Nicolas Massaly PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
Nicolas “Niko” Massaly is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles. Originally from France, he crossed many boarders to build his current research projects.
He did his graduate training in the labs of Dr Mouledous and Dr Frances in Toulouse, France, where he studied the role of protein degradation in opioid-context associative memories and opioid-seeking behavior. Then, he designed and tested a fentanyl derivate lacking centrally-mediated side effect as a promising tool for pain management in the lab of Dr Stein in Berlin, Germany. To further build his research on the neurocircuits driving pain-induced negative affect and their impact on reinforcing properties of either natural rewards or opioid drugs, he joined the lab of Dr. Jose Moron-Concepcion at Columbia University and then Washington University in St Louis .
On October 1st 2022, he opened his lab to further dissect the neurocircuits driving negative affective states associated with pain and their impact on the development of co-morbid disorders including anxiety, depression and drug use disorders. In addition, Niko has been dedicated in training and mentoring the upcoming generation of pain/SUD neuroscientists within his former role as post-doc and instructor, as well as organizing trainees-focused international meetings, leading DEI initiatives and summer fellowships.