Maria Fitzgerald

Professor Maria Fitzgerald is a neuroscientist and an expert in the biology of pain processing in the spinal cord and brain. Her laboratory in the UCL Department of Neuroscience, Physiology & Pharmacology focuses upon the formation of neuronal circuits that underlie acute and chronic pain and how these circuits are shaped in early life. She uses neurophysiological techniques in animal models and human participants to understand the mechanisms underlying the short and long-term effects of early life pain. Her lab is internationally recognised for its impact on pain management in infants, children and young people.   She has published over 250 research papers and reviews in pain neurobiology and has received numerous honours and prizes including fellowship of the Royal Society and the Academy of Medical Sciences and, most recently, the Feldberg Foundation Prize. Her work crosses boundaries between cellular and integrative neurobiology, physiology and behaviour and she collaborates extensively with clinical colleagues.