Dr. Luana Colloc

Research in non-pharmacological pain management seeks alternatives to pain treatments that present severe side effects. This endeavor is increasingly important as opioid addiction and deaths in the U.S. rise, and as governmental agencies recommend health care practitioners and patients move away from opioid-based pain management. Virtual reality (VR) and music therapy (MT) have been separately explored as interventions for alleviating pain, with relatively consistent levels of success. This session details a unique research collaboration between the University of Maryland’s School of Music, School of Nursing and the Maryland Blended Reality Center that combines VR and MT for non-opioid pain management.

Luana Colloca researches human pain modulation from both a mechanistic and translational viewpoint. Her team explores the role of neurobehavioral and genetic influences on expectancy-induced analgesia in patients suffering from chronic pain. She is Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at UMB's School of Nursing/School of Medicine.