Karin Aubrey

Karin Aubrey is an Adjunct Associate Professor and Team Leader at the Kolling Institute within the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney. She leads research in the Pain Management Research Laboratories focusing on the neurobiology of pain mechanisms. Her work integrates electrophysiology, molecular techniques, and behavioral models to investigate pain circuits.

• PhD from University of Sydney (2004)
• Marie Curie postdoctoral fellowship in Paris (2005-2011)
• Postdoctoral research with Professor Chris Vaughan (2012-2017)
• Established independent research group at Kolling Institute (2017)

Professor Aubrey's research focuses on understanding the cells and circuits that shape pain sensation and responses. Her work specifically investigates how glycine receptors and inhibitory neurotransmission contribute to pain processing in the central nervous system. The goal is to identify better and safer strategies to reduce the impact of chronic pain. She employs advanced techniques including whole-cell patch clamp electrophysiology, vector mediated circuit tracing, optogenetics, chemogenetics, and preclinical models of pain.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong focus on supraspinal pain mechanisms, particularly the role of glycine neurotransmission in the periaqueductal gray and descending pain pathways. Her work demonstrates how specific neuronal populations modulate nociception bidirectionally and how kappa opioids affect GABA/glycine terminals in pain circuits. This research provides critical insights into novel therapeutic targets for chronic pain conditions.

• Marie Curie fellowship
• Handling Editor, Journal of Neurochemistry
• Chair, Optogenetics Australia

Professor Aubrey actively supervises Honours, Masters, and PhD students in neuroscience, pharmacology, and biophysics. Her research has been supported by multiple grants including funding from the Pain Foundation, National Health and Medical Research Council, and partnership awards with Fudan University in China. She serves on several committees including the Pain and Neuroscience Priority Research Area committee and the Sydney Pain Consortium.

Her laboratory, the Pain Management Research Laboratories at the Kolling Institute, specializes in cellular and molecular approaches to pain research with expertise in electrophysiology and circuit mapping techniques. The group collaborates internationally and investigates the neural basis of pain-sleep interactions, with current projects focusing on where sleep and pain circuits overlap in the brain.