Ursula I. Wesselmann, M.D., Ph.D., D.T.M.&H. (Lond.)
The Wesselmann Lab is led by Ursula Wesselmann, M.D., Ph.D.

To contact Dr. Wesselmann, email ursulawesselmann@uabmc.edu

To donate to Dr. Wesselmann's research, click here.

This fund supports her work in the Pain and Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Survivors Research Program and Pelvic and Urogenital Pain in Women Research Program.

Dr. Wesselmann has a long-standing interest in the neurobiological mechanisms of chronic pain syndromes in women. She holds the William A. Lell, M.D.,-Paul N. Samuelson, M.D., Endowed Professorship in Anesthesiology. She is a clinical neurologist and experimental neuro-physiologist with sub-specialty training in pain management. Over the last 20 years NIH-funded studies in her translational research laboratory have focused on the common theme of (1) elucidating peripheral and central pain mechanisms via neurophysiological, neuroanatomical and psychophysical paradigms in health and disease, specifically in females and (2) phenotyping subgroups of patients with pain syndromes based on different pathophysiological mechanisms, with the goal of identifying novel treatment strategies for these different phenotypes based on the underlying pathophysiology. Her current research, in collaboration with Dr. P. Czakanski (Depts. of Anesthesiology and Obstetrics & Gynecology), focuses on neurophysiological, psychosocial and autonomic factors that contribute to the onset and maintenance of chronic urological (interstitial cystitis) and gynecological (vulvodynia) pain syndromes in women. A new area of research investigation is to determine the biological, psychological, and socio-cultural variables  contributing to pain and pain-related disability in women treated for breast cancer. The long-term goal of her research program is to translate new discoveries into clinical practices that improve the ability to diagnose and treat women experiencing chronic pain.

To learn more about Dr. Wesselmann, read her bio.