Larissa J Strath, B.Sc., Ph.D.

Hear how I pronounce my name

My research is largely focused on the effects that dietary composition has on the modulation of the pain experience, specifically through epigenetic and immune mechanisms. With that in mind, I have dealt with a variety of painful conditions and pathologies (i.e. chronic low back pain, knee osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia etc.) and understanding of nutrient status and their effects on the system at a variety of ages (i.e. inflammation and oxidative stress). My areas of expertise include nutritional biochemistry, pain medicine, neuroscience, and epigenetics. My experience crosses borders, having basic science, clinical science, and epidemiological opportunities over the course of my doctoral and postdoctoral training. My PhD work at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB; PI: Dr. Robert Sorge) employed the use of nutritive models to identify factors that may contribute substantially to the development and perpetuation of chronic pain, with an emphasis on sex, gender and racial disparities therein. I have extensive experimental skills in the acquisition, protocol design and execution, and analyses of a variety of nutrition-based models (i.e. diet pattern analysis, nutrient analysis, Dietary Inflammatory Index) in humans and rodents. I have advanced theoretical and practical skills in designing, implementing and analyzing various neuroscience-based pain-related measures. My doctoral training gave me extensive experience in the use of dynamic quantitative sensory testing, as well as experience investigating blood-based inflammatory and oxidative stress mediators and standardized measures of psychosocial assessment. At the University of Florida (UF; PI: Dr. Yenisel Cruz-Almeida), my postdoctoral tenure afforded me a unique opportunity to employ my research skills related to nutri-biological and psychosocial pain phenotyping in an aging population and to expand the existing body of literature specific to epigenetic and neuroscientific pain-related mechanisms. My current research interests center around understanding the nutriepigenomic mechanisms that contribute to the pain experience observed in various types of acute and chronic pain. Additionally, I am also interested in how the nutriepigenomic/pain relationship impacts cognition and the development of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease over time. To that end, I received the prestigious K99/R00 Pathways to Independence Award from the National Instute on Aging. The K99 phase of the project revealed significant associations of nutrition status with pain and disability outcomes, as well as cognitive functioning. My research endeavors moving forward aim to include individuals with mild cognitive impairment to observe associations in this group between pain, nutrition, metabolomics, and epigenetics. My long-term goal is to combine nutriepigeneomic approaches to develop a program of research investigating the mechanisms, prevention, and treatment strategies through nutritional avenues to combat comorbid chronic pain and cognitive disease as one ages.