Asaf Keller

Asaf Keller is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Neurobiology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and Associate Director of the Kahlert Institute for Addiction Medicine. He has dedicated over 40 years to studying sensory processing, chronic pain, and addiction, employing multidisciplinary approaches such as electrophysiology, optogenetics, and neuroanatomical tract tracing.

• Education: Ben Gurion University (B. Med. Sci., Ph.D.), The Rockefeller University (Postdoc)
• Grants: NIH/NINDS (R01NS104297, R01NS099245), NIH/NIDA (R01DA054905)

His research focuses on brain circuits like the parabrachial complex and BNST, investigating their roles in pain modulation and addiction. Recent work highlights serotonin's pronociceptive effects, perinatal fentanyl exposure impacts, and SUR1's role in neuropathic pain.

Scientific accolades include the Donald E. Wilson, MD, MACP Distinguished Professor title. He has trained 15 postdocs (4 with NIH funding and tenure) and 22 graduate students, emphasizing mentorship as a core academic mission.