Luana Colloca
Interim Chair, Pain & Translational Symptom Science University of Maryland
Dr. Colloca’s research focuses on the behavioral, neural, and pharmacological mechanisms of pain modulation, with particular emphasis on placebo and nocebo effects and expectation-driven processes. Her work has advanced understanding of descending pain modulation and treatment responsiveness. Her laboratory also develops and evaluates virtual reality–based, non-pharmacological interventions for pain and related symptoms. She has published in leading journals including NEJM, npj Digital Medicine, Nature Neuroscience, Science, JAMA, The Lancet Neurology, Biological Psychiatry, and Pain and is internationally recognized for her contributions to pain neuroscience.
Seminars
This workshop will explore practical strategies to improve assay sensitivity in pain trials by reducing placebo response, refining patient selection and optimizing endpoint design. Attendees will discuss how study design choices can strengthen efficacy signals, improve regulatory confidence and increase the likelihood of clinical success across diverse pain populations.
Key Topics Covered:
- How can patient selection criteria, trial design and site execution be optimized to reduce placebo response and improve signal detection in chronic pain studies?
- What role do biomarkers, patient-reported outcomes and clinically meaningful endpoints play in distinguishing true treatment effects from placebo-driven responses?
- How should crossover, parallel-group and other trial designs be applied across acute, chronic and paediatric pain indications to maximize sensitivity and relevance?
- What evolving regulatory approaches, including historical controls and single pivotal trial pathways, could streamline development while maintaining robust efficacy and safety standards?
- Reduce placebo inflation through protocol design and site management
- Improve patient training and consistency across sites
- Examine crossover and adaptive study designs
- Apply lessons from successful recent programs
