Biography
Dr. Erin Milligan received her Ph.D. in 2000 at the University of Colorado in Boulder, examining the role of glial cells in the spinal cord that are directly involved in generating neuropathic pain. She continued her post-doctoral training at the University of Colorado in Boulder and in 2004 became Assistant Research Professor and was awarded a National Institute of Health on Drug Abuse research grant examining spinal interleukin-10 gene therapy to control pathological pain for potential clinical applications. In 2007, she moved to the University of New Mexico, Health Sciences Center where she continued to conduct research related to IL-10 gene therapy for pain. In addition, Dr. Milligan implemented a research program examining the role of infiltrating immune cells into the spinal cord that worsen and prolong peripheral and spinal neuropathies. Additionally, she has expanded her program to examine adverse in utero conditions such as prenatal alcohol exposure that alters spinal sensory signaling, which predisposes one to develop neuropathy (e.g. sciatica) following very minor insults that typically go unnoticed in healthy individuals.
Personal Statement
Persistent pain lasting 3-6 months or longer is a very common health problem in a significant number of Americans for whom only a proportion ever receive adequate pain relief from currently available pain therapeutics. Strong evidence supports the idea that neuropathic pain is mediated by consequences of immune and glial cell activation the central nervous systems and in peripheral nerves. Because of the need to develop new pain therapeutic drugs, my research is dedicated to understanding when healthy pain processing goes awry and as a consequence of that new knowledge, to develop new pain drugs that are either already FDA-approved for other treatment purposes, or are entirely novel small molecule compounds.
Areas of Specialty
Neuroimmunology
Neuropathic pain
Spinal cord
Pain therapeutics
Education
Post-Doc, Behavioral Neuroscience (2003):
University of Boulder
Boulder, CO
Phd, Behavioral Neuroscience (2000):
University of Boulder
Boulder, CO
MA, Psychology (1995):
San Francisco State University
San Francisco, CA
BA, Psychology (1993):
San Francisco State University
San Francisco, CA
Achievements & Awards
Research Excellence Award, UNM HSC - 2011
Regents’ Lectureship Award UNM-HSC - 2010-2013
Rauth Family Basic Scientist Award - UNM-HSC - 2010
NIDA Cutting Edge Biomedical Research Award - Phase I - 2002-2004
Provisional Patents
“Use of Microparticles to Optimize Gene Therapy”. CU TTO File No. CU2443B-PPA2.“Protocells and Their Use for Pain Treatment”. Provisional Application No. 61/251,439, US Patent & Trademark Office Attorney Docket No. 0023.0094“Compact Biosensor of Matrix Metalloproteinase with Cadmium Free Quantum Dots”. Provisional Application No. 61/492,680, US Patent & Trademark Office Docket No. 310.00730160.“Therapies to control neuropathic pain”. Provisional Application No. 61/875,264, US Patent & Trademark Office Docket No.N12-220PROV2.“Control of Chronic Neuropathic Pain and Allodynia”. Provisional Application No. 14/196,343, US Patent & Trademark Office Docket No.N12-239US.
Gender
Female
Languages
- English
Research
My lab is interested in two major areas: 1. Existing pain treatments are often suboptimal for pain relief in less than half of the 15 million US pain patients, underscoring the necessity to identify new, non-opioid pain drugs. My lab examines the role of peripheral immune cells and spinal glia in causing chronic neuropathy, and we are exploring new pain drugs. 2. Lifelong susceptibility to developing peripheral neuropathies as a consequence of prenatal alcohol exposure are explored in my lab, with an emphasis on elucidating neuroimmune cytokine mechanisms in the peripheral and central nervous system in male and female rodent models.
Courses Taught
Colloidal Nanocrystals for Biomedical Applications.
Neuroscience anatomy laboratories for the Phase I School of Medicine undergraduate curriculum
Opioid Pharmacology for the Phase I School of Medicine undergraduate curriculum
Pain Pathways for the Phase I School of Medicine undergraduate curriculum
Neurobiology (Biomed 509): Neurotransmitters, Peptides & non-conventional transmitters, Neurotrophic Factors, Spinal Reflexes
Neurochemistry (Biomed 532): Nonclassical neurotransmitters, Neuroimmunology
Neurobiology of Alcoholism (Biomed 505): Effect of ethanol on neuroinflammation
Research and Scholarship
My lab is interested in two major areas: 1. Existing pain treatments are often suboptimal for pain relief in less than half of the 15 million US pain patients, underscoring the necessity to identify new, non-opioid pain drugs. My lab examines the role of peripheral immune cells and spinal glia in causing chronic neuropathy, and we are exploring new pain drugs. 2. Lifelong susceptibility to developing peripheral neuropathies as a consequence of prenatal alcohol exposure are explored in my lab, with an emphasis on elucidating neuroimmune cytokine mechanisms in the peripheral and central nervous system in male and female rodent models.