Principal Investigator

Alexander Chesler, Ph.D.
Tenure-track Investigator
Phone: (301) 594-1049
E-mail: alexander.chesler@nih.gov
Dr. Chesler received his degrees from Bard College (B.A., 1995) and Columbia University (Ph.D., 2005). His graduate study, in the laboratory of Dr. Stuart Firestein, was focused on the function and development of olfactory sensory neurons. He did his postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. David Julius at the University of California, San Francisco, where he combined physiological, anatomical, and behavioral approaches to study the pharmacology of somatosensory neurons. He joined the NIH intramural pain program (NCCIH) in 2013, where his laboratory now employs multidisciplinary approaches to study how sensory stimuli (such temperature, touch, and environmental irritants) are detected and encoded by the somatosensory system.
Lab Staff
- Maria Anaya, Postbac IRTA
- Arnab Barik, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow
- Nima Ghitani, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow
- Ruby Lam, Graduate Student
- Alec Nickolis, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow
- Martin Rasmussen, Graduate Student
- Mathew Seltzer, Postbac IRTA
- Marcin Szczot, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow
- James Thompson, Lab Manager

(from left to right:) Alex Chesler, Nima Ghitani, Arnab Barik, Marcin Szczot, Ruby Lam, James Thompson, Mathew Seltzer
Alumni
- Colin Burnes, Postbac IRTA
- Taylor Gordon, Postbac IRTA (2017-2018)
- Eileen Nguyen, Postbac IRTA (2014-2016)
- Philina Yee, Postbac IRTA
Division of Intramural Research
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
Building 35, Room 1D802-822
Bethesda, MD 20892