Michael Morgan

Dr. Michael Morgan is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Washington State University's College of Arts & Sciences. His research focuses on neural mechanisms of pain modulation and animal models of opioid withdrawal, translating findings into improved clinical outcomes.

• Ph.D. in Physiological Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles (1989)
• Post-doctoral Fellow, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco (1989-1993)

Dr. Morgan's research explores behavioral pharmacology using rodent models to assess pain and opioid withdrawal. His lab specializes in developing objective measures like home cage wheel running to evaluate pain's impact on function and test novel analgesics. Key areas: opioid tolerance, cannabinoid interactions, and sex differences in pain responses.

His recent publications emphasize advancements in preclinical pain modeling, diurnal sex differences in withdrawal, testosterone's impact on pain behavior, and fentanyl withdrawal effects. Methodologically, he addresses challenges in opioid tolerance assessment and develops clinically relevant rodent assays.

Grants from the National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R03 NS095057) and National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01 DA027625, R01 DA015498-06, R03 DA026591) supported his work. He mentors graduate students and teaches courses in biopsychology, pain research history, and neuroscience foundations.