Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Professor Wendy Imlach is head of the Pain Mechanisms lab in the Department of Physiology at Monash University and the Deputy Head of the Neuroscience Program in the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute. Her research is focused on neural circuits in the spinal cord that are activated in chronic pain, in an effort to identify new therapeutic targets. She obtained her PhD in Pharmacology in New Zealand from the University of Otago and held postdoctoral positions at Columbia University in New York, and in Australia at the University of Queensland and University of Sydney. Wendy has a background in neuropharmacology, synaptic physiology and neural circuitry and her laboratory investigates spinal dorsal horn circuitry and nociceptive signalling. Wendy is a teaching and research academic, and is the unit coordinator for Advanced Neuroscience (BMS5004), and a workshop lead in Integrative Neuroscience (PHY3012).
Research interests
Our research focuses on changes that happen within the pain processing pathways in the spinal cord following the development of chronic pain. Some of these changes are potential therapeutic targets and we are interested in finding new, more effective ways to treat chronic pain.
Research area keywords
- Pain
- Spinal cord
- Neural circuitry
- Neuropharmacology
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
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Proteomic-based identification of new pain mediators for EB
Veldhuis, N. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Poole, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Imlach, W. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Siddiqui, G. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Kern, J. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Nyström, A. (Chief Investigator (CI))
29/06/26 → 28/06/28
Project: Research
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Development of novel allosteric modulators for the treatment of chronic pain
Imlach, W. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Scammells, P. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Valant, C. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Christopoulos, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Spanswick, D. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Miller, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Malik, R. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Taverner, M. (Associate Investigator (AI)) & Tung Ng, K. (Associate Investigator (AI))
1/12/25 → 30/11/27
Project: Research
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Understanding how neural circuit activity is controlled by adenosine
Imlach, W. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Christopoulos, A. (Chief Investigator (CI)), De Koninck, Y. (Partner Investigator (PI)) & Spanswick, D. (Partner Investigator (PI))
ARC - Australian Research Council, Monash University – Internal Department Contribution
29/03/25 → 28/03/28
Project: Research
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Designing precision dietary therapies for inherited metabolic disorders through nutriphenomics
Johnson, T. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Piper, M. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Solon-Biet, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Dworkin, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), He, Z. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Christodoulou, J. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Schittenhelm, R. (Associate Investigator (AI)), Imlach, W. (Associate Investigator (AI)) & Schwarz, G. (Associate Investigator (AI))
1/03/25 → 31/12/28
Project: Research
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Targeting chronic pain: non-pharmacological manipulation of endogenous adenosine
Spanswick, D. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Wong, Y. (Chief Investigator (CI)), De Koninck, Y. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Imlach, W. (Associate Investigator (AI))
1/01/25 → 31/12/28
Project: Research
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Microbiome-derived metabolites alleviate chronic pain in a reserpine-induced model of fibromyalgia
Chen, S. (Leading Author), Shanmuganathan, D. & Imlach, W. L. (Leading Author), 17 Apr 2026, In: iScience. 29, 4, 21 p., 115406.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access1 Link opens in a new tab Citation (Scopus) -
Targeting of subcellular metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 signaling to modulate pain transmission
Retamal Santibanez, J. S., Hellyer, S., Ramirez Garcia, P., Latorre, R., Pokhrel, R., Davis, T. P., Whittaker, M. R., Kos, J., Bunnett, N. W., Imlach, W. L., Poole, D. P., Gregory, K. J. & Veldhuis, N. A., 30 Jan 2026, bioRxiv, 2026 53 p.Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article › Research
Open Access -
Endophilin A1 and synaptojanin 1-dependent endocytosis of synaptic vesicles in nociceptive spinal circuits maintains postoperative and cancer pain
Pessano Fialho, M. F., Thanigai Arasu, G. S., Chen, S., Imlach, W. L., Bunnett, N. W. & Tonello, R., Nov 2025, In: Pain. 166, 11, p. e563-e576 14 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
3 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus) -
Loss of peptidergic innervation of the subchondral bone in a murine model of MIA-induced osteoarthritis
Ivanusic, J. J., Imlach, W. L., Thai, J., Bos, J., Hart, J. & Fuller-Jackson , J.-P., Dec 2025, In: Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. 33, 12, p. 1419-1429 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access3 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus) -
Pain-on-a-Chip: A microfluidic device for neuron differentiation and functional discrimination in animal models of chronic pain
Zhu, D., Nilghaz, A., Tong, Z., Poole, D. P., O'Sullivan, K., Imlach, W. L., Haberberger, R. V., Veldhuis, N. A., Matusica, D. & Voelcker, N. H., 1 Jul 2025, In: Biosensors and Bioelectronics. 279, 11 p., 117401.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access4 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus)