Principal Investigatores
Co-Investigators
Staff and Colleagues
Daniel J. Clauw, M.D.
Daniel Clauw is a Professor of Anesthesiology. Medicine (Rheumatology) and Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. He serves as Director of the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center. Until January 2009 he also served as the first Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research within the University of Michigan Medical School, and PI of the UM Clinical and Translational Sciences Award (CTSA). He attended the University of Michigan for both undergraduate and medical school studies and then completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology Fellowship at Georgetown University. He joined the faculty at Georgetown University in 1990, and while there, founded the Georgetown Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, and served as the Division Chief of Rheumatology, Immunology and Allergy, and Vice Chair of the Department of Medicine. Since moving to UM in 2001, Dr. Clauw has continued his commitment to the clinical care and research into overlapping conditions such as fibromyalgia, Gulf War Illnesses, and interstitial cystitis just to name a few, having become an internationally known expert in chronic pain, and especially the central nervous system contributions to chronic pain states, performing past or ongoing work in conditions such as low back pain, osteoarthritis, vulvodynia, endometriosis, irritable bowel syndrome, and temporomandibular joint disorder.
David A. Williams, Ph.D.
David A. Williams, Ph.D., received his doctorate from Ohio State University and completed a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship in Behavioral Medicine and Pain Management at Duke University Medical Center. Currently, he is an associate professor of Medicine/Psychiatry at the University of Michigan, serves as an associate director of the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center and is director of research development within the Michigan Institute for Clinical Health Research (also at the U-M). Williams has held faculty appointments at both Duke and at Georgetown University Medical Center, where he served as the division chief of Behavioral Medicine. He has more than 25 years experience working with patients with pain and chronic illnesses. In addition to being an experienced clinician, he has more than 60 scholarly publications in chronic illness management, outcomes measurement and instrument development, mechanisms in chronic pain, and research methodologies. He has worked both as a collaborator and as principal investigator on NIH, Veteran's Administration and Deptartment of Defense-sponsored clinical treatment trials, mechanistic research and data coordination centers.
Richard Harris, Ph.D.
Richard Harris, Ph.D., received his B.S. degree in Genetics from Purdue University in 1992 and his doctorate in Molecular and Cellular Biology from UC Berkeley in 1997. Following his graduate work, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at NIH studying the rhythmic properties of neural cultures. After this, he joined the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center at Georgetown University as coordinator of a pilot study of acupuncture in fibromyalgia, and attended the Maryland Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine where he studied acupuncture and graduated in June 2002. His current interests are the mechanism and efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of chronic pain conditions.
Michael E. Geisser, Ph.D.
Michael Geisser, Ph.D., received his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the Finch University of the Health Sciences/Chicago Medical School in 1988, and completed his internship in the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology at the University of Florida that same year. He currently is an associate professor in the U-M Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and is director of research for the Spine Program. Geisser's research interests include: studying the influence of psychosocial factors on the experience of acute and chronic pain; psychophysical assessment of pain; treatments for chronic pain and disability; and psychosocial factors associated with the progression and maintenance of pain. His primary interest is studying chronic back pain, although he also is involved in studies on fibromyalgia, spinal stenosis, and neuropathic and central pain.
Jennifer Glass, Ph.D.
Jennifer Glass, Ph.D., received her doctorate in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Michigan in 1996 and currently is an assistant research scientist at the Institute for Social Research and the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Michigan. Her research focus is on cognitive function in special populations, including the elderly, alcoholics, fibromyalgia patients and others with chronic pain and/or fatigue. Her current research with the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center examines attention, memory and executive control function in fibromyalgia patients, as well as the role of exercise and sleep deprivation as triggers for chronic pain and fatigue symptoms.
Steven Harte, Ph.D.
Steven Harte, Ph.D., a research fellow of Internal Medicine in the U-M Division of Rheumatology, joined the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center in 2005. His doctoral training in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience at Wayne State University focused on the neuroanatomical and biochemical mechanisms involved in the emotion of pain and its suppression. At the CPFRC, he is leading the basic science component of the Center’s reverse-translational research initiative. His research uses animal models and advanced neurobiological techniques to investigate the underlying pathophysiology of fibromyalgia and related chronic multisymptom illnesses.
Michael Hsu, M.D.
Michael Hsu, M.D., earned his B.A. from Harvard University and his M.D. from Duke University. He completed his PM&R residency at the University of Washington. Currently, he is a research fellow and clinical lecturer with the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at University of Michigan. Hsu's research interests include the psychophysiological management of chronic pain and fibromyalgia, as well as the mechanisms underlying the cognitive-affective control of pain."
Virginia Leone, M.A.
Virginia Leone has a Master Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from Michigan State University and significant work experience in the treatment planning and rehabilitation of adults with chronic pain syndromes. Prior to her involvement with the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, she served as a consultant to federal agencies in the development of transitional work programs and job accommodations for disabled employees. Her primary responsibilities with the research program involve recruiting and screening research candidates. She also is involved in liaison efforts with local treatment providers and support groups.
Katherine A. Scott, BSN, RN -- Clinical Research Coordinator Healthcare
Katherine Scott is a Clinical Research Coordinator at the University of Michigan, Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center (CPFRC). She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from the University of Michigan, School of Nursing. Prior to her involvement with the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, she served as a Pediatric Nurse at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital for 7 years. This unit dealt with acute and chronic illnesses in the pediatric population. As part of the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, she is responsible for regulatory compliance for oversight organizations such as the UM IRBMED and NIH, and coordinating study start ups with the various entities involved. She maintains record of study visits, study medications, ensuring protocol compliance and data quality, and completes study closeout activities. She is also involved in liaison efforts with clinical drug sponsors.
Rupal Patel, M.S.
Rupal Patel received her M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and her undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences from Rutgers University. She recently moved to Ann Arbor from New Jersey to join the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center and work with Drs. Gracely and Clauw. In New Jersey, she was working at the War-related Illnesses and Injury Study Center and Chronic Fatigue Research Center. As part of the CPFRC team, Patel will be working on engineering and technical aspects of the research, mainly focusing on fMRI processing.
