Rohini Kuner (born 28 July 1970 in Bombay) is an Indian-born German pharmacologist and director of the Institute of Pharmacology at

Heidelberg University Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is Germany's oldest unive ...

Vita

After studying pharmacology in India she obtained her PhD from

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

in the laboratory of Gerald Gebhart studying the role of spinal

NMDA ''N''-methyl--aspartic acid, or ''N''-methyl--aspartate (NMDA), is an amino acid derivative that acts as a specific agonist at the NMDA receptor mimicking the action of glutamate, the neurotransmitter which normally acts at that receptor. Unl ...

-receptors in nociception. From 1995 she was a

Postdoc A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary academ ...

with Peter Seeburg at Heidelberg University. In 2002 she started her own lab through the

Emmy Noether Amalie Emmy Noether (23 March 1882 – 14 April 1935) was a German mathematician who made many important contributions to abstract algebra. She also proved Noether's theorem, Noether's first and Noether's second theorem, second theorems, which ...

Program of the

German Research Council The German Research Foundation ( ; DFG ) is a German research funding organization, which functions as a self-governing institution for the promotion of science and research in the Federal Republic of Germany. In 2019, the DFG had a funding bud ...

. Since 2006 she is the chair for molecular pharmacology at Heidelberg University. Since 2015 she heads the collaborative research center "SFB 1158: From nociception to chronic pain". Rohini Kuner is married to the German neuroscientist Thomas Kuner. In October 2018 she was elected as member of the Heidelberg University Council.

Research

She aims at understanding molecular mechanisms underlying

chronic pain Chronic pain is pain that persists or recurs for longer than 3 months.https://icd.who.int/browse/2025-01/mms/en#1581976053 It is also known as gradual burning pain, electrical pain, throbbing pain, and nauseating pain. This type of pain is in cont ...

resulting from long-lasting

inflammation Inflammation (from ) is part of the biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. The five cardinal signs are heat, pain, redness, swelling, and loss of function (Latin ''calor'', '' ...

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

. A major focus is laid on addressing signalling mechanisms which underlie activity-dependent changes in primary sensory neurons transmitting pain (

nociceptors A nociceptor (; ) is a sensory neuron that responds to damaging or potentially damaging stimuli by sending "possible threat" signals to the spinal cord and the brain. The brain creates the sensation of pain to direct attention to the body part, ...

) and their

synapses In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that allows a neuron (or nerve cell) to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another neuron or a target effector cell. Synapses can be classified as either chemical or electrical, depending o ...

in the spinal dorsal horn. Her current work spans molecular, genetic, behavioural, electrophysiological and imaging approaches in vitro as well as in vivo in rodent models of pathological pain.

Awards

*2024: Leibniz Prize *2019: Member of the

German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (), in short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded on 1 January 1652, based on academic models in Italy, it was originally named the ''Academi ...

* 2018: Phoenix Prize for Pharmacology and Clinical Medicine *2018:

Feldberg Foundation The Feldberg Foundation promotes scientific exchange between German and British scientists in the field of experimental medical research. The foundation is registered in Hamburg, Germany with the secretariat based in the UK. The pharmacologist W ...

Prize * 2017: HMLS Investigator Award * 2017: Novartis Award for Therapy-Related Research * 2015: Novartis Award * 2012: ERC Advanced Grant * 2010: Pat Wall International Young Investigator Award, International Association for the Study of Pain * 2007: Pain Research Award, German Society for the Study of Pain * 2007: Ingrid-zu-Solms-Science Award * 2006: Chica and Heinz Schaller Award * 2006: Bergius-Kuhn-Meyerhof-Young Researcher Award (Heidelberg Roatry Club) * 2005: Rudolf-Buchheim-Award of the German Society for experimental and clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology

References

External links

* * *
Profile on Academia.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuner, Rohini 1970 births Academic staff of Heidelberg University Scientists from Mumbai German pharmacologists Members of the European Molecular Biology Organization Living people Members of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina