Basic Science Research

Stone Lab

Dr. Laura Stone received her PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota, completed post-doctoral training at the Oregon Health and Sciences University and was on the faculty at McGill University from 2007-2020. Dr. Stone returned to the University of Minnesota to join the Department of Anesthesiology in June 2020. She is an inventor on 7 patents and has co-authored over 70 manuscripts.

Current research projects within the Stone Lab utilize both pre-clinical models and patient populations to investigate the mechanisms underlying low back and musculoskeletal pain, the optimization of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments and the epigenetic regulation of chronic pain.

Recent Publications
  • Mannarino M, Cherif H, Ghazizadeh S, Martinez OW, Sheng K, Cousineau E, Lee S, Millecamps M, Gao C, Gilbert A, Peirs C, Naeini RS, Ouellet JA, S Stone L, Haglund L. Senolytic treatment for low back pain. Sci Adv. 2025 Mar 14;11(11):eadr1719. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adr1719. Epub 2025 Mar 14. PMID: 40085710; PMCID: PMC11908501.
  • Yeater TD, Kawarai Y, Lee S, Belani KG, Beebe DS, Sheyn D, Pinto MR, Stone LS. Investigating the epigenetic landscape of symptomatic disk degeneration: a case study. Pain Rep. 2025 Feb 21;10(2):e1237. doi: 10.1097/PR9.0000000000001237. PMID: 39995491; PMCID: PMC11850048.
  • Kaneda G, Huang D, Pham N, Gonzalez AR, Tawackoli W, Lee S, Suzuki M, Nelson TJ, Glaeser JD, Millecamps M, Stone LS, Sheyn D, Metzger MF. Exercise improves load bearing bone structural properties in female secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) null mice but not in males. J Orthop Res. 2024 Dec;42(12):2725-2734. doi: 10.1002/jor.25950. Epub 2024 Aug 6. PMID: 39105654; PMCID: PMC12014150.
  • Jenkins LC, Chang WJ, Humburg P, Wasinger VC, Stone LS, Dorsey SG, Renn C, Starkweather A, Schabrun SM. Sex Differences in the Serum Proteomic Profile During Acute Low Back Pain-A Preliminary Study of the Relationship to Future Low Back Pain. J Pain. 2024 May;25(5):104426. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2023.11.009. Epub 2023 Nov 19. PMID: 37989405.
  • Barbe MF, Chen FL, Loomis RH, Harris MY, Kim BM, Xie K, Hilliard BA, McGonagle ER, Bailey TD, Gares RP, Van Der Bas M, Kalicharan BA, Holt-Bright L, Stone LS, Hodges PW and Klyne DM (2024) Characterization of pain-related behaviors in a rat model of acute-to-chronic low back pain: single vs. multi-level disc injury. Front. Pain Res. 5:1394017. doi: 10.3389/fpain.2024.1394017
  • Koroth Jinsha , Chitwood Casey , Kumar Ramya , Lin Wei-Han , Reves Benjamin T. , Boyce Todd , Reineke Theresa M. , Ellingson Arin M. , Johnson Casey P. , Stone Laura S. , Chaffin Kimberly C. , Simha Narendra K. , Ogle Brenda M. , Bradley Elizabeth W. Identification of a novel, MSC-induced macrophage subtype via single-cell sequencing: implications for intervertebral disc degeneration therapy. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology. DOI 10.3389/fcell.2023.1286011
  • Bussières A, Hancock MJ, Elklit A, Ferreira ML, Ferreira PH, Stone LS, Wideman TH, Boruff JT, Al Zoubi F, Chaudhry F, Tolentino R, Hartvigsen J. Adverse childhood experience is associated with an increased risk of reporting chronic pain in adulthood: a stystematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2023;14(2):2284025. doi: 10.1080/20008066.2023.2284025. Epub 2023 Dec 18. PMID: 38111090; PMCID: PMC10993817.
  • Whittal, M., Poynter, S., Samms, K., Briar, K.J., Sinopoli, S., Millecamps, M., Stone, L.S., DeWitte-Orr, S., Gregory, D., 2022. TAK-242 treatment and its effect on mechanical properties and gene expression associated with IVD degeneration in SPARC-null mice. European Spine Journal, 31 (10) doi: 10.1007/s00586-022-07310-y
Funding

2025-2027: NIH (National Institutes of Health) R21 Grant – "Sex-dependent Functions of Spinal Dopamine 1 Receptors in Neuropathic Pain" (Role:  Co-Investigator).

2024-2029: NIH (National Institutes of Health) R01 Grant – "Epigenetic Drivers of Chronic Low Back Pain" (Role: Principle Investigator).

2024-2026: NIAMS (National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) R61 Grant – "Development and Validation of a Mouse Model of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration-Induced Low Back Pain to Facilitate Non-Addictive Analgesic Discovery" (Role: Principle Investigator).

2020-2025: CIHR (Canadian Institutes for Health Research) Project Grant – "Chronotherapy of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs could enhance bone fracture recovery" (Role: Co-Principle Investigator).

2020-2025: US Department of Defense - Chronic Pain Management Research Program – "Understanding Acute to Chronic Back Pain Pathways and Testing New Solutions" (Role: Co-Investigator).

2019-2021: NIH (National Institutes of Health) R21 Grant – "Targeting the VFG signaling system for new chronic pain treatments" (Role: Co-Investigators).

2016-2021: CIHR (Canadian Institutes for Health Research) Project Grant 362909 – "Epigenetic Mechanisms in Chronic Pain" (Role: Principle Investigator).

2015-2020: CIHR (Canadian Institutes for Health Research) Operating Grant MOP-142291- "Low back pain: from mechanism to therapeutic intervention" (Role: Principle Investigator).

Contact
Dr. Laura Stone headshot

Dr. Laura Stone
[email protected]
Profile

Office/Lab Address
Jackson Hall 4-145
321 Church St SE,
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Campus Mailing Address
Anesthesiology Administration
420 Delaware Street SEMMC 294
Minneapolis, MN 44544

Minnesota Alcohol and Pain Lab

Dr. Jeff Boissoneault serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Minnesota, where he directs the Minnesota Alcohol and Pain Lab (MAPL). He received his doctorate in medical sciences with a concentration in cognitive/behavioral neuroscience from the University of Florida and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in pain research in the University of Florida’s Pain Research and Intervention Center of Excellence.

Dr. Boissoneault’s research interests focus on neurophysiological and psychosocial mechanisms underling the bidirectional association between pain and substance use, especially alcohol. He is also actively involved in studies regarding cortical-brainstem-spinal interactions underlying placebo analgesia and non-pharmacologic approaches to improve pain modulatory capacity in people with chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain.

Recent Publications
  • Wolock ER, Sinisterra M, Fedele DA, Bishop MD, Boissoneault J, Janicke DM. A systematic review of social functioning and peer relationships in adolescents with chronic pain. J Pediatr Psychol. 2025 Apr 1;50(4):354-376. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsaf014. PMID: 40036824.
  • Cushnie AK, Bush NJ, Sevel LS, Stennett-Blackmon B, Farone A, Nixon SJ, Robinson ME, Boissoneault J. Insula under the influence: Alcohol-induced changes in resting state functional connectivity. Alcohol Clin Exp Res (Hoboken). 2025 Jun;49(6):1221-1232. doi: 10.1111/acer.70053. Epub 2025 Apr 19. PMID: 40251982; PMCID: PMC12173802.
  • Funez-Ponce M, Bush N, Lewis B, Robinson M, Boissoneault J. The Role of Ethnicity in Alcohol Screening-related Decision Making by Medical and Dental Trainees. J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2025 Feb 17. doi: 10.15288/jsad.24-00394. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39960218.
  • Bush NJ, Cushnie AK, Boissoneault J, Aghabeigi S, Alexander C, Staud R, Robinson ME. The Two Sides of Placebo Analgesia: Differential Functional Connectivity Reveals Mechanisms of Placebo Analgesic Response. J Pain Res. 2025 Jan 10;18:189-201. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S483157. PMID: 39816204; PMCID: PMC11733195.
  • Sharmagh Aghabeigi, Nicholas J. Bush, Jeff Boissoneault, Determinants of perceived pain relief from acute alcohol intake in a laboratory setting, Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, Volume 12, 2024, 100267, ISSN 2772-7246, doi: 10.1016/j.dadr.2024.100267.
  • Bush NJ, Ferguson E, Zale E, Boissoneault J. A Brief Screening Tool for Risk of Self-Medication of Pain With Substance Use. J Addict Med. 2024 May-Jun 01;18(3):282-287. doi: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000001289. Epub 2024 Feb 14. PMID: 38357999; PMCID: PMC11150098.
  • Hugh Farrior, Scott Teitelbaum, Ben Phalin, Amanda Janner, Laurie Solomon, Kent Mathias, Jason Hunt, Jeff Boissoneault, and Ben Lewis. Pain Predicts Dropout From Substance Use Treatment. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 2024 85:3, 381-388
Contact
Dr. Jeff Boissoneault headshot

Dr. Jeff Boissoneault
[email protected]
Profile

Office/Lab Address
B515 Mayo Memorial Building
420 Delaware St SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Campus Mailing Address
Anesthesiology Administration
420 Delaware Street SEMMC 294
Minneapolis, MN 44544