Biography
B.A. degree in Zoology (1975) University of Texas at Austin
M.A. degree in Zoology (1976) University of Texas at Austin.
PhD Physiology & Biophysics (1981) University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX
01/94-12/06 Professor (tenured 1989), Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas
01/07-05/17 President’s Research Professor (tenured 2007), Dept of Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
2014- present VA Research Career Scientist
06/22/2022-present Distinguished Professor,
Professor (tenured 2020) University of New Mexico, School of Medicine (SOM)
05/01/2017-06/30/2025 Vice Chair for Research, University of New Mexico, SOM
10-29-2020-present Department of Neuroscience (Secondary Appointment), University of New Mexico, SOM
Personal Statement
I attended the University of Texas in Austin, my hometown, receiving both a BA and an MA. I received my PhD in Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB). Laboratory studies while at UTMB in Galveston began my bench to bedside and beside to bench studies with clinician scientists. We described a novel visceral pain pathway in the dorsal column midline to explain why punctate midline spinal cord lesions provide effective relief for cancer patients with intractable pain provided by two neurosurgical collaborators, Drs. Robert Hirshberg and Hank Nauta. Their dorsal column midline lesion approach to pelvic visceral pain is now used worldwide. Current clinical collaborators at UNM include Drs. Reza Ehsanian and Peter Shin pursuing pain targets in discarded human samples.
My overall research career aim is to stop pain, through pursuit of understanding of pain relief mechanisms and development of therapies for testing in chronic neuropathic pain models. My research efforts center around pre-clinical studies of chronic pain and the nervous system components providing information to the brain about pain. This entails its causal mechanisms and the anxiety, stress, and depression induced by pain. Although clinical trials and translational studies with clinicians have been a highlight, use and development of translationally relevant animal models have been a constant. This includes chronic and acute rodent inflammatory models of orofacial pain, arthritis, back pain, nerve injury, and visceral models such as pancreatitis for translational testing of new and “new use” clinical drugs. Studies have found effective use of mitochondrial stress anti-oxidant/protectors, viral vectors expressing endogenous opioid met-enkephalin, small antibodies directed toward pain targets, glutamate receptor antagonists, and cannabinoids. Our studies utilize tests of pain- and anxiety-related behavior, live cell calcium imaging, immunocytochemistry, epigenetics, cell culture, RTPCR, western blot, tract tracing, and fMRI methodologies.
I have led research projects for numerous NIH grants (R21, RO1, PO1 subprojects), DoD and VA grants. I maintained continuous funded support since 1983 (>45 yrs), providing major portions of my salary (30-100%). I have published over 200 manuscripts in peer reviewed journals, including Science and PNAS. SCOPUS lists 13,313 citations for my publications, and a 68 H-index factor. I hold numerous patents, including for work for the therapeutic drug gabapentin. Recent patents for two non-opioid small single chain (scFv) antibodies include their ability to significantly inhibit targets upregulated in chronic neuropathic pain. Single dose of one antibody returns pain-, anxiety-, and depression-like behaviors to baseline. This project has received NIH, DoD, and VA Merit grant funding. I am an Associate Editor (Pharmacology) for PAIN (official journal of the International Association for the Study of Pain) and recently was named a Distinguished Professor and an Innovation Fellow (UNM Rainforest Innovation) sat the University of New Mexico.
Areas of Specialty
Physiology & Biophysics
Therapeutic Development to Reverse Chronic Pain
Mechanisms and Circuitry of Chronic Pain
Neurotransmitter Systems
Achievements & Awards
My legal name is Karin Westlund High, PhD
I publish under the name Karin N. Westlund
Grants currently under review:
NIH 1 R01 NS152992-01 Histamine H3R/H4R Biologic for Pain
12/1/2026 to 11/29/2030 $1M
VA Humanized Biologic Targeting P2X4 for Nerve Injury Repair and Pain Relief
10/01/2026 to 09/30/2030 $2,069,529
New Mexico Veterans Administration Health Services Center
2017-present VA Center of Excellence for Cellular and Molecular Biology Member
2018-present New Mexico VAHSC Research & Development Committee Member
2024-present New Mexico VAHSC Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), Chair (2025-present)
University of New Mexico (2017-present)
2017- 2025 Vice-Chair for Research
2017-2025 Department of Anesthesiology Executive Committee
2017-2020 Department of Anesthesiology Program Evaluation Committee (PEC) to evaluate curriculum, program review of quality and safety of patient care.
2017-present Department of Anesthesiology Pain Fellows Clinical Competency Committee (CCC)
2017-present Department of Anesthesiology Pain Fellows Program Evaluation Committee, ACGME requirements for accreditation
2018-present Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC) Multidisciplinary Advisory Committee (MAC). Advocates for the CTSC Mentored Career Development K12 Program scholars
2018-2021 Academic Tenure and Promotions Committee (APT)
2019-2020 Faculty Senate Committee on Ethics Communication
2020 UNM Department of Neuroscience Faculty Recruitment and Selection Committee 2021-2022 UNM Department of Anesthesiology Diversity Committee
2021-present UNM HSC Research Strategic Planning Committee (RSPC)
Gender
Female
Languages
- English
Courses Taught
1977-2007 Medical Neuroscience Course and Laboratory 50 hr /yr University of Texas Medical Branch
2007-2017 Graduate Physiology, Medical Neuroscience, and Dental Neuroscience Courses
2020-present UNM HSC KL2 Medical Education Scholar (MAC) Review Committee – Senior Faculty assessment/development of junior faculty scholars for patient-oriented clinical and translational science
Research and Scholarship
Kunamneni A, Westlund KN. Humanized scFv Molecule Specific to an Extracellular Epitope of P2X4R as Therapy for Chronic Pain Management, Cells 2025, 14(13), 953; (This article belongs to the Special Issue Mechanisms and Therapies in Chronic Pain) PMID: 40643474 https://doi.org/10.3390/cells14130953
Hui SE, Westlund KN. Role of HDAC5 Epigenetics in Chronic Craniofacial Neuropathic Pain. Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Jun 23;25(13):6889. doi: 10.3390/ijms25136889. PMID: 38999998; PMCID: PMC11241576.
McNearney TA, Westlund KN. Pluripotential GluN1 (NMDA NR1): Functional Significance in Cellular Nuclei in Pain/Nociception. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2023; 24(17):13196. PMID: 3768003 https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241713196 [Featured on the Cover September 2023]
Kunamneni A, Montera MA, Durvasula R, Alles SRA, Goyal S, Westlund KN. Rapid Generation and Molecular Docking Analysis of Single-Chain Fragment Variable (scFv) Antibody Selected by Ribosome Display Targeting Cholecystokinin B Receptor (CCK-BR) for Reduction of Chronic Neuropathic Pain. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2023; 24(13):11035. PMID: 37446213https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241311035
Montera, MA and Westlund KN. Minimally invasive oral surgery induction of the FRICT-ION chronic neuropathic pain model. Bio-protocol 2020, 10(08): e3591. doi:10.21769/BioProtoc.3591 PMC7842532 PMID: 33659557