Michelle Roche BSc, MSc, PhD

Michelle Roche is a Lecturer and Principal Investigator in the discipline of Physiology at National University of Ireland Galway (NUI Galway). A BSc. (Hons.) and MSc. graduate of NUI Galway, she has worked as a research assistant in the laboratory of Prof Rita Valentino at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania (2001) examining neural circuitry underlying stress-induced changes in the brain.

Her PhD work involved characterising behavioural and physiological responses in models of depression (2002-2005), while her interest in pain research stemmed during her post-doctoral research fellowship examining the role of the endocannabinoid system on stress-induced changes in pain responding and inflammation (2005-2008). Her current research interests involve increasing the understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying psychiatric disorders, pain and inflammation and the cross-talk between these conditions.