Research Interests
Basic Science Research: I am a lifelong basic biomedical science researcher, focusing on the mechanisms of chronic pain, especially neuropathic pain. My most notable contribution to the field of pain is the development of a rodent model of chronic neuropathic pain referred to as the “spinal nerve ligation (SNL)” model, nicknamed the “Chung Model.” This model is used worldwide in the testing and development of new analgesic drugs for managing human chronic pain. My current research focus is on the synaptic plasticity of pain transmission pathways, involvement of reactive oxygen species in chronic pain and the development of various pain treatment strategies, using several animal pain models representing different disease conditions such as spinal cord injury, diabetic neuropathy, HIV infection, and chemotherapy induced pain. During my career, I have published more than 160 papers in peer-reviewed journals and these papers have been cited more than 23,000 times in the literature. For the past 35 years, my research has been supported by NIH research awards, including multiple R01s and Program Project Grants.