Elie D. Al-Chaer
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Elie D. Al-Chaer, born in Lebanon (1968), is director of the Center for Pain Research at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Early in his career, he discovered a new pathway in the spinal cord relatively specific for visceral pain, the pain that originates from visceral organs such as the colon, the bladder and the pancreas. His current research continues to focus on the cellular and molecular attributes of this pathway and its role in functional abdominal pain, such as the pain of irritable bowel syndrome. His work on pain pathways led to a paradigm shift anent the function of the posterior column (dorsal column) and its role in pain processing and triggered a revision of the approach to treat visceral pain, namely surgical procedures such as cordotomy and others.
In addition to his career in pain research, Al-Chaer is also a licensed attorney in Washington DC and in Texas and a published advocate on a number of issues ranging from science in the 21st Century to the conflict in the Middle East.
