Univ.-Prof. Dr. Angelika Lampert, Director of the Institute of Neurophysiology at Uniklinik RWTH Aachen and Spokesperson for the Scientific Center for Neuropathic Pain Aachen (SCNAACHEN), has been invited to deliver a plenary lecture at the IASP World Congress on Pain 2026 in Bangkok.
In her presentation titled “Bridging Molecules and Mechanisms: Sensory Neurons and Sodium Channels in Neuropathic Pain,” Univ.-Prof. Angelika Lampert will discuss so-called “sleeping” nociceptors - a specific subgroup of human pain fibers that become pathologically active in neuropathic pain. By combining state-of-the-art methods such as Patch-Seq, single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, electrophysiology, and patient-derived stem cell models, researchers can decipher the molecular properties of these nerve cells and better understand their role in the development of chronic pain. At the same time, studies of voltage-gated sodium channels are providing new insights into the mechanisms of neuronal hyperexcitability and opening new avenues for targeted therapeutic approaches.
Prior to that, readers can gain insight into this field of research in a recently published review article in the journal PAIN: “An integrative view of human nociceptor diversity: from microneurography to molecular identity”.
Researchers at Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, including Jun. -Prof. Dr. Jenny Tigerholm (Computational Simulation of Subcellular Neurobiological Processes), Univ.-Prof. Dr. Thomas Stiehl (Institute for Computational Biomedicine and Disease modelling with focus on phase transitions between phenotypes), Univ.-Prof. Dr. Ingo Kurth, and Dr. Natja Haag (Center for Human Genetics and Genomic Medicine), together with Univ.-Prof. Angelika Lampert, explain how their own work and other research approaches in this field use neurons' electrical properties to classify them at the molecular level.
The invitation to deliver a plenary lecture at the IASP Annual Meeting in October 2026 underscores the international visibility of Aachen’s pain research and recognizes the long-standing work of the research groups at the UKA at the intersection of basic research and translational medicine.
A first glimpse into the plenary lecture is provided by the video Angelika Lampert - 2026 World Congress on Pain Plenary Speaker.
