Vania Apkarian, PhD, a professor of physiology, anesthesiology, and physical medicine and rehabilitation at Northwestern University in the Feinberg School of Medicine, has been a pioneer in the use of magnetic resonance spectroscopy to study the neurochemistry of the brain and the development of novel analytical approaches to studying consciousness. He has studied pain for two decades, both in animal models and in fMRI studies in humans. His current interests include the cortical dynamics of pain as well as brain plasticity. His overall goal is the uncovering of brain mechanisms underlying “pain qualia” In order to alleviate clinical pain conditions and achieve a more profound theoretical and mechanistic understanding of the brain.