Research in Focus shines a light on the innovative studies and discoveries taking shape across the UBC Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics. Through each feature, we celebrate the minds driving meaningful change in research, education, and clinical practice across anesthesiology, pharmacology, and therapeutics.
A central aim of Dr. Catrina Loucks’ research is to understand why people experience and respond to pain differently by examining how genetic variation shapes pain sensitivity and reactions to pain medications, ultimately supporting the development of more personalized pain management strategies for children.
Through the Loucks Pain Management Pharmacogenomics Lab, Dr. Catrina Louck’s research brings together human genetics, pharmacogenomics, and experimental models to identify genetic factors that shape pain and medication responses. A key component of this work uses the microscopic roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans to investigate how pain-related genes and pathways influence sensory responses. Because many of these genes and signalling pathways are conserved between Caenorhabditis elegans and humans, the model provides an opportunity to uncover complex genetic mechanisms that may contribute to individual differences in pain.
By connecting genetic discoveries with predictive testing and precision medicine approaches, Dr. Loucks’ research aims to help clinicians better understand the benefits and risks of different pain medications and ultimately support safer, more effective, and more personalized pain management for children.
“Through this work, we hope to better characterize the complex genetic underpinnings of human pain and help inform predictive genetic testing strategies that support more individualized risk-benefit decisions for pain management in children.”
— Dr. Catrina Loucks, Assistant Professor, UBC
Meet Dr. Catrina Loucks!
Site: BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute
Rank: Assistant Professor
Dr. Catrina Loucks’ research journey has been shaped by a longstanding interest in understanding the genetic and biological mechanisms underlying human sensation. She began this work during her BHSc/MSc at the University of Calgary, where she investigated human genes involved in sensory and signalling processes, identifying several genes with important roles in these pathways.
She continued exploring these mechanisms during her PhD at Simon Fraser University, where she turned to the microscopic roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans as a model to investigate how sensory and signalling genes function. Through mechanistic and behavioural studies, she uncovered novel biological roles for two genes involved in sensory processes.
During her postdoctoral training at the University of British Columbia, Dr. Loucks expanded her expertise into human population genetics, conducting genomic analyses across large populations to identify new genetic contributors to human traits. Together, these experiences have given her a unique combination of expertise spanning human genetics and experimental biology, allowing her to build a research pipeline that connects genetic discoveries in humans with mechanistic insights from C. elegans to advance our understanding of the biological basis of human pain.
What drew you to this particular research question or problem?
In humans, individual genetic differences dictate both how we feel pain and how our pain is modulated by unique experiences, environments and personal backgrounds. This makes it difficult to pinpoint whether specific genetic factors influence pain sensitivity, the context-specific modulation of pain, or both. C. elegans is an ideal model to elucidate the complex, and often context-specific, roles of human pain-related genes due to its (a) well-characterized neuronal functions/connections, (b) behavioural assays that enable the interrogation of pain-related sensory processes and the (c) conservation of many pain-related genes/pathways. Furthermore, several C. elegans genes show conserved sensory/signalling roles compared to their corresponding human pain genes, thus facilitating the translation of findings to better understand the genetic underpinnings of human pain.
How does this project fit into your broader research interests or goals?
We are working to unravel the genetic complexity underlying variable pain responses in children by conducting unbiased genomic screens in well-characterized populations of children (funded through a Canadian Cancer Society Challenge Grant and a Terry Fox New Investigator Award). Through this, we have discovered and/or curated genetic predictors of several pain-related phenotypes in children (NPJ Genom Med 2024, J Clin Pharmacol 2025, Anesth Analg 2025 [two publications], Clin Pharmacol Ther 2026 and Pediatr Blood Cancer 2026). Our NSERC Discovery research program is extending our work to establish a C. elegans genetic validation platform for pain-related phenotypes. This platform (localized at the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute and funded by a CFI John R. Evans Leaders Fund Award) consists of state-of-the-art microscopes (stereo, injection and fluorescent) and two automated behavioural trackers that is allowing us to elucidate the complex roles of identified genes in pain.
What impact do you hope this work will have on clinical practice, education, or society in general?
In children, ongoing pain can interfere with brain development, disrupt behaviour and increase the risk of chronic pain. This can be particularly devastating for vulnerable patient populations, such as children with cancer and infants treated in the neonatal intensive care unit, who often experience high burdens of pain. Providing adequate pain treatment for these children is critical, yet it remains challenging to predict who will experience pain and how each child will respond to prescribed pain relievers. This is especially difficult in infants and young children who cannot articulate their level of pain, limiting their ability to receive appropriate relief without harm. Through this work, we hope to better characterize the complex genetic underpinnings of human pain and help inform predictive genetic testing strategies that support more individualized risk-benefit decisions for pain management in children.
