Mark Johnson PhD

Professor Mark Johnson Ph.D. is a Professor of Pain and Analgesia and Director of the Centre for Pain Research in our School of Health. Mark has been investigating the science of pain and its management since the mid-1980s. Mark originally trained as a neurophysiologist at the University of Leeds, U.K., and studied for a Ph.D. in Pain Science at the Faculty of Medicine, the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K. Mark has published over 200 research articles and book chapters and is considered a world expert on transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. His recent book "Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS). Research to support clinical practice" was shortlisted at the British Medical Association Book Awards 2015. Mark is a longstanding member of the International Association for the Study of Pain and the Pain Society of Great Britain and Ireland and is an Expert Consultant for the Committee of Advertising Practice. Mark has a strong commitment to pain education and he is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Mark has supervised 15 Ph.D. completions, and 2 MRes completions and is currently supervising 13 Ph.D. students. He has examined 18 PhDs and regularly acts as an Independent Chair for Ph.D. examinations.

Mark leads a vibrant team of investigators working in the Centre for Pain Research. They conduct a wide variety of programs of research including Factors influencing pain sensitivity response (e.g. gender, lifespan, ethnocultural, obesity); Factors influencing response to electrophysical interventions (TENS, acupuncture, laser therapy, kinesiology taping); Visual feedback, perceptual embodiment, and pain; Epidemiology of injury and pain; Patient experience of pain; and Pain education. Mark’s team conducts clinical trials (phases 1-3), laboratory studies on healthy humans using experimental models of pain, and evidence syntheses (e.g. meta-analyses including Cochrane reviews). The Centre for Pain Research at Leeds Beckett showcases its research at public engagement events including the Royal Society Summer Exhibition and Asia Techfest.