Dr. Shivani Ruparel

A Dreamy Alaskan Summer: An Exquisite Trip through America’s Wildest Landscapes Alaska had been on my travel wish list for a long time, and when we finally visited during the peak of summer, it turned out to be everything we imagined and more. From snow-capped mountains and ma…

A detailed Script of one of my most elite trips in the US #lovetravel #lovenature #alaska #glaciers #wildlife #summervacations mytripscripts.com/2025/12/29/a...

CPTAR - Open Rank (Assistant/Associate/Professor) in San Antonio The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, School Dentistry, is seeking applications for a full-time position of a tenure...

Center for Pain Therapeutics and Addiction Research. @uthealthsa.bsky.social is searching for a tenure-track faculty recruit. Outstanding Envt and colleagues. Please apply or share widely. #neuroscience #painresearch #addictionresearch #orofacialpain uthscsa.referrals.selectminds.com/faculty/jobs...

School of Dentistry at UT Health San Antonio awarded $6 million total to study treatment, pain management for oral cancer - UT Health San Antonio Three multi-year NIH grants target painful disease with low survival rate Contact: Steven Lee, (210) 450-3823, lees22@uthscsa.edu SAN ANTONIO, Nov. 7, 2025 – Researchers at the School of Dentistry at ...

I was extremely lucky to receive two RO1s in the current climate literally just before the fiscal year end and government shutdown🙏 I so wish this was the story of all academic scientists in the US. #savescience news.uthscsa.edu/school-of-de...

Original: Drs. Merlo, @shivanibr.bsky.social et al. discovered that TrkBT1, not full-length TrkB, is the main isoform in trigeminal nociceptors. It modulates BDNF-induced sensitization and survival, redefining TrkBT1 as an active player in pain signaling
 
Full: www.jpain.org/article/S152...

Cool Trails & Red Rock Tales: A December Getaway to Sedona There are some places that wrap you in a warm hug the moment you arrive, and Sedona in December is one of them. Nestled amidst towering red rock formations, this Arizona gem offers a tranquil retre…

My latest travel Post on Sedona AZ: A Relaxing getaway for all age groups. #travel #sedona #arizona trips #redrocks #americandesert mytripscripts.com/2025/05/26/c...

Looking beyond opioids - Magazines of the Schools at UT Health San Antonio A revolution in pain exploration has been launched with the school’s new Center for Pain Therapeutics and Addiction Research. Interdisciplinary collaboration is helping investigators study non-opioid ...

What we do in the newly established Center of Pain Therapeutics and Addiction Research (CPTAR) in School of Dentistry @uthealthsa.bsky.social #painresearch magazines.uthscsa.edu/schools/2025...

For early-stage investigators grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

Truncated TrkB: The predominant TrkB isoform in nociceptors Truncated TrkB (TrkBT1), traditionally considered a dominant-negative regulator of full-length TrkB (TrkBTK+), remains poorly understood in peripheral…

Our paper in Journal of Pain challenges old labels: TrkB isnt just an A-LTMR marker. Its truncated isoform is expressed and functional in trigeminal nociceptors, opening new avenues for studying the receptor in pathological pain #painresearch www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Congratulations to my student Priya Narayanan for an excellent performance on defending her MS thesis focused on the molecular mechanisms underlying oral mucositis @uthealthsa.bsky.social. I am a proud mentor today. #teachingisrewarding #graduateeducation

Investigating Mechanically Activated Currents from Trigeminal Neurons of Non-Human Primates Pain sensation often involves mechanical modalities. Mechanically activated (MA) ion channels on sensory neurons underly responsiveness to mechanical stimuli. MA current properties have mainly been de...

New paper out from my lab and Dr. Akopian's lab. First of its kind to characterize mechanically-gated trigeminal neurons in non-rodent higher order species. #painresearch #nonrodentmodels www.eneuro.org/content/earl...

UT Health San Antonio’s accelerated rise: Advancing innovation, research and national impact - UT Health San Antonio UT Health San Antonio’s Accelerated Rise: Advancing Innovation, Research and National Impact

UT Health San Antonio ranks among the top 50 medical schools in the nation for National Institutes of Health research funding.
news.uthscsa.edu/ut-health-sa...

Researchers present latest advances in developing nonopioid pain relievers » McKnight Brain Institute » University of Florida UF Center for Advanced Pain Therapeutics and Research (CAPToR) hosts inaugural symposium.

mbi.ufl.edu/2025/04/01/r...

Had a blast speaking and catching up w/ Nicole Scheff, @flybottleescape.bsky.social @robgereau.bsky.social @laurenslosky.bsky.social et al at the Center for Adv PainTher and Res (CAPToR) @ufresearch.bsky.social.Thank you @khannalabuf.bsky.social and @maykhanna.bsky.social for hosting us.

Oral Cancer Cases Are on The Rise, And Sugary Drinks Could Be to Blame It may not just be tooth decay you need to worry about when it comes to sugary drinks: new research suggests that these sweetened beverages might also be raising the risk of oral cancer.

www.sciencealert.com/oral-cancer-...

Cancer research needs neuroscience and neuroscientists - Nature Neuroscience The nervous system can drive the initiation, growth, spread, and therapy resistance of cancer, and cancer can manipulate the nervous system in ways that further support disease progression. Tumors gro...

#Cancer research needs #neuroscience and neuroscientists. Sharing some thoughts on #CancerNeuroscience, together with Frank Winkler.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

UT Health San Antonio earns top Carnegie classification for research, doctorate awards - UT Health San Antonio The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio earned a Research 1 (R1) designation from the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in ...

Yet another reason to be proud of @uthealthsa.bsky.social news.uthscsa.edu/ut-health-sa...

The number of exceptional people: Fewer than 85 per 1 million across key traits Cognitive biases can lead to overestimating the expected prevalence of exceptional multi-talented candidates, leading to potential dissatisfaction in …

Interesting article "suggesting a need to recalibrate recruitment expectations. Even moderately above-average individuals on these key dimensions may merit greater recognition due to their scarcity".
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Human sensory neuron and macrophage co-culture; developing a model to test agents capable of disrupting painful neuroimmune signalling at University of Glasgow on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - Human sensory neuron and macrophage co-culture; developing a model to test agents capable of disrupting painful neuroimmune signalling at University of Glasgow, listed on FindAPhD.com

Anyone interested in a PhD in pain research, we have a fully-funded position available in the Weir lab.
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Response eQTLs, chromatin accessibility, and 3D chromatin structure in chondrocytes provide mechanistic insight into osteoarthritis risk Kramer et al. analyzed gene expression, chromatin accessibility, and 3D chromatin structure in primary human chondrocytes in both normal and OA-like conditions. They mapped eQTLs, performed colocaliza...

www.cell.com/cell-genomic...

The Pain Comes With the Territory

@dereklowe.bsky.social on the evolving suzetrigine and acute and chronic pain story: www.science.org/content/blog... Certainly going to be some interesting times ahead in this area. I agree with him, I think the patient experience in the real world is going to be a huge determining factor...

NaV1.8 inhibitor poised to provide opioid-free pain relief Vertex’s first-in-class suzetrigine could soon usher in a new class of analgesic.

Hope springs anew in 2025! 🌸 Here's to a year of breakthroughs in pain relief and brighter, pain-free days ahead for chronic pain patients. #PainRelief

NaV1.8 inhibitor poised to provide opioid-free pain relief www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Wishing everyone and your families a very safe, healthy and an uneventful 2025! May the magic continue in all your lives😍

My uncle in his retirement graduated from flying school, bought a plane and then built it, to tour around the world. And now I get to ride in it for free. I feel so royal 😬

Acute systemic macrophage depletion in osteoarthritic mice alleviates pain-related behaviors and does not affect joint damage - Arthritis Research & Therapy Background Osteoarthritis (OA) is a painful degenerative joint disease and a leading source of years lived with disability globally due to inadequate treatment options. Neuroimmune interactions report...

arthritis-research.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.... on the role of macrophages in experimental OA pain

Truncated TrkB: The predominant TrkB Isoform in Nociceptors Truncated form of the tropomyosin receptor kinase B isoform (TrkBT1), traditionally considered a dominant-negative regulator of full-length TrkB (TrkBTK+), remains poorly understood in peripheral sens...

BOOM! Great stuff on the truncated TrkB isoform in nociception and nociceptors from @shivanibr.bsky.social's lab #painresearch www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Protective mechanism of Prim-O-glucosylcimifugin in the treatment of osteoarthritis: Based on lncRNA XIST regulation of Nav1.7 LncRNA XIST and Nav1.7 have been identified to be significantly associated with the onset of osteoarthritis. Prim-O-glucosylcimifugin (POG) has antiin…

POG, from dried roots of Saposhnikovia divaricata, may help treat #OA by regulating lncRNA XIST & Nav1.7. POG improves cartilage damage, reduces inflammation & chondrocyte apoptosis.

Protective mechanism of Prim-O-glucosylcimifugin in the treatment of o... www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

eEF2K regulates pain through translational control of BDNF mRNA translation is integral to pain, yet the key regulatory factors and their target mRNAs are unclear. Here, we uncover a mechanism that bridges nox…

BOOM! Big advance from Zak Campbell's lab (Zak used to be at UTD and moved to U Wisconsin a couple of years ago, big loss for us) on regulation of BDNF translation in nociceptors - www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...