Pierre Rainville

Pierre Rainville is a Full Professor in the Department of Stomatology at the Faculty of Dentistry, Université de Montréal, and a researcher at the Centre de Recherche de l'Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (CRIUGM). His research focuses on the neuropsychology of pain, particularly mechanisms involving hypnosis, neuroimaging, and psychological factors. He holds a PhD in Experimental Neuropsychology from Université de Montréal and a postdoctoral fellowship in Cognitive Neuroscience from the University of Iowa.

Education: PhD (1998, Université de Montréal), Postdoc (2000, University of Iowa), Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Biology from Université de Montréal.

Research interests include pain modulation, neurophysiological mechanisms, and the role of hypnosis and artificial intelligence in pain management. He leads projects on pain communication, stress effects on pain, and personalized non-pharmacological interventions.

Awards: Ernest R. Hilgard Award (2018), Prix Adrien-Pinard (2020), and multiple FRQS fellowships. Involved in networks like UNIQUE (Neuroscience & AI) and RSBO (Oral Health Research).

Grants and collaborations include funding from CIHR, FRQNT, and NIH, focusing on pain biomarkers, AI-driven brain signatures, and interdisciplinary pain management. Supervised over 30 graduate students in pain research and related fields.

Labs/Teams: CERNEC (Neuropsychology), CRIUGM, and UNIQUE network. Co-leads projects on hypnosis and VR for pain reduction in clinical settings.