Jo Nijs

Jo Nijs is a Professor at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), affiliated with the Department of Physiotherapy, Human Physiology and Anatomy. His work focuses on chronic pain mechanisms, chronic fatigue syndrome, and neurophysiological adaptations. He leads the 'Pain in Motion' research group and has authored over 950 publications with an h-index of 73.

Research interests include: chronic musculoskeletal pain pathophysiology, central sensitization, and translational strategies for pain management. Notable projects include investigating epigenetic mechanisms in chronic pain and interdisciplinary approaches to osteoarthritis treatment.

• Recipient of the 2020 Francqui Collen Chair and 2017 Excellence in Research Award
• Supervised 73 students in physiotherapy and pain science
• Active in international collaborations across 25+ countries

Recent research emphasizes pain neuroscience education efficacy, pain-sleep interactions, and immune mechanisms in chronic conditions. His work bridges clinical practice with advanced neuroimaging and molecular biology techniques.