Faculty and Staff
Peter M. Grace, Ph.D.
Core Director
Dr. Grace is an associate professor, principal investigator of the Grace Laboratory, and chair ad interim of the Department of Symptom Research. The Grace Lab seeks to understand the neuroimmune mechanisms of chronic pain and its control. Projects include investigating the adaptive immune mechanisms that initiate and maintain neuropathic pain after traumatic nerve injury and delineating the analgesic mechanisms and therapeutic potential of the ¡°master regulator¡± of the antioxidant response Nrf2. Ongoing efforts are aimed at overcoming barriers to translation for clinical treatments of chronic pain.
Andrew J. Shepherd, Ph.D.
Core Co-Director
Dr. Shepherd is an assistant professor in the Department of Symptom Research and principal investigator of the Shepherd Laboratory. The Shepherd Lab seeks to discover mechanisms that link inflammation to the pain induced by various forms of injury, including joint damage and chemotherapy-induced neuropathy, and to identify interventions that can mitigate or prevent the development of pain associated with these chronic disease states. Dr. Shepherd also co-chairs MD Anderson's Pain Research Consortium, a unique platform that brings together clinical and basic science pain experts for interdisciplinary discussion, innovative problem-solving, and shaping the future of pain management.
Anand K. Singh, Ph.D.
Senior Research Scientist
Dr. Singh is a neuroscientist with more than 15 years of experience in preclinical drug testing and regulatory affairs. He is the lead member of the Preclinical Behavior Core, where he oversees the research in the animal facility, conducts experiments, consults with faculty and their teams on research project design and trains internal staff and external users on how to operate core equipment.
Nathan Goodwin, B.S.
Program Coordinator
Nathan is a certified clinical research professional with more than 10 years of experience across multiple research areas, including behavioral science, oncology and neurology. He provides high-level support in research administration and project management for the Preclinical Behavior Core and for the Department of Symptom Research.