect, placebo and expectation, and
brain imaging of pain to name a few.
Joseph L. Riley, III, Ph.D.
Dr. Riley was a
student and post-doctoral fellow with Dr. Robinson who is now on the faculty in
the College of Dentistry. He remains a very active collaborator in the Pain
Research Laboratory. He has particular expertise in multivariate statistical
procedures. His interests include pain coping, sex differences in pain, pain
and ageing, and health care use patterns for pain conditions.
Roland Staud, M.D.
Dr. Staud is a
Rheumatologist who is internationally known as an expert in fibromyalgia and
pain processing.
Lori Waxenberg, Ph.D.
Dr. Waxenberg is
currently a Clinical Associate Professor in the Pain Center of Excellence of
the Dept. of Clinical and Health Psychology which is the clinical arm of the
lab. She was formerly a post-doctoral fellow with Dr. Robinson. She is
responsible for clinical service, clinical training of our students, and she
facilitates our clinical research programs.
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