Our Team

Dr. Nahman-Averbuch is an assistant professor of anesthesiology. Dr. Nahman-Averbuch has obtained a B.Sc. in Biology from the University of Haifa as well as an M.Sc. and a Ph.D. from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. During her M.Sc. and Ph.D., she worked with Prof. David Yarnitsky at the Laboratory of Clinical Neurophysiology (Haifa, Israel) and specialized in pain modulation mechanisms in adults with chronic pain. Dr. Nahman-Averbuch completed her post-doctoral fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (Ohio, USA) with Prof. Robert Coghill. During her fellowship, she focused on neuroimaging techniques to examine the neural changes in pediatric patients with chronic pain and in response to interventions such as cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Dr. Nahman-Averbuch presents her work in national and international scientific meetings. Dr. Nahman-Averbuch is a board member at the US Association for the Study of Pain (USASP) and is/was involved in several USASP committees including the Education Committee (Co-Chair) and the 1^st USASP Scientific Meeting Committee. Dr Nahman-Averbuch seeks to promote early career programs and is a member of the steering committee for International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) Young Leaders Presidential Task Force.

Dr Banerjee is a postdoc in Nahman-Averbuch’s lab (joined Jan 2022). Gourav’s research interests stem from his academic and clinical background – he graduated in Physical Therapy from Govt. NSCB Medical College (India) and earned his MSc and PhD in Pain Management from the Universities of Leicester and Leeds Beckett (UK). Gourav has had a few brief stints in multidisciplinary pain management clinics where he treated select caseload of patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain. Gourav has also previously held positions of a lecturer at a teaching hospital, and medical affairs manager at a pharmaceutical company.

Gourav is interested in better understanding chronic pain mechanisms and identification of treatment responders (with a focus on non-pharmacological therapies) for managing musculoskeletal-related pain in non-cancer and cancer conditions. Gourav is thrilled to work with Dr Nahman-Averbuch and contribute to the science of pain management!

Joel Brown is a Research Nurse Coordinator with DoCTR. He graduated from SIU-Carbondale and went on to work with the Knight Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at WashU. He then went back to school and graduated from Goldfarb School of Nursing in December 2020. He started his nursing career in the cardiothoracic surgery step-down unit at BJC. He is from Mascoutah, Illinois, is a huge Marvel junkie, loves golfing, and is a big fan of the St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues, and Dallas Cowboys!

Alana joined the DoCTR team and Pain Across the Lifespan Lab in September 2022, and has worked at Washington University since 2017 with a focus in neurology, psychiatry and MRI research as a Magnetic Resonance Safety Officer. She completed her undergraduate degree in psychology with a graduate certificate in human-computer Interaction at Missouri University of Science & Technology then went on to complete her Master’s in Clinical Health Psychology at Appalachian State University. Outside of work she enjoys aerial acrobatics, Dungeons & Dragons, baking, and spending time with her menagerie of pets.

Originally born in Austin, Texas, Aubrey was raised by her mother in Chicago where she attended Chicago Waldorf School, an anthroposophical institution dedicated to holistic education.

Entering her third year at Washington University in St Louis, she is now a psychology major with a concentration in lifespan development. She currently works as an emergency medical technician for Accucare in St. Louis and is honored to begin volunteering with Seasons Hospice this summer.

She hopes to continue her studies in geriatric and end-of-life psychology and is very interested in pursuing research and clinical practice within these areas as well as in topics related to chronic pain and lifelong pain management.

As a person living with daily chronic pain, she hopes that she can serve those with conditions similar to and more severe than hers not only as a researcher but also as a beacon of support and advocacy.

Dani joined the Department of Anesthesiology in 2010 and received her nursing degree from Perimeter College in Atlanta, GA. She began her nursing career in 1992 in labor and delivery. She expanded her experience to perioperative nursing and, prior to joining DoCTR, was an administrator of an outpatient surgery center. Dani’s research background is varied to include coordinating immunotherapy studies in critical care patients with septic shock as well as pediatric pain studies.

Haley is from Orange County, California, studying Mathematics & Statistics on the pre-med track at Washington University in St. Louis. She joined the Pain Across the Lifespan lab her senior year because of her interest in pain management, which stems from her personal experience dealing with chronic migraines and a rheumatological disorder.

She is interested in pursuing pain research, as well as other areas, including pediatrics, rheumatology, and gynecology.