University of California-Irvine · BiologyPiomelli Lab
Daniele Piomelli · Irvine, California
Research Focus
The lab led by Dr. Daniele Piomelli at UC Irvine focuses on pain management, particularly by targeting a specific enzyme called NAAA to develop new pain medications that do not carry the risk of addiction. The research primarily explores how inhibiting this enzyme could lead to effective treatments for people suffering from acute and chronic pain. By studying animal models, the lab aims to uncover the cellular mechanisms involved in pain processing and to improve drug candidates for safer pain relief.
analgesicsNAAAnon-addictive pain reliefpain processingdrug discoveryPPAR-alphachronic painN-acylethanolamine
Research Aims
3AIM 01Validate NAAA as a molecular target for analgesic drug discovery.
AIM 02Identify cell types that are targeted by NAAA inhibitors in pain responses.
AIM 03Develop improved NAAA inhibitors for use as analgesic agents.
Skills the Lab Values
genetic mouse modelspain behavioral assayscell culture techniquesdrug screeningmolecular biology techniquescomputational drug designbiochemical assaysWestern blottingimmunohistochemistryanimal handling
Output against the department
Publications623top 4% of dept.43rd of 1,033
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations54ktop 4% of dept.42nd of 1,033
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.