John M. Streicher, PhD

Dr. Streicher is interested in understanding the molecular signal transduction cascades downstream of the opioid receptors. His research program focuses on finding new signaling regulators of the opioid receptors, determining their molecular mechanisms, and then determining how these molecular mechanisms result in changes to opioid-induced analgesia and side effects in different pain states. He further uses this information to create novel drug discovery strategies to create new opioid drugs without the side effect drawbacks of current drugs, like addiction. His research approaches encompass the creation of pain states such as post-surgical pain and the measurement of opioid analgesia in these pain states, combined with state-of-the-art approaches to modulate novel signaling regulators in mice including CRISPR/Cas9 in the brain and spinal cord. He also screens drugs in medium- to high-throughput formats in cell models to find and develop new analgesic drugs.