Kyle Parker, PhD, is an Instructor of Anesthesiology at Washington University in St. Louis within the Center for Clinical Pharmacology. Prior to joining Dr. Jordan McCall’s research group, Dr. Parker was a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Dr. Michael Bruchas’ lab in the Department of Anesthesiology at Washington University. Before coming to Washington University, Dr. Parker received T32-funded postdoctoral training with the Minnesota Obesity Center at the University of Minnesota under the tutelage of Drs. Catherine Kotz and Charles Billington. Parker obtained his Ph.D. in Neuroscience at the University of Missouri-Columbia under the guidance of Dr. Matthew Will in the Department of Psychology.
Dr. Parker’s research focuses on understanding the neural mechanisms underlying affective behaviors involved in stress, pain, reward, and addiction. Dr. Parker’s current research is examining the functional connectivity of mid- and hindbrain structures that modulate pain and reward behaviors. His previous work focused on understanding the role of nociceptin opioid peptide (NOP) receptors in midbrain dopamine neurons and the nociceptin-expressing neural circuitry that coordinates reward-seeking behavior. Dr. Parker is also interested in the development and assessment of novel therapeutics that relieve pain conditions in patients without the negative side effects, such as tolerance and addiction, that are typical of opioid analgesics.