Professor Sylvia Gustin is the Rebecca L. Cooper Senior Research Fellow and Senior Principal Research Scientist at NeuRA. She is Director of the Centre for Pain IMPACT at NeuRA, Director of the NeuroRecovery Research Hub at the UNSW and leads the Pain Research, Education and Management Program at UNSW and NeuRA. She is also Chair of the ENIGMA chronic pain working group.

Sylvia completed her Ph.D. at the University of Tuebingen, Germany in 2006 in Psychology and immigrated to Australia in 2007. Since then Sylvia has been using brain imaging techniques and psychological assessment to investigate the central and psychological circuits underlying chronic pain and spinal cord injury.

Sylvia has 25 years of experience in the use of brain imaging techniques including functional, structural and biochemical magnetic resonance imaging. In addition, she has practiced as a psychologist focusing on the management of chronic pain and spinal cord injury. Her aim is to increase our understanding of the development and maintenance of chronic pain and spinal cord injury, in particular psychological and central components and their association with each other. And, most importantly, to develop and evaluate novel interventions that can provide pain relief and touch restoration via the primary source of pain and sensation: the brain.

Sylvia’s research is supported by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), Rebecca L. Cooper Medical Research Foundation, International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), Wings for Life, US Department of Defence (DoD), NSW Defence Innovation Network and NSW Health.

"My team's research program forms a translational pipeline where our basic science research informs the development of novel therapeutic interventions that are translated to improve the lives of people with a disorder affecting the brain and spine including chronic pain, mental health and neurological disorders. Our program brings together a multi-disciplinary team of passionate researchers aiming to effectively treat these conditions using cutting-edge science research methods and novel technology-based interventions."