معرفی
Liesbet Goubert is a Professor at Ghent University (UGent) in Belgium, where she conducts extensive research on chronic pain with particular emphasis on pediatric and adolescent pain experiences. Her work spans multiple disciplines including psychology, medicine, and social sciences, consistently applying the biopsychosocial model to understand pain phenomena. She maintains strong affiliations with Ghent University's Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology within the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences.
Professor Goubert's research interests center on chronic pain mechanisms, social support dynamics in pain contexts, and family influences on pain experiences. She has pioneered work examining positive adaptation in pain contexts, particularly the concept of 'flourishing' among adolescents with chronic pain, representing a significant shift from traditional pathology-focused approaches. Her methodological expertise spans quantitative network analysis, longitudinal diary studies, experimental designs, and qualitative approaches, allowing comprehensive examination of pain experiences from multiple angles.
Her recent publications (2023-2025) reveal several important trends: the development of novel assessment tools like the Well-being in Pain Questionnaire, sophisticated application of network analysis to understand social dynamics in chronic pain, detailed examination of public stigma related to chronic pain conditions, and innovative exploration of positive psychology concepts in pain contexts. These works consistently bridge theoretical understanding with clinical application, demonstrating translational impact.
Professor Goubert has supervised numerous PhD students to completion, including Elke De Bruyne (2025), Maité Van Alboom (2024), and Marieke Van Schoors (2021), reflecting her significant contribution to training the next generation of pain researchers. Her extensive collaborative network includes Geert Crombez (81 co-authored publications), Tine Vervoort (51 publications), and Stefaan Van Damme (20 publications), indicating a strong, interdisciplinary research group within Ghent University's pain research community.
She leads or contributes to several major research initiatives including the Child Pain In Context (CP-IC) study, the Interpersonal Risk and Resilience in Child Diabetes (IRRiCD) study, and the Postoperative Recovery after Spinal Fusion Surgery (PR-SF) study, demonstrating an active research program with multiple ongoing projects addressing critical questions in pain management across the lifespan.
