Fibromyalgia: Open Access
Open Access

Biography

Dr. Chih-Cheng Chen is Associate Research Fellow in Institute of Biomedical Sciences of Academia Sinica at Taipei, Taiwan. He worked as Assistant Research Fellow in Institute of Biomedical Sciences of Academia Sinica at Taipei, Taiwan form 2003-2011. He received his PhD from University College London, UK in the year 1997.

Research Interest

My basic research interest is to understand the molecular mechanism and genetic control of pain sensation and neurosensory mechanotransduction. In past years, I have accomplished works relating to molecular cloning and functional characterization of sensory neuron-specific ion channels, including ATP-gated ion channels (P2X3), acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs), and stretch-activated ion channels. I am actively engaged in work ranging from molecular biology to electrophysiology to animal behaviors. My laboratory is currently pursuing several different lines of research: A major interest is in pain mechanism, especially the pain associated with tissue acidosis. Muscle pain is our current focus. The long-range goal is to understand and control the intractable chronic musculoskeletal pain, such as fibromyalgia, myofascial pain syndromes, complex regional pain syndromes, etc. A second major interest of the lab is related to neurosensory mechanotransduction. While sensory neurons are known to respond to chemical, thermal, and electrical stimulation, the effect of mechanics on these highly sensitive cells is still not known. Mechanoreceptors of sensory neurons diversely localize in specialized nerve terminals, which make a challenging for distinguishing, approaching, and mechanical stimulation. To conquer this difficulty, we have developed a novel method of analyzing mechanotransduction of neurite via localized elastomeric matrix control and electrophysiology. We aim to identify the stretch-activated ion channels that contribute to movement disorder and chronic pain in peripheral neuropathies.

Certificate

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Global Experts in the subject

Publications

Current Challenges of Research into Fibromyalgia: From Clinical Studies to Animal Models

Chih-Hsien Hung and Chih-Cheng Chen

Editorial: Fibrom open 2015, 1: e103